3 Days on the Isle of Bute - Day 2

View from one of the bedrooms
in Mount Stuart

The amazing family home of the Marquess of Bute is located on the Isle of Bute and called Mount Stuart.  This is such huge part of any visit to this island, and for many, the only reason to come, that I believe it requires a blog entry all on its own. So you will have that to look forward to!

Since Mount Stuart didn't open until 11am unless you wanted a guided tour, which we did not, we had a few hours to kill and they were very well used!


No matter where you look on Bute, you will see the Victorian history of this seaside destination.  One thing they are very lucky to still have are the Victorian toilets!  From what I have been told, this particular public toilet near the ferry terminal was not unique.  But when all these things became old fashioned, people decided to tear them down instead of treasuring history. That is, with the exception of this one.  Who ever stopped the destruction of this treasure should get a medal (maybe they did!).

This facility is still open to the public, entry fee .40 pence, but since it is also an historic treasure, it is not unusual for females to enter and appreciate this tribute to Victorian taste, even with something as mundane as a toilet.  What is odd and surprising is the lack of a similar Ladies' public toilet!  And that is because there wouldn't have been one.  What I have been told and also read up on is that Victorian ladies had to be very aware of where they were and what image they projected.  I was told that even if there had been a public toilet, they would have been too modest to use it. Anyway, there is a ladies room now, but it is modern and I never took any photos of it!

A funny thing happened while I was waiting to take a photo with no one else in it....a local man came in and used one of the urinals!  Thankfully, he chose the one just beyond the left corner of this photo so I could not see him. No, he was not still there when I took this!

We headed north to Rhubodach and the ferry stop there. It is not a terminal, just a little ferry that crosses the water to Colintraive in only 10 minutes.  We wanted to see Highland Cattle and were not disappointed!

Driving along the island, there are a few normal roads with two way traffic, but there are also quite few single track roads.  They are not difficult to negotiate, but everyone on the roads has to maintain awareness of what is coming their way!

Back to Rothesay on our way to Mount Stuart, we tried to find the highest point we could for a good overview of the island.  We had visited Canada Hill on a previous visit and it was a great viewpoint. It got its name from when islanders would climb up there to wave goodbye to their loved ones on their way to a new life in Canada.  (Not sure if that is true, but I was told this.)  We did not go there but found a nice place to see the road that reminds us of Lombard Street in San Fransisco!

Rothesay Castle is just at the bottom of the curvy road. It is a ruin but well worth a visit, which we did last time. I think it was the first place we used our Historic Scotland cards, apart from where we purchased them at Jedburgh Abbey.

So now it was time to visit Mount Stuart and I will write about that probably tomorrow or as soon as I can. Like I said, that gorgeous building and all that history requires its own entry.

Then we decided to head out to another part of the island we had enjoyed last time.  This was back to Kilchattan, with the standing stones I never found. But they have place to leave your car and head out to the West Island Way for a bit.  If we ever have enough time on the island, I would like to do the West Island Way right, but we had an hour and we took an hour to enjoy what we could!  I apologize for having no photos of our walk!  It was getting late and the light was not good for them. But, please believe me, the scenery was breathtaking! One thing I love about walking in the UK is the accessibility, especially in Scotland.  Many times paths go over farm lands and through fields. Instead of making it difficult for walkers to pass through, fences are designed to permit easy access.  There are styles, where you can have steps or something similar to walk over a fence. There are also "kissing gates".  I didn't realise some people would not know how these worked until we were on Skye and a foreign tourist on a  bus tour couldn't figure out how to get through.  I think she was just about to go back to the bus when I demonstrated.  The gate just swings and only one body fits in the indentation before the gate swings back and you can get out the other side.

There were kissing gates on this walk so I got my husband to demonstrate!

Then took ourselves to Victoria's Hotel in Rothesay for dinner.  We had already decided we liked the look of the restaurant and the menu sounded nice, then a friend who visits Bute more than I do suggested it! So I knew it would be good! Well, it was better than good!  I was so impressed with my seared sea bass I couldn't even hold a conversation.  I just concentrated on this delicious meal. At one point my husband asked if I was ok!

View of the bay from our table at Victoria's

Absolute best dinner I have had in ages!

What probably was a fantastic Victorian hotel in its day - Victoria's 

The Bute Discovery Centre was just across the street as was a putting green and a promenade.  There is also a sign indicating the Scottish border between the Highlands and the Lowlands, called the Boundary Fault.  So I got Alan to stand in the Lowlands, while I stood in the Highlands.  It is the little things that make me happy!

Alan in the Lowlands

Me in the Highlands

We did consider going to the cinema since it was just next to this promenade in the Bute Discovery Centre, but it had been a long day and we were ready to call it quits!  

“Traveling is almost like talking with men of other centuries.” – René Descartes

3 days on the Isle of Bute - Day 1

Chandlers Hotel

We have just returned from a lovely break thanks to Groupon!  Funny thing is, 2 years ago was the first time we went to Bute together (I had been once before with my Mom and good friend, Karen).  The first trip was off season and my husband still fell in love with the place and we had to return.  Last summer, we took our grandson - who also loves the island and he was only 8 at the time!

We have been watching for another Groupon deal at the Chandler's Hotel and one finally popped up!  (This was before we got the camper van, not sure if we would have stayed at a hotel if this had been the other way around - glad it wasn't!)  Chandler's is what you would expect from a local, traditional hotel.  It is comfortable, small, and has a great dinner menu. The owner is actually the cook and he really seems to enjoy cooking because we have never been disappointed.  The Groupon voucher was misleading though. It read as if we had 2 nights' dinner, bed & breakfast.  We thought this was a fantastic deal and were looking forward to just kicking back and not doing much at the end of the day after the dinners. However, when we checked in and asked why our invoice only stated dinner on Monday night, the hotel staff took our voucher and assured us it was only dinner for one night.  Either way it was a super deal and I was quite happy to find a new restaurant to try on the second night.  But really....the wording should be clearer.

Just getting ahead of myself here though. It was too early to check in when our ferry from Wemyss Bay arrived so we drove away from Rothesay and re-visited places we enjoyed before and discovered a new place!  I really wanted to stop in a Isle of Bute Discovery Centre building right next to the ferry terminal. We had always missed that before and it has info on the island that just might be helpful.  This building was originally the 1924 Winter Garden on Bute and I am so glad they kept it. Not only is there a tourist information and shop in the front, there is also a fabulous display about what to discover on the island.  Then there is also a cinema at the rear of this building.  What more could you ask for?

I also learned there is an Isle of Bute Gin  so I had to search that out!  The only place listed that sells it on Bute was the Bute Brewing Company in Rothesay, so we went there to check it out.  Yes, they do seem this gin, but only in small bottles. The large labels are being held up for some reason.  This gin is not actually produced on Bute since there is a problem getting premises. They distill the gin in Glasgow using gorse picked on Bute as one of the ingredients.  I have not yet tried this gin but am looking forward to doing that soon!

After this, we drove to Ettrick Bay to enjoy the view of the Isle of Arran and the tea shop we know serves amazing cakes and pies!  Here are some views along the way:

Two years ago, we drove past this house and it was virtually in ruins.  I will try to find the photo but so far, I have had no luck.  We are so impressed with how it looks now! Even the Queen Victoria post box, that you can just see on the right of the building, has been totally and beautifully restored!

Ettrick Tea shop
Doesn't look like much, but don't judge a tea shop by
its cover!

Ettrick Bay is one of our required stops when we are on Bute.  There are a number of reasons for this and some have nothing to do with us at all!

1. I have been told many young people from Glasgow learned how to swim in this bay. This would have been during the time period when Glaswegians went "doon the watter" for their summer break.  Bute wasn't the only island they visited. There were numerous steam ships that collected people from Glasgow and took them all along the west coast of Scotland for their summer break. So I wanted to see this bay last time we were here and again on this trip.  (they also came to the beach resort that is my chosen hometown on the Ayrshire coast.)

2. The view of the Isle of Arran is so much different from what we are used to from our viewpoint on the mainland.

Our slices of pie were not as generous as in previous visits. 

I guess the economy is biting everywhere, but

the size was actually perfect.  

I could not have eaten anymore.

3. We discovered an amazing tea shop where, the Ettrick Bay Tea Room- at least 2 years ago - the man working there, possibly the owner, bakes all the cakes and pies.  I didn't have a chance to ask him this time, it was busy, but the selection was still fabulous and our lemon and toffee meringue pies were exquisite!

4. There is a bird hide there we have yet to find!

5. My grandson has asked to go back there to go swimming - too late this year though.

6, In reading the link above, I learned there is also a stone circle near there, so now another reason to go back!

After enjoying our pies and a bit of a walk on the beach, we found ourselves back in Rothesay, watching the ferries come in and go out.  It was nice to just stand there and take it all in.



From there, we went the opposite direction, toward Port Bannatyne, then taking a road to the other side of the island and heading south to Kilchattan. I read that there were standing stones relatively easy to find around Kilchattan (I never found them, we looked a few times.... another reason to come back!)  Instead, we discovered the ancient ruins of St Blane's Church and took a closer look at this fantastic building.

The sign at the base of the hill where St Blane's is located says the walk - mainly uphill - would take 20 minutes.  We were not sure if that was one way or the whole walk.  After spending a lovely time within these beautiful and thought provoking ruins, we think 20 minutes is the whole walk.  All in all, we spent about an hour. Again, reading the above link, I realise I missed seeing a hogback.  These are from Viking days and now I need to go back and see that too.

Higher graveyard
in dark ages, reserved for monks
in medieval times, reserved for the local men!
There is a lower graveyard for local people in the dark ages
and women in medieval times.

Hogback stone displayed in Govan Old Church
Well worth a visit and there is a free ferry to cross the Clyde
river to this collection. The Govan Stones

The only ones I have seen were relocated to a Glasgow church visited with American visitors earlier this year.  I have never seen one in its original position.

That is the extent of our travels on our first day on this beautiful island.  It was time to go check in and get ready for dinner.

There is a limited menu with a good variety of choices.  But our choice was not available and we had to "settle" for Balmoral Chicken.  This is a breast of chicken stuffed with Haggis and it is always delicious.  And it did not disappoint tonight!

Here are some of the views of the Isle of Bute from our drive today:

Since Chandler's is a bit out of town, once we had our drink with dinner, we were then limited to remain in the hotel.  I know I say it often, but Scotland is very strict with its alcohol laws and this location makes that sort of thing more obvious.  However, we had accomplished what we hoped for our first day back, and so much more. So it was nice to sit a very long time at dinner and then retire to our room.

“The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G.K. Chesterton, Tremendous Trifles

A Little Taste of Edinburgh Fringe

On the Royal Mile

I have a confession to make - I have lived in Scotland for over 30 years and yesterday was only the second time I have been to the Fringe!  Unforgivable I know and I can't even explain why.  In fact, about 20 years ago, I met another American on a plane journey who lived in Edinburgh and had one of those random conversations you only have on planes.  She admitted her mother felt the only decent time to visit Scotland was for the Fringe.  Even that didn't spur me on to get there any sooner.

Two years ago, my first experience was amazing and we agreed to go once a year.  That didn't happen either. Isn't it strange how life just gets in the way? Thank goodness for our son, who was spending a few days up here from London!  We agreed to meet for the day and he got us tickets to a show he knew we would enjoy.

We intended to take the bus since we can travel for free now.  Once you reach 60 years of age in Scotland, you get a Senior Travel Pass which gives you free bus travel throughout Scotland. The only trouble is - it takes an hour longer than the train and time was too precious to waste (we only had about 6 hours to spend at the Fringe).  Why the time pressure?  We have a puppy and could not be away too long.  Not the best but at least we got to go!

So the first question must be "What is the Fringe?"  I looked it up and read that it is the largest festival in the world!  Instead of going into extreme detail, here is a link to read about it.  After reading it just now, my head is swimming at just how big this celebration of the arts is.

just across from the train station

You can feel the energy as soon as you get off the train.  There are venues all over the city, plus so many street performances and that is even before you get up to the Royal Mile where many of the street stages are set up.

entering the main part of Royal Mile with so much happening!

We only had about 1 1/2 hours to wander up the Royal Mile before going to check into our accommodation in a part of Edinburgh we were not familiar with.

Here are some of the performances we saw along the street:

This person is advertising a show.
People walk up and take a flyer. then someone  else  places a new flyer into this person's hand!

This group played Spoons and tap danced. They were brilliant.

Wonderful Flamenco dancing

I did put something in the bucket so I didn't feel
guilty taking photos.

While I was taking his photo, I saw his little finger
move just a bit!

We stopped and watched a fire juggler and could not tear ourselves away.  He was so good and so funny.  I asked his name and wrote it down but don't have it with me just now.  But I did find his show on you tube and will share it here. The show looks a few years old, but its very similar to what we saw.

Demonstrating the American way to juggle fire.
Look at the video, it was funny!

The last trick involved audience members and was fun.

No jugglers were injured in this stunt.

During the Fringe, it is almost impossible to find affordable hotel rooms, or any rooms at all without advance planning.  So I could not believe my luck when I found a room for 2 at The Arran House for only £78.  All others were well over £200 - 300.  The Arran House is student housing that rents their rooms during the summer. The room was basic, but we only needed a bed and a roof.  And - apart from heading there in the middle of the day to check in and dump our stuff, we were actually in the room for less than 7 hours. Just enough time to sleep and get up to catch the 7:30 train home ( to get our dog).  If we are lucky enough to return to Edinburgh next year, we would not hesitate to return.  Just what we needed, and why pay more for a fancier name when all you need is a place to sleep?

As we were crossing the North Bridge, we both took photos of Edinburgh without performers in them!

After checking in, we made a mad dash back to the Royal Mile and headed to The Pleasance Theatre to meet our son and his girlfriend and watch the Ruby Wax show called Frazzled.  It was a great show and I was really excited to see Ruby Wax.  She moved to the UK a bit earlier than I did and was very popular.  I enjoyed her too shows them and was delighted to be able to see her in person.

I thought we would eat between this show and the one at 9 that our son had bought us tickets for, which was also the reason we needed to stay overnight!  But, instead in great Fringe fashion, our son found another highly rated show and booked tickets for that!  

 When I say highly rated show, it was very well done. 

These 4 bits of props were a train, a bridge, tables
and a few other things! 

But covered extremely deep subjects about abortion, suicide, alcoholism, abuse.....  based in Dublin with minimal staging.  Not a relaxing show, but I must admit it was thought provoking. I have no idea what it was called.  

Now the time was too limited and restaurants were too full, so we ended up getting burgers at a food and bar court set up near our next activity.  There were these sort of courtyards set up all around Edinburgh.

Our last show of the day was to see Foil, Arms & Hog. An Irish comedy group who were absolutely amazing. They never stopped and did so many sketches, not related to each other, just really funny observations.  I was sorry to see it end.  They perform at the Fringe every year, so I intend to see them again in 2019!

We had a last drink together and were treated to this by our son's girlfriend.  Very nice gesture!  She bought me a gin and tonic and now will be my friend for life!  

They were staying with a friend who lived relatively near The Arran House, so we walked together for a bit until it was time to say goodbye and go our separate ways.

What a day!

Listed by chroniclelive.co.uk as one of the funniest jokes of last year's Fringe - 

1. “I like to imagine the guy who invented the umbrella was going to call it the ‘brella’. But he hesitated.” Andy Field