22-31 December 2006
Part1 | Part2 | Part3 | Part4 | Part5 | Part6 | Part7 | Part8 | Part9 | Part10
Oban
There are many problems for the tourist at this time of the year:
- Accommodation is scarce as places are closed for winter. I have been unsuccessful finding any on the Isle of Mull. Small B&Bs are all closed. Only larger hotels remain but they are beyond my budget. So I am going to stay at Corran House for two more nights.
- Museums and galleries at a place like Oban are seasonal. They are closed for the winter. So I have to learn about Oban by talking to the locals or by my own observations.
- There is no public transport for quite a number of days during Christmas and New Year. Today, as yesterday, I am stuck at Oban without nothing exciting to pursue.
- The beauty of Oban as advertised in tourist information books is at best a dream. It rains almost everyday. When it doesn’t, the sun is still hard to come by.
Christmas last year had been a lot better, walking in Yorkshire Dales. Then, I had planned it properly. The trip had been planned with the focus of walking the Dales. This year, I didn’t want to walk much so soon after a trip to Northumberland. But during Christmas, there is little else to be done.
It has been so cloudy that the Isle of Mull is no longer visible from my room. If Mull is not to be had, my landlady tried to cheer me up with a glass of mulled wine. It is red wine with a touch of spices (cinnamon and cloves). Small pieces of fruit (apple and mandarin orange) are added to the wine. It is served above room temperature, say at 50 degrees. It is the first time I have tried it. I can’t say I liked it but it was a nice diversion.
I ran out of food today. So I was forced to leave the warm comfort of Corran House in an attempt to find something in town. Only one shop was open. Still, there is no bread to be had in all of Oban. I had to settle for some rice and noodles.
Part1 | Part2 | Part3 | Part4 | Part5 | Part6 | Part7 | Part8 | Part9 | Part10
I spent Christmas and New Year in the Yorkshire Dales in 2006. You were lucky the year before. I had one good day in two weeks, the rest it was stormy and rainy or dense fog (lasted for the whole first week — we couldn’t see a thing).