Kilmartin Hotel is situated across the street from the local church and churchyard, which is also next to the a museum dedicated to the archaeological sites that surround the area. There are over 800 sites, including cairns, standing stones, and pictographs within 6 miles of Kilmartin. Tami was in heaven.

Kilmartin churchyard

Starting with the local churchyard, there were many headstones of varying ages, including terraces of them going down the hillside. Within the churchyard there was also a display of stone slabs that dated from the 1200’s through the 1700’s. At the museum, there were great explanatory displays of life during the stone through bronze ages when the standing stones and cairns were presumably built.

Medieval stone slabs

Standing stones

After yet another Full Scottish Breakfast, we grabbed our cameras and headed out to explore the churchyard in full daylight, a brief stop at the excellent museum to learn some background, and then off to find the standing stones. They were just a mile down the road and down a short path into a sometimes sheep field. Sheep patties everywhere, but there were the stones standing in the sunshine. (Yes, it was once again a sunny day.) The first set of five stones are arrayed in a rough, elongated X formation, the significance of which it seems archaeologists are still debating. We just thought they were cool. We then walked over to the next area which was a circle of stones.

Stone circle

These were more the size and shape of extra-large headstones and then later had a cairn type layer of stones place around them. Good stuff.
On we went down the road, heading for Oban. Oban seemed like a very cute town on a beautiful harbor. We stopped just long enough for Don to buy a bottle of Oban whisky to remember his former dog Oban with, and to look around in a woolens and kilt shop.
Back on the road, we suddenly noticed a very picturesque castle out on a small island. We stopped to check it out and get some pictures. It turned out it is called Stalker Castle. There was a great viewpoint, complete with a lunch cafe, so we got lunch after taking our pictures. We have been very pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food in Scotland so far. Not what you expect in Great Britain. More on that later.

Stalker Castle

As we continued our long day of driving, we drove the length of Loch Ness. We looked and looked, but no sightings of Nessie. Just past Loch Ness we entered Inverness. We just missed the 5:00 closing of the tourist center, so Don and Mike were sent out on foot to hunt down a place to stay. Fortunately within a few minutes they stumbled up a street lined with them. Knocking on doors they quickly located one with two rooms available, and knowing they would be asked, even remembered to look at the rooms before booking them. Tami and Peggy were quite happy at the return of the successful hunters.
A brief walk over to Inverness Castle (which seems to be taken over by municipal offices) under some foreboding skies was followed by another pub dinner, and then we all went back and crashed, listening to some wild winds as the storm blew through the area.

Clouds at sunset hint at the impending storm