Loch Fyne day 3

After breakfast, as we walked into town we were amazed by the scenes over the lake.  The early morning mist hung low over the water and the hills opposite.  The air was so still that the water looked like a mirror, giving a perfect reflection of the mist and opposite shores.  Quite breathtaking.

Our visit this morning was to the Inveraray Jail, which was originally built in 1820, but stopped operating as a jail in 1889.  The buildings were renovated in 1989 and opened to the public.  The site is now one of Scotland's top tourist attractions.

A very interesting visit. There are 3 main buildings - the original jail building, the new jail building, and the courthouse.  An audio guide talks you through the complex and explains the history of the facility.  The scene in the courthouse has been recreated to look like a trial is in progress. Very well done.  See the photos ... notice anyone familiar in the public gallery?

The old-fashioned approach to discipline and "reformation" often included brutal methods that we would class as torture today.  See the thumb clamps in the photo, often used to inflict pain on a prisoner to force them to confess to a crime ... many times even if they were innocent!  During the tour I had my photo taken, inmate style.

After our release from the jail, we had lunch in a lovely little bistro pub in the town, called Brambles.  A very popular place for obvious reasons.  The food was delicious - we both had seafood chowder, followed by haddock and chips.

This afternoon we took a short drive north to the ruins of Kilchurn Castle, built on an island in Loch Awe in the mid-1400s, originally as the base of the Campbells of Glenorchy.  It was destroyed by a lightning strike in 1760 and has been abandoned ever since, although a restoration project has been started recently.  As a result, we were only able to walk around the outside.  The inclement weather added to the mysterious appearance of the once majestic structure.

We returned to the hotel and again made use of the swimming pool and related facilities.  Decided to skip supper this evening on account of our sizeable lunch.

Enjoy the photos.

Overlooking Loch Fyne this morning 

Entrance to Inveraray Jail 

Thumb screws

Inside the courthouse 

Courthouse public benches

My inmate profile photo

Kilchurn Castle

Kilchurn Castle, looking across the loch

Me in the hot tub

Me in the steam room