We headed for Tyngrum taking a break at The Green Welly Stop. This place can't be recommended for it's food but it has clean rest rooms, petrol, a fabulous shop that has Scottish goodies (shortbread, whiskey and lollies) and a great range of outdoor clothing and accessories plus good phone reception. This was important as I had timed our stop to coincide with a job interview, only interrupted once by a fighter jet flying directly overhead, so loud that I couldn't be heard!! Interview complete we headed off again and on to Fort William where we stayed at a fabulous B & B, Buccleuch Guesthouse. This was 5 star but at a reduced rate online so we feel like we got a great bargain. It was sumptuous to say the least and that influenced our decision to stay for a second night. The service, food and the bed were fantastic - think Grandma's feather bed covered in luxury linen.
Fort William is a small town but a hub for loads of activities. It is where the West Highland Way ends (we will walk that before we leave) and the road out of town leads to castles, bens, lochs. Eateries are few and far between but we managed to find a pub with reasonable meals and a deck to sit on to watch the sun go down.
Our first stop next day was the Caledonian Canal where we laced up our walking boots and hit the track up beside the canal. We were really fortunate to see a boat just starting to go into the lock at Neptune's Staircase. We stayed around and watched it move up a couple of locks. Patience required. We missed a turn off but as you can just keep walking alongside the canal we still had an enjoyable walk before heading back to the car.
Next we were off to Mallaigh. On the way we stopped at Glenfinnan and climbed the hill to view the viaduct on one side (aka Harry Potter's viaduct) and the monument at the top of Loch Shiel where Bonnie Prince Charlie rallied his troops. The monument was closed and it was bitterly cold on the top of the hill so we headed off again, not before smiling for the Google Maps photographer, and enjoyed the spectacular scenery on our way to Mallaigh. It is a tiny port town, filled with tiny coloured fishing boats and the large ferries that provide transportation to the Isle of Skye. We had left our run a bit late that day and the weather didn't look so good for staying the next day on Skye so we had some lunch and a quick look through the shops and headed back to Fort William.
On the way we diverted to look at Loch Morar, Scotland's deepest loch. It was magnificent in its isolation. A few houses on the shores but no one to be seen. It's so hard to capture the colours (various shades of brown mainly), the light and the sky but it was all really intense and would be a fantastic place to just get away from everything.
Day Two we headed north out of Fort William with our first stop at Fort Augustus. This is another beautiful little town on the Caledonian canal. We watched more boats going through the locks there. Not too far on from Fort Augustus was our favourite castle so far, Urquhart Castle.
Actually it's not a complete castle because it was totally ransacked in the 1500's (and apparently since then by locals for their use!). It's now in the care of Historic Scotland and it is has a great display in the visitor centre but also what is left of the castle gives you a great idea of its proportions. There are plenty parts that you can climb up, and the views of Loch Ness, which it overlooks, are just stunning. The only siting we had was of a lone motorboat, dwarfed by the size of the loch.
From there we drove up the side of the loch to Inverness where we stayed in a B&B on the banks of the river. After a long walk around the town centre we found a fabulous Italian restaurant, Riva. They had a selected early evening menu which we thoroughly enjoyed. We finished it all off with the best cup of coffee we had had to that point in Scotland. The barista was new to the job that night but he nailed it - real coffee made well - a satisfying end to the day.
Day Two we headed north out of Fort William with our first stop at Fort Augustus. This is another beautiful little town on the Caledonian canal. We watched more boats going through the locks there. Not too far on from Fort Augustus was our favourite castle so far, Urquhart Castle.
From there we drove up the side of the loch to Inverness where we stayed in a B&B on the banks of the river. After a long walk around the town centre we found a fabulous Italian restaurant, Riva. They had a selected early evening menu which we thoroughly enjoyed. We finished it all off with the best cup of coffee we had had to that point in Scotland. The barista was new to the job that night but he nailed it - real coffee made well - a satisfying end to the day.
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