Loch Leven Hotel Fort William

... relentless and the headwind means that I'm taking it face on. I'm frustrated that everyone I meet coming the other way looks almost dry! Still, my waterproofs and boots are doing an excellent job and underneath I'm not really wet. The moor seems bleak in this weather but on a clear day there are obviously stunning views to be had.

Heading down to Inverornan, the clouds suddenly roll away and the sun comes out. I ...

... Ways (and was totally lost!) and a couple out picking blackberries.

Fort William wasn't what I expected - it's certainly not a beautiful town and the '60s and '70s housing developments above the town don't exactly blend in with Ben Nevis and the stunning hills behind. The Great Glen Way takes walkers all the way to the end of the Caledonian Canal and ...

... brake, and the car that didn't like indecision! Some of the main streets were closed because of tramline-building, which confused the NavMan, ever-insistent that we go through roads which were impassable.

In the end, we just took off in the general direction we thought was right, and relied on the NavMan eventually saying "re-calculating route". After many twists and turns and small ...

The rest of the drive up has been lovely but it's all been a bit of a warm up to this .. it's stunning up here. We took a roundabout scenic route up from Callander to Fort William which was beautiful..up through Glencoe etc.. We topped it off by popping out for a 'quick' drive out for an hour or so after we checked in at 5.30. Well we ended up taking a slightly bigger drive than anticipated all around the A861and ...

Another castle I wasn't able to get across to. The water level was too high and they weren't running the boat. I hiked as far as I could across the boggy field, but after again going shin deep into water, I decided to turn back.

Some interesting waterfalls along the way over here, as well as behind the castle.

... and having vinegar perhaps added to it...). While eating on a park bench in the middle of the main park here we could look over cathedrals, churches and the bottom end of the shops.


Heading home via the Spean Bridge, we stopped off quickly at the Commando memorial and take the mickey out of the local 'flock'. We also past through Loch Laggan and Dalwhinnie. Late night arriving home, bout 11pm.

... we drove up to Loch Ness. We couldn't be so close by and not take a chance at seeing Nessie! And, just as with everything with our trip, though it was raining on the way up to the Loch, it stopped just as we got out of the car and allowed us to walk around rain-free. We've been incredibly lucky with the weather this whole trip.

Near the loch, there is a photo spot where you can take pictures with a cute metal sculpture of Nessie and her baby. We, of course, took ...

... board when you want to cross and he'll come over and get you ;) Even the fare doesn't get paid until your return trip. Perfect for us!

This is a great little island with only a few inhabitants, and the pathss connecting the homes are basically 4x4 tracks weaving in and around the hills througout the island. A mild form of mountain biking, I quite enjoyed the change - bikes with no load!

Working our way around to the ...

... a good meal at the hotel (Scottish sakmon, scampi, mussels, with NZ sauvignon blanc) and a good B&B. Ben View Guest House Ben View We went to the see the Ben Nevis Gondola but the clouds were too low to make the trip worth while. This area is a big ski field in winter. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great Britain. On the way to Ayr ...

... reason they put us upstairs by ourselves in this tiny room. We were obviously having too much fun or something as after a while this poor woman had to come upstairs and stand in the doorway and watch us. Kind of inhibiting, so started asking her for fresh drinks, one at a time just to get a bit of privacy. Meal was good though, and they let us come downstairs for coffee. So all (except Alan and Eli) stopped off for a final whisky in pub, then taxi back to Glen Nevis.