OBAN ROAD TRIP: DAY ONE

It’s road trip time! I had a week off from work but not enough funds for a flight overseas so decided to instead see some of the amazing country that I live in. I organised 2 nights accommodation in Oban and knew I wanted to see Glen Coe and the Isle of Mull. Everything around and in between was just luck. I left home at 7 to pick up my car to begin my trip. It took nearly half an hour to get out of Edinburgh. Half of the roads around the city were closed for a marathon and my GPS continued to attempt to take me down said roads. I only ever travel by bus in the city so had no idea where to go, so I just drove north towards home and found my way out. EFFORT. Anyway, a few hours later I spot my first snow capped mountains and I am freaking out like a chihuahua getting treats. Mountains! Snow!! Lochs!!! I’ve read that the A82 is one of the UK’s most beautiful drives and I’m finally on it. And it does not disappoint. Honestly, I’ve never seen anything like it. The colours were so strange which is a weird thing to remember, but that’s what appealed to me t`he most. I think it was also the weird light from the sunshine trying to get through the clouds/rain but everything looked like it had an Instagram filter applied. Contrast and saturation on maximum.
I took the road towards Glen Etive, one of the few places I had previously researched. I’m not a huge fan of James Bond films, but the shots of Bond in the Scottish countryside in Skyfall made me desperate to recreate the scenes! So I knew where to go. Unfortunately I had forgotten that as I was travelling alone, by myself, with no companions, it meant that I couldn’t actually recreate the scene so had to settle with a simple photo of the spot. Back to the main road and I spot the little cottage that I’ve seen so many times on Instagram. Look at it right there in front of the mountain!
My first actual stop was Glencoe Lochan for a walk around the loch. The trees around the loch were shipped in from Northern America for the owner’s Canadian wife to help deal with her homesickness. It didn’t work as she made them return to Canada, but it certainly makes for a beautiful spot to walk around. After the walk I headed towards Oban, but was detoured by my favourite sign in Scotland “CASTLE TURN LEFT”. YEEEESSSS.

James Bond was here.

Told you.