On our first trip to Scotland my wife and I wanted to stay at the Western Isles Hotel. It is an historic hotel, built in 1882, high on the hill above Tobermory. A more scenic place to stay would be hard to find.
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| Tobermory Bay - Western Isles Hotel at upper right |
But they only had one vacant room. And so my parents, who were travelling with us, were able to stay, but my wife and I had to find a B&B on the other side of town. Since then my wife and I have stayed in the hotel twice, and I stayed there by myself for a few winter days in 2000 (see book 1, chapter 13). The price has gone up quite a bit since then, and now costs something like 200 a night in the summer. But it's well worth it to stay in this amazing place, which made an appearance in the 1945 classic island film 'I Know Where I'm Going' (see this link).
A ponderous building constructed in whinstone rubble with red sandstone dressings...was erected at a time when it seemed that Victorian tourism might make Tobermory one of the most fashionable watering places in the west. High above the Mishnish pier ...its grim skyline dominates the bay.
It can be grim; on a wet and windy day. But on a bright spring day, with the harbour below full of ships, it is anything but grim. I have found myself 'stranded' in Tobermory several times over the years. By stranded, I mean on a cruise where the fellow passengers wanted to go ashore to visit the shops. I am not a shopper, so to pass the time I'll go for a walk east to Aros Park, or west to the Rubha nan Gall lighthouse. Then I'll spend whatever time is left enjoying a beer, along with the view, up on the patio of the Western Isles. Try it, I think you'll like it.
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| View from the bar patio |
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