Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip
We left Oban, The Little Bay in Argyll and Bute via Kilmerford, Lochgilphead, Furnace going to Inveraray on July 16, 2008 at around 11:14am. We could have used highway A85 from Oban to Inveraray but we wanted to enjoy the panoramic views along Loch Fyne so we drove via Lochgilphead. We especially went to Inveraray to see the Inveraray Castle. Then from Inveraray we went to Glasgow, then passed by Carnwath, Innerleithen, Selkirk going to Hawick, Scotland.
Loch Fyne is a sea loch in Argyll and Bute in Scotland. Loch Fyne is about 65 kilometers or 40 miles from the Sound of Bute to Clachan, Cairndow, Argyll making it the longest sea loch in Scotland. Sound of Bute is a channel separating the islands of Arran and Bute on the west coast of Scotland.
Inveraray Castle is a remarkable Scottish castle located in Inveraray along Loch Fyne in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll. It is a unique kind of castle incorporating Baroque, Palladian and Gothic architecture featuring four imposing French influenced conical spires surmounting the stone castelated towers. The initial design and the construction of the castle began in 1720 and was completed in 1789 during the time of the 5th Duke of Argyll John Campbell and his wife Elizabeth.
We did not go inside the Inveraray Castle itself. We also did not stay long on the grounds of the Inveraray Castle because we knew that the trip to Hawick would take long as we especially drove along Loch Fyne and thought of driving along Loch Lomond too.
When we were already along Loch Lomond, we tried to go to Loch Lomond Golf Club so we could at least take our lunch there. We knew that there was a big golf tournament in Loch Lomond Golf Club a few days before that day but we did not go to Loch Lomond. We opted to stay in St. Andrews during that time. Unfortunately, the guard in Loch Lomond Golf Club did not allow us to go inside because we are not members of the golf club.
We were surprised because Scottish golf clubs are normally accommodating. Scottish people are normally friendly. We did not know that Loch Lomond Golf Club was that snobbish. We tried to understand that maybe they were just strict during that time because of the Barclays Scottish Open in Loch Lomond Golf Club on July 10 to 13, 2008.
It was the first time that we were refused to enter a golf club in Scotland. We would understand if we were not allowed to play golf if the golf club is for members only but to be refused just for entering the grounds of the golf club was a little bit unusual.
I was not able to take any pictures of Loch Lomond because I was hoping to get them from the grounds of Loch Lomond Golf Club. We did not bother to go to Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park anymore too.
Anyway, we just continued our travel until we reached Glasgow. We did not stop by Glasgow but we were able to go around the city as we could not get out of the city center that fast. It took us long before we found the exit to the highway. 
When we finally got out of Glasgow, we continued our trip using the small roads instead of the highways. It was an enjoyable trip knowing that almost every village we passed by from Glasgow to Peebles including Selkirk and Hawick has a golf course. A haven for golf players indeed.
We arrived in Hawick, Scotland at around 5:25pm. It took us more than six hours to reach Hawick instead of just 4-5 hours travel time from Oban, Argyll and Bute, Scotland to Hawick, Scotland.
Updated on October 21, 2009
Links to Our Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
Scotland Golf Vacation in Summer 2008
Scottish Borders Tourist Route to Edinburgh
First Day, Edinburgh City, Scotland
Second Day, Edinburgh, Scotland
St. Andrews, The Home of Golf
Scotland’s Malt Whisky Trail
Inverness, the Mouth of the River Ness in Scotland
Scotland Lochs: Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, Loch Linnhe, Loch Creran
Oban, The Little Bay in Scotland Trip
Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip
Hawick, Scottish Borders, Scotland Trip
Colchester, Essex, England Side Trip
Leeds Castle, Maidstone, Kent, England Side Trip
Related Links:
Inveraray Castle
Inveraray Castle, in Wikipedia
Loch Fyne, in Wikipedia
[...] Lochs: Loch Ness, Loch Lochy, Loch Linnhe, Loch Creran Oban, The Little Bay in Scotland Trip Inveraray Castle, Inveraray, Scotland Side Trip Hawick, Scottish Borders, Scotland Trip Colchester, Essex, England Side Trip Leeds Castle, [...]
[...] arrived in Hawick, Scottish Borders, Scotland from Oban, Scotland via Inveraray on July 16, 2008 at around 5:25pm. We had no brochures or any information materials about Hawick. [...]