Are you saying a mountain is a lesser obstacle than a puny loch?"wAre you calling Loch Toy puny? I'll be telling you I was born on the shores of Loch Toy, and no one will be calling it puny in my presence." (I have no idea who said this, or indeed, almost everything forthwith, but it was all said with great feeling and conviction.)wHe doesn't need to go all the way to Ben Nevis. Better to head north now, and then move west."wAye," chimed in a third, "but then he'll be having Ben Nevis in his way. "He'II be having to cross Loch Toy, and a greater recipe for disaster has never been tasted.
This was met by a chorus of approval-and an equally loud echo of disapproval.wOch, no!" yelled another (whose name I later learned was MacBogel). (He was a booming sort of man, not given to soft speech.) "Well, now, if ye're wanting to go to Blair Castle, ye'II certainly be wanting to head west toward Pitlochry and then north from there." I approached the proprietor (one Mr.Ĭlark), explained my intention to visit Blair Castle, and then could do nothing but blink in wonder and confusion as the rest of the inn's occupants chimed in with advice. I was partaking of my evening meal at the George Hotel, enjoying a fine whisky instead of the usual ale one might drink at a similar establishment in England, when I realized that I had no idea how to get to my next destination, nor any clue how long it would take to get there. A neat, well-planned town that was designed by Robert Adam when the Duke of Argyll decided to move the entire village to accommodate his new castle, it sits on the edge of water, its whitewashed buildings in neat rows that meet at right angles (surely a strangely ordered existence for one such as I, brought upĪmid the crooked intersections of London). Such was the case when I happened upon Inveraray, upon the banks of Loch Fyne. But should a lone Sassenach amble down their High Street- the local population will greet him with open arms and broad smiles. But individually, they are quite warm and friendly, eager to share a glass of whisky, a hot meal, or to offer a warm place to sleep.Ī group of Englishmen- or, in truth, any Englishman in any sort of uniform- will not find a warm welcome in a Scottish village. As a people, the Scots despise the English, and many would say rightfully so.
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