Inveraray Town

‘S’ went into school today proudly wearing his badge from his tour of Inveraray jail. It says that he was ‘pardoned for good behaviour’- long may it continue!

Below are two slideshows- the first is of Inveraray town. This small Argyllshire town stands along the shore of Loch Fyne, utterly picturesque with it’s whitewashed stone homes underneath the green mountainside . I love the view across the water as we drive around the Loch and as it unfolds until around the bend is the promontory of Inveraray.

This is an old and ancient lochside place of fishing and of travellers.

The jailhouse that we visited (second slideshow) is of Georgian architecture - as are the other buildings that line the main street- this uniform shape and colour all add to the character and you can see why, with its history and romance this place draws visitors. Along the main street is The George Hotel, an old Inn where we had lunch among old beams and Scottish memories.

My favourite feature in Inveraray is the Celtic cross that stands down near the pier. Yesterday as l stood looking at it with wee ‘S’ an older gentleman came up to us. He told me how his mother’s mother had passed the story on of how the cross was brought here along Loch Fyne during the Ice Age. I can’t see how he figures this timescale as the town origins date from around 1453- perhaps it was just a very, very cold year. Or perhaps the cross was made much earlier, perhaps on Iona and it dates to around the Stone Age- you never know. Anyway he seemed like a nice old bloke and kindly pointed out the Latin inscription to me on the side of the cross itself - I’d love to find out what it says.

You can see Inveraray castle peeping out along the shoreline on the old postcard with the cross (above). This postcard is from 1902.

You may note that wee 'S' took his beloved 'Billy Bear' on tour with him- a day to remember indeed.