Forecast was for wind and rain and it was raining. We decided to take the advice of a neighbouring boat and take the sightseeing bus round the island, stopping off at Mount Stuart. The bus was an open-topped double-decker, with the first few seats on top under cover. We had the first of the open seats but as the rain had stopped we did not get wet, just cold. After the other islands Bute is remarkably green and cultivated, so we saw more cows in the space of an hour than ever before. At Mount Stuart we were taken on a tour of the house (home of the Marquess of Bute), which is an amazing pile of different types of marble built in Victorian Gothic style. Well presented and an interesting tour but of course there were many interesting things which were not explained, in particular the special clocks. One had at least 4 dials and 2 had 24 hour faces. They hire out some of the rooms for weddings and other events – quite a venue!
After a brief lunch we started to explore the gardens, which are enormous and better not visited in pouring rain. Much of the grounds are occupied with trees and shrubs, so it appears to be a large arboretum. As the map was getting soggy and my shoes were filling with water we missed a good deal and headed for the kitchen garden where we warmed ourselves in the heated greenhouse full of tropical plants. We took the bus back to Rothesay and arrived in more pouring rain, glad we had not spent the day sailing. The boat is on a pontoon, connected to shore power, so we soon started to dry off.
The weather forecast suggests tomorrow will be better…
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| Inchmarnock and Arran. Glad we are not sailing. |
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| Mount Stuart |
