Just chilling.... only it was warm

After a week in Tarbert enjoying the beautiful harbour and dodgy Co-op fresh food, we thought it was time to move on. We paid the harbourmaster's wife (lovely lady) and didn't have the chance to ask the strange English guy why we had upset him or why we got his "treatment". As it was still forecast to be pretty windy, we decided to hide in Port Bannatyne for a couple of nights because we love it there before heading south, ready to head north. Confusing, isn't it.

Arriving in Bute we dug out the folding bikes and headed into Rothesay for a wander around. It was easy to work out where we were:

We've always admired this building:

and its location high above the bay. We contemplated a lunch sitting on their terrace to enjoy the views but then we read the reviews of the food online and thought better of it. Shame, lovely building, stunning setting.

We had to revisit the great Musiker bistro / cafe place and partake in a coffee/ cake break. We also wandered around the castle - especially as our membership of Cadw (Welsh Heritage) give us free access. Why Welsh Heritage? Well, it is a lot cheaper then English heritage to join and you get reciprocal visiting rights so why not?

Like many castles, it is under repair / restoration:

but unlike many, it is right in the town and so the views from the walls are unusual:

Another difference was that the great room was hosting a wedding so we had to wait for them to become spliced before we could see the interior:

Upsetting; although we were the only non wedding guests around they didn't find a couple of spare glasses for us. Later we saw that they were quaffing cheap Cava so we felt better at being missed out. In true Scots fashion they had a piper, but as soon as the happy (we assume) couple appeared, he sprinted down the steps and vanished. Perhaps he doesn't like cheap Cava either or maybe he had a second wedding to attend:

The friendly Scottish Heritage guy at the entrance warned us that there were lots of seagulls around who were "fractious". He wasn't kidding! We escaped unpecked and without any poo on us luckily.

We do like Bute. Even though it was way busier than normal thanks to "Butefest" at the weekend. A big music event down at Ettrick Bay (see earlier posts for images of that) with "Big Country" headlining it. They even run special buses from the ferry terminal. OK, maybe the acts are not on the scale of  Glastonbury but Bute is a small island after all.