Premier Inn 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!<br><br>Then to Ben Nevis which is the highest peak in Scotland and all of the United ...

... pay on a ferry - ie £5 for a car, £45 for a bus! Apparently some locals got around this by picking up sheep just before crossing the bridge, since we were exempt from the toll if you were transporting livestock! Mercifully after much outcry the tolls are removed, and we crossed without incident. <br><br>Lunch was spent on Portree, the main town of the island. Josh and I got some fan freaking tastic fish and chippies which we enjoyed down at the port and then had a look around town. The ...

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

... br>Some other info Ross gave us.<br><br>- Scotish flag is based on a vision that St Andrew had while fighting the British a white cross shining against a blue sky.<br>- golf is actually illegal in Scotland, William the IV declared it illegal as it stopped the young men practising their archery, the law has never been changed.. lol<br><br>Back in Edinburgh, food and sleep,early start in the morning!!!!! oh no..

... dry out a little! Heading over the hill towards Bridge of Orchy I turn around and am rewarded with stunning views of Loch Tulla and the hills behind it. <br><br>By Bridge of Orchy I'm pretty tired but there are a still a few miles to go. It's 3pm but I pop into the hotel bar, grab a sandwich to fuel me to Tyndrum and meet three walkers heading the other way who'd had the same idea. They're wild camping and at least one of them isn't looking forward to a ...

... for reasons best only to the planners, winds its way around the housing estates of Caol, through some marshy land and finishes on a roundabout opposite Morrisons and McDonalds! Not really a fitting start or end to a National Trail! <br><br>What makes me smile today:<br><br>The sunshine - it was really hot today<br>The lovely people at the Great Glen Hostel<br>

Today's section sees a route up over the hill into Fort Augustus and then onto the Caledonian Canal through a series of locks to reach Loch Oich. <br><br>About four miles in I meet Ian, who is parked up off the path and is frantically making sandwiches to feed what looks like a small army. He's the support team for a group of 14 former Coldstream Guards who are walking the route to ...

... 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.<br>

... to the hotel at close to 10:30 and checked out, hailing a taxi to Queen Anne Station. My train wasn't until 12:21 so I had over an hour to kill which I spent reading movie magazines. My train to Ft. Williams left on time and I thoroughly enjoyed the scenery along the way. Stunning! I caught up on my journalling as well. I arrived at 4 PM and easily found my first night's lodging, St. Andrew's Guest House, an old house ...

Our next stop was Fort William. Sue was REALLY excited about it because of some theme park they had there. Unfortunately, it had not yet opened for the season. The only place we could find to stay was some big hotel up on the hill. We got a room, we left our bags there, we went for a cocktail. The one thing we noticed is there was no one ...