Nevis Bank Hotel Fort William

Today we left the amazing Morags Hostel and started heading down the west coast of Scotland. Past Loch Oich and Loch Locchie - which is where the battle of the shirts occured. It was so hot on the day of the battle that halfway through a ceasefire was called, and everyone jumped in the Loch for a dip. It was still so hot that most men resumed fighting in just their shirts, or just plain naked!

Then to Ben Nevis which is the highest peak in Scotland and all of the United ...

... each year. The person who runs up it, back down and to the bar in the pub is the winner. Apparently it has been done in 45 minutes before! It harks back to the war, when a Scottish soldier was fighing with a man of Nepalese descent. The Scot told the Nepalese man if they got out of the war, they would go to Scotland and live in peace. So the war ended and they went back to the highlands. One day they were sitting at the pub, 5 drinks into a session when the Scot said 'so what do you ...

... is sadly known for being voted the city with the ugliest people in Scotland! Not the best of awards to win. Had a quick look around and Josh even managed to squeeze in a quick haircut!

Then to the local distillery, a quick tour and some samples - i had a quick taste, but i'm truly not a whiskey person - josh said the Penderyn one in Wales was better.

Onwards to Loch Ness which is the best known of the 4 Lochs in the Scottish Highlands ...

... up to the room and bagged the double bed and then went into town for a walk around. Took a few pictures of Loch Ness and some of the town. Not much going on here, just a few shops for the tourists. Back to the hostel for a drink and to use the PC's so that I can upload some photos (which you may have noticed already!). Not sure what to do tomorrow???

... now. Apparently in teh 90s they did a sonar search of the lake and apparently there are 18 creatures in the Loch but living way, way, way down in the Loch. Ross did seem quite straight faced when he siad this but I'm not too sure!!

According to legend St Columbo banished the creature to the Loch because he hassled his comrades during his time he spent in Scotland converting the locals. The first ...

... today is terrible, we are walking in 35-50 mph winds and it is constantly raining in our faces. We get to the half way point (in height any way) and stop for some thing to eat. The second half of the
mountain climb was a lot harder than the first and as we climb higher and higher we get further and further into the clouds and it gets colder and windier as we climb. We finally reach the summit and the ...

I've made it to Fort William, checked into the SYHA Glen Nevis and decided to go for a walk in to town to get some dinner. Little did I know that it was 3.5 miles each way in the pouring rain to Morrisons.

Gone to far to turn around and I am wet now.

... streets and t-junctions, we eventually found the main motorways out of Edinburgh.... and finally on the way to Oban. It was special to be back beside the sea after so long.... the smell, the water and the sounds of birds. The seagulls here were huge!.... about twice the size of those at home. It had the lazy atmosphere so consistent with seaside towns, even with a busy metropolis so close by.

Had to get out of the Castle.. Took the train out with out new friend Jordan from Aus.. He took our recommendation for the Castle Rock Hostel and headed to Edinburgh while we headed back to Inverness to try and get the car for another day.. after finding our way to the middle of no where airport.. and a little begging we got the car for another day and headed down to Fort William -- Glen Nevis --

... stopped off at Glencoe to see a monument to the MacDonald's who fought the English. What a great area to visit: Glencoe I have included some other photos I took along the way. We stopped at Tyndrum for afternoon tea. Biggest scone I have ever eaten. We also passed through some spectactual scenery along Loch Lomond. My shots don't do it justice.