Carnasserie Castle nr: Kilmartin

This morning despite a light mist shrouding the Clyde the locals were out in shorts and t-shirts. Would today's weather be an improving picture perhaps.

Our route this morning took us alongside loch Lomond, the cloud hung low over the pine trees and the air felt damp. Stopping at a layby to take a photograph we were both annoyed but not surprised to see someone had emptied their toilet in the bushes.

A little further on at Tarbert we stopped to empty our toilet at the service point. What is wrong with these people?

Last year when we stopped at Tarbert the pleasure boats weren't running and there were only a few visitors, today the boats were leaving full of tourists and there seemed to be a lot of Americans around. 

From Tarbert Marge took to the hills climbing the 'Rest and be Thankful' with ease. The views of the mountains were beautiful.

We stopped alongside loch Fyne to photograph the view, but not the one we were greeted with. A Dutch van was already there and the lady with it displayed a bottom like a gouda cheese whilst she bent over to do who knows what! She looked a little taken aback to see Marge appear, and we could hear Marge saying, cover yourself up woman.

Soon we arrived at Inveraray. As Marge rolled over the hump back bridge into the town we could see the chateau like castle on the right. The small town was a real hotspot, busy with cars, vans and coaches. We parked Marge up in one of the campervan spaces, a nice idea but they are far too narrow for most vans. Shortly after the Dutch woman and her husband appeared alongside, fully clothed we were pleased to see.

After a walk around the town Angela made some lunch and we sat by loch Fyne to eat it. The weather had settled, the sun lit the loch, and warmed our bodies, We were glad of this improving picture as our next stop was to be Dunadd Fort, a hill fort dating from the iron age.

The King would put his clothed foot into this carved out footprint (equivalent to a modern size 6 shoe size).

A climb up to the fort afforded breath-taking views across the open countryside of Argylle and Bute. At the top we sat and talked a while with a couple from Penkridge in Staffordshire, a village next to Acton Trussell in Staffordshire where John's parents once lived. We chatted for quite a while about campervans (as they had one), France, Scotland and Acton Trussell where they said the 'posh' people lived.

We then drove a little further up the road to see some standing stones and a cairn before heading to tonight's stop at Carnasserie castle where Marge is tucked in the corner of the car park with the tinkling of a nearby stream to soothe her. There is one other van here with us.

Tomorrow we are travelling to the lesser-known Glen Etive (Skyfall from the James Bond film of the same name), just below Glencoe. This is god's country, leave not a trace please van owners.