After Inveraray, next stop is the Oyster Bar

Famed as (a) the place where Robbie Coltrane had his wedding reception (b) the place where Gordon Brown and John Prescott met in the car park to discuss removing Tony Blair from power. Afterwards Prescott told journalists that 'the plates were moving'. They thought he meant the tectonic plates under the Labour Party. He meant the plates of lobster and scampi. I love to stop here for half an hour - not neccessarily to eat sea-food, but just to wallow in the fact that this place is located in a wild wind-swept valley, hemmed in by dark hills, and seems quite elemental. On one occasion I went into the toilet in the Oyster bar, and almost immediately the fire alarm went off. As I was leaving, a Fire Engine was just arriving (from where? -it is in the middle of nowhere). The Japanese tourists were terribly excited and were filming the drama of the fire-crew battling to put out a non-existent blaze. They clearly believed that this was entertainment laid on for their benefit.