Day 26 - Castles, Prisons & Coffee

We rejoiced that the caravan awning was no longer under water when we got up today and the rest of the campsite was slowly draining. Yesterday we found a good coffee/bookshop so we made that our first stop.. We have decided that the Highlanders are friendly people, of course part of the local talk was about the death of Charles Kennedy and we reflected how we were in Fort William, his home only yesterday (- our thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.) Chatting with the cafe owner and staff whilst eating homemade scones about what we might do today (as our list of things  to do has been reduced by the weather,) they came up with a list which they wrote down on the back of a couple of brown paper bags. Not only did they come up with  ideas but also drew maps and directions and timings for us. As we discovered following  a homemade map was not difficult when roads are few!

 The map took us to Inveraray Castle (the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll, Chief of the Clan Campbell)- a good choice for those who enjoy Downton Abbey, which today was voted the best TV drama of 2014 at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer Awards, as the 2012 Christmas episode location was at Inveraray Castle. (www.inveraray-castle.com/Downton-Abbey)

We also enjoyed the gardens, the woodland walk was a mass of bluebells whilst the rhododendrons and azaleas were a blaze of colour in the formal gardens.

Woodland Walk

The castle is set beside the waters of Loch Fyne and was worth the visit - We are getting concerned that the "Beacon Duck" is becoming more Scottish each day!

The castle is set in 16 acres and have trees planted by Queen Victoria, David Livingstone, William Gladstone and Lord Shaftesbury, it is said that as well as planting a tree Gladstone was also known to cut down the odd tree whilst staying as a guest!

A short walk down the drive took us to the village and the edge of Loch Fyne.

Inveraray Jail and County Court

We decided to also visit the jail, reminding ourselves that John Wesley often visited those who were in prison, Bristol, London and Oxford as well as elsewhere - maybe because he recalled when his own father was in prison for running up debts. In a period of nine months he preached at least 67 times in various jails -- institutions that he had been known to describe as nurseries of "all manner of wickedness." Wesley was also a great campaigner for prison reform, the great prison reformer, John Howard, drew spiritual strength from Wesley, and statues of both men can be seen together in London's St Paul's Cathedral. Because of his criticism of prison conditions  he was sometimes banned from visiting inmates. 

Please take note!

 Inveraray prison today is a museum, however the cells in Barlinnie Prison, Glasgow were built to exactly the same specifications to Iveraray Prison and are still in use to day as this picture illustrates.