Scotland Summer 2004 - Colonsay House Gardens


During our last day on Colonsay we had planned to visit Colonsay House Gardens. As it turned out they didn't open until the afternoon, so we had to kill some time until then. We began with the mundane and sat down in the lounge of the hotel to get some work done on our laptops. Once that was done we left for Kiloran Bay again, where we drove up to Uragaig to enjoy the views. My sister managed to take a picture of a bumblebee on a thistle. Then we drove over to Kilchattan to visit the Colonsay bookshop. Soon the afternoon had arrived and we made our way to Colonsay House to visit the gardens:

Colonsay House was first built in 1722 and has been enlarged several times since. The house itself is not open to the public, but the gardens and some of the woodlands to the south are open to visitors. It was too late in the year for the rhododendrons, bluebells and most of the shrubs, so we mainly enjoyed the woodlands with their ponds and variety of trees. We also came across a fearless rabbit, which allowed my sister to get really close and take pictures. To the east of the house we looked at the eight-century Riasg Buidhe Cross standing near a small well. Later in the afternoon we returned to Scalasaig to catch the ferry to Oban.

We arrived back in Scalasaig with plenty of time to spare, we were the first car in the queuing area for the ferry. Time enough for an early dinner at The Pantry above the harbour, followed by a walk on the pier and around the harbour. Then the ferry arrived and soon we left Colonsay after three nice days. Unfortunately the crossing didn't turn out as we had hoped: Instead of a mild sunny evening it was cloudy and visibility was fairly low. We still stayed outside for large parts of the crossing, trying to identify some of the islands we were passing. I've heard the crossing and the views are very nice on a sunny day. Late in the evening we arrived in Oban, McCaig's Tower looking impressive in the fading light. Then it was just a quick drive to the hotel before going to bed to get some sleep.

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