The morning kicked off with a photo walk around Corpach along the canal to photograph the shipwreck of a former fishing boat, MV Dayspring, that washed ashore during a storm in 2011. After breakfast, we traveled through the final lock of the Caledonian Canal.
During the morning, Professor Buzz Thompson gave a lecture titled “The Highland Clearances: Causes and Modern-Day Repercussions” and afterward, naturalist Robin Patten gave a talk, “The Rise and Fall of the Caledonian Forests.”
After the presentations, we went on the deck for the scenic view sailing into Oban past Dunollie Castle with views of McCaig's Folly above the city.
After lunch, guests had the option to take two walks. The longest walk followed the waterfront to the ruins of Dunollie Castle, the home to the clan MacDougall. The shorter walk climbed up to McCaig's Folly, a circular tower above the town built by wealthy banker John Stuart McCaig as a monument to his family. McCaig hired unemployed stone masons to build the monument starting in 1895, and construction stopped when he died in 1902.
We wrapped up the day in Oban with a whiskey tasting onboard with the former manager of the Oban Distillery, Frances MacMillan.
