We headed South out of Oban and crossed the "Bridge over the Atlantic" - The Clachan Bridge which links mainland Scotland to the Island of Seil where the local scarecrow competition was in full flow (photographed some highlights like Bertie Basset waiting on the bus and Ed Sheeran (or is it Hedge Shearing?) on the way out and the way home). From The Island of Seil we took a three minute ferry ride to Easdale which was the most important and prolific of the Slate Islands. Easdale slate helped to build major cities around the world and can still be seen on rooftops as far afield as Melbourne, Nova Scotia, Dunedin and Dublin.
The island is the smallest permanently inhabited island of the Inner Hebrides, the old slate mines, visible amid deep pools of seawater, have not been worked since the end of the 19th century when a massive storm came roaring in from the Atlantic and carried away an entire industry. If the waves had reached a little higher, the human population would have been washed away too.
These days one of the disused quarries is a perfectly formed arena which has come to be used for the World Stone Skimming Championships. This unique event is held every year in September and the best part of the championship is that anyone can enter, no matter their age or ability. Anyoine can come along and have a go at winning the title for World Stone Skimming Champion.
Heading back to the pod we had two stop offs, the first was at The Dog Stone, this was once a huge sea stack, but now it seems to be growing out of the land with trees protruding from its summit. Science tells us that this is made from Conglomerate, deposited about 415 million years ago, but perhaps there is more mystery involved, legend says that this is where the giant, Fingal, tied up his dog, Bran, when he went hunting in the Hebrides. As Bran circled and struggled, he wore a groove around the base of the stone with its colossal chain and they say you can still hear its ghostly howls.
Heading back to the pod we had two stop offs, the first was at The Dog Stone, this was once a huge sea stack, but now it seems to be growing out of the land with trees protruding from its summit. Science tells us that this is made from Conglomerate, deposited about 415 million years ago, but perhaps there is more mystery involved, legend says that this is where the giant, Fingal, tied up his dog, Bran, when he went hunting in the Hebrides. As Bran circled and struggled, he wore a groove around the base of the stone with its colossal chain and they say you can still hear its ghostly howls.
We also stopped to peer at Castle Stalker, a four-story structure that is picturesquely located on a small tidal island located in Port Appin. In Scottish Gaelic, the name of the castle is known as ‘Caisteal an Stalcaire‘. The word ‘Stalcaire‘ can be translated into "hunter". Famously Castle Stalker made an appearance in one of the popular British comedy Monty Python films. In the Holy Grail it was appropriately renamed Castle Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh!”
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