With a sign like that, how can you NOT go in?
One of the questions we were frequently asked when describing our plans for this trip was "will you be renting a car?" Our answer is usually "we're going to be on vacation; we'll let someone else take care of navigation." Seriously though, when one lives in LA, not having to drive is a welcome break. Not to mention that whole left hand side of the road bit to adjust to. Traveling in Europe, it's never been an issue getting from place to place. So after we'd set our itinerary and booked our hotels, le Monsieur was dismayed to learn that on Sundays (our travel day between Oban and Windermere) that rail service was limited, and we wouldn't be able to make a necessary train connection in Glasgow. No problem...he did some research and hired a taxi service at a flat rate for the first leg of the trip from Oban to Glasgow where we'd pick up the train for the remainder.
Had we been able to take trains the full way, it would have been about a 5-6 hour trip. Not long after we set off in the taxi, our driver Jim started talking about some of the local sights, including the Inverary prison. We didn't pay much attention, until we hit the turnoff for Inverary, and he assured us that this was a more scenic route, one we wouldn't have seen from the train coming in. As we neared Inverary, he became quite insistent that we stop and visit the prison (actually a former prison, now a tourist attraction) and that we'd have plenty of time to get to Glasgow to make our train. At this point, I figured he either had family that ran the place or was getting some sort of kickback from them. So alright, how bad could this be?
See? Dogs allowed, how civilized.
The first part of the tour was the most lurid (as evidenced from the sign at top) with models and illustrations of various forms if torture and punishment. Then the tour wound through the various prison facilities with either wax models or illustrations and information in each cell and room. What became obvious and was sad was that a majority of people imprisoned became "criminals" due to poverty and mental illness. Even young children were imprisoned for crimes like stealing. (One placard made the point that for the most impoverished, prison life was an improvement over their usual circumstances.)
Many of the rooms had wax figurines to illustrate, and we were startled when we entered one cell and the "prisoner" spoke to us! Apparently there are actors in period costumes scattered about the place, including a "jailer" who kept popping around to see if we had any questions.
Outdoor "exercise" pens, one for men, one for women
When we returned to the taxi after about 30 minutes, it became apparent that what Jim had really wanted was a smoke break. But he did get us to the train station in plenty of time.
However the rest of our trip would not be straightforward either. Due to work on the rail lines, we were to be put on 2 busses, and then a train for the last short leg. What would have been a 2 hour train ride now was to be a 5 hour road trip. But the countryside was lovely, we made all of the connections despite a late start, and ultimately arrived in the Lake District, a full 10 hours after we'd set out.
Castle ruin, now a public park across street from one of our bus stops.
But the irritations of the day quickly wore off once we saw the view from our accommodations...
Have you taken journeys that didn't go quite as planned?
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