Oban and Out!

We left Saddell heading for our final Scottish destination of our six week tour, Oban, following the A83 up the west coast of Kintyre to Tarbert and then on up the east coast to Lochgilphead. Here we found a pleasant café for lunch and stretched our legs wandering round the small town, before continuing our journey. We looked for somewhere to change Racheal but they didn’t appear to be anywhere suitable nearby. However, as we drove out of the town, we noticed a leisure centre and pulled over. To our delight, there was a fully equipped changing places toilet with hoist and changing table, everything we needed. So with everybody fed and comfortable, we continued our journey. As we had plenty of time, I decided to follow the Crinan Canal for a few miles before turning northwards again, crossing a small, rather rickety looking bridge. The land became uncharacteristically flat and the road very straight, which was certainly a change. Eventually, we rejoined the main road and arrived at the youth hostel in Oban just in time for check-in.

Oban youth hostel had an accessible room with wet room, which Racheal and I shared. Summer slept in the original hostel in a dormitory room. The kitchen in the main hostel left a lot to be desired, but the accessible room was in the modern block which had a better kitchen albeit a little smaller. Our room and the common room in the main hostel had fantastic views out over the bay from which we could see beautiful sunsets.

We only had one day to explore Oban, and as this would be followed by two long days of driving, we decided just to walk into the town which was not very far. Next door but one to the hostel was the Roman Catholic Cathedral so this was the first place we explored.

The rest of the time we really spent looking at the shops and sitting watching the CalMac ferries going backwards and forwards to the small islands.

So it was time to head home. We had a fantastic time in Scotland, not only enjoying the stunning views, the sensory experiences for Racheal, the culture, the peace and tranquility, but also cementing friendships particularly for Racheal and Summer. We’ve learnt to work together, to live together, to overcome differences and difficulties, we’ve laughed and joked together and built the foundation for future trips. Which is just as well as we will only be home for two weeks before we set off for Canada. The next leg of our Wheely Amazing Gap Year!