A Son of the Rock

After Oban it was on to Inveraray (Inbhir Aora) on the shores of Loch Fyne. That Gaelic spelling, by the way, suggests it should still be pronounced Inverayrah though most people seem to have given up on that and say it as it is spelled in English.

The town signs announce it as “Birthplace of Neil Munro.” To those of my vintage that immediately conjures up images of Roddy McMillan, John Grieve, Walter Carr and Alex McAvoy in the BBC Scotland productions of The Vital Spark stories and sure enough sitting in the harbour (or at least at the shoreside) is that venerable fictional puffer; or anyway the boat that stood in for it.

Some of those original programmes seem to be available on You Tube. An example is below. The humour was gentle and a bit obvious but it’s a reminder of other times.

There was a later BBC Scotland TV version of these stories starring Gregor Fisher but it never quite caught the spirit of the first incarnation.

Also on the shore side is Inveraray’s War memorial. It’s a nice one this, showing a kilted soldier.