123.
Liam and I set off on our long journey to my hometown of Rothesay on the Isle of Bute. The purpose of this excursion was to visit my relatives who remain on the island, and to go to the Bute Highland Gathering. We set off with a spring in our step, a full tank of petrol and enough sandwiches and snacks to feed an army... we were going the long way! Our first port of call was Stirling, where the Castle was photographed from up close. We followed the road to Loch Lomond and on through Balloch and up to Arrochar and the Rest-and-be-Thankful where we paused to enjoy the view, sunshine and sandwiches, and to curse our decision to take this steep, winding and caravan full route. After our pause, we headed off down Hell's Glen, where we had excellent views of Inveraray, Inveraray Castle and Dunderave Castle. By now the traffic had thinned, and I was on a road I know like the back of my hand, so overtaking was not a problem. We passed through Strachur, then on to Glendaruel, before finally arriving at Colintraive, from where we caught the Wee Ferry to Rhubodach. Our trip from Dundee to Bute took just over three hours, but we still made it to the Games. We sat under the late-summer sun, and mingled with the large crowd, watching the heavy athletes tossing their cabers as we waited for the massed pipe bands. Once it was all over, it was time to visit relatives, but not before we drove round the island to Kilchattan Bay. The day was rounded off with West End sausage suppers, which we ate beside the fountain. A damn good day (apart from the caravans).