Woke up 4 because my wristwatch wa accidently set on alarm. It was raining on my "roof window" so there was no need for birding this morning. I went to sleep again. Then woke up at the proper time to pack my things for loading in the car at 8.10. Breakfast at 8.20 and leaving to the ferry at 9.10. This hotel had a very late breakfast so we had to arrange with them to make it a bit early and fast this morning. They had prepared so everything went smothly.
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| At Arran ferry berth |
As it was still raining there were no need to try to look for birds on the ferry. So everyone stayed in the car. We arrived at Claonaig on Kintyre at 10.00 and drove south on a single lane road. Lots of them around here. Once and again we stoped at meeting spots to let cars pass us. Still raining. The forest looks a bit like rainforest so a bit strange. We drove along the coast down to Carradales harbor where we birded for a while. At this location we had a nice view over Arran we just left. And now the sun peeked through the clouds and mist so we had a rather nice time birding.
The birds has a kind of "highway" where most of them flew. It was in between the two land masses. It made it possible to study the flight of the Manx Shearwater (mindre lira). Quite interesting, they fly with stiff wings close to the watersurface. Then they flap the wings fast and then glides for a few seconds again. There was also a lot of gannets flying the same route but higher up in the sky.
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| Fishingboat in Carradale |
Leaving the harbour we went to a Coffee shop for a light meal. Suited me perfectly. A cup of coffee and a cupcake and a Meringue, just what I wanted, no more no less. :) No need to throw anything away. I liked the building opposite the Coffee shop. It is beautiful and...it was a small museum in it. Showing the life of fishermen. And it seems like you can play chess on the ground. :)
Heading south again. We arrived at
Craigard House Hotel in Campbeltown at 13,05 and got our rooms. I was on the second floor on the back of the hotel. Today I have 3 beds and both a shower cabin and a bathtub. Gosh, I´ll be very clean. :) A backdraw here is the plugs, again! But I manage.
The hotel has a birdfeeder outside, quite fun to watch, and a fat dog that anyone is allowed to take for a walk.
At 13.40h we were picked up by a taxi to go to the destilleries Springbank and Glengyle. It was raining heavilly again so taxi was great. At first we was given a tour around both factories. It was midseason so there was no workers present. Therefore easy to see it all.
We could also taste the early version of the whisky. Long before it was finished (mäsk). After seeing both destilleries we went to "The Tasting Room" at Cadenheads. We could taste 6 diffrent whiskys of their own making. And a little snack to it. It was interesting to notice what a diffence the barrels and the storage time made to the final product.
When we were finished it had stoped raining so we walked back to the hotel. A few birds appeared on the way and it was a nice walk along the shore.
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| Campbeltown bay, our hotel on the left side. |
Dinner was served at 19.15. I chosed a dish with Brie stuffed chicken. It was really good but I thought the tomato sauce was a bit too strongly flavored thus spoiling the taste of the cheese.
After dinner we ended the day by checking our birdlist for today. Not so many, bit nice, birds today.
Talked with my daughter on SKYPE tonight. Not long because the connection was lousy. Wrote on my diary and checked the mail. And todays shots.
A cool hotel, isn´t it?
Morning birding at 7 tomorrow.
120629-30 Craigard House Hotel, Campbeltown
http://www.craigard-house.co.uk/
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Swedish:
Här med utsikt över Arran som vi kom ifrån. Vi hade tur och hade uppehållsväder mest hela tiden vi var där. Det var dimma först men den lättade.
Här fick jag möjlighet att se hur Mindre Liran uppförde sig. Den sveper nära vattnet med stela vingar. Några snabba slag och sen glider den någon sekund. Intressant! Vi fick också lite närmare kontakt med havssulan. Bla annat kom det några ungfåglar.
På väg därifrån gick vi in på ett Cofee room och åt lite lätt lunch. Jag tog kaffe, scones och en maräng
Vi anlände till hotel Craigard House Hotel vid 13.05. Jag fick ett tre sängsrum med både duschkabin och badkar. Ingen vidare utsikt, men det går ju att gå ut. De har en fågelmatning, det var lite kul. Och en fet jycke som vill bli omklappad.
Kl 13-40 blev vi hämtade av en taxi för att komma till destillerierna Springbank and Glengyle och wisky provning. Det hällregnade igen så det var skönt att vara inne på visningen av fabriken. Det såg ut precis som modellen vi såg häromdagen. ....oops, swedish :( 
I met one of the birders in my area on the library and he said there was a Ring-necked duck in Oxelösund. He seemed frustrated as he has no car. Well, we decided to go on Good Friday. The city is on the coast 1,5h drive east of where I live. We headed for the harbor where it had been seen. 
Well, the benefit of company is that you can do a little of other things while this guy checked out one Tufted duck after another. We also met a pair of my travel companions to CostaRica two years ago. They exchanged phone no so they could alert one another if they spotted the ringed one. 
