FLASHBACK #56: Bonny Scotland (Part 2)

Day 4 – Wednesday 28th July
Lochinver – Ullapool – Fort William (18ºC)

Our accommodation in Lochinver had been very comfy and made for a much needed sleep. After yet another heavy cooked breakfast, Bree got his things together while the owner of the B&B and I got chatting. A lady in her mid-50's, she was amazed with my hearing device. One of her granchildren had hearing problems and I happily told her my own history. I guess my own story offers hope to those who know people who suffer daily for not having the ability to hear. She was a charming, endearing woman with a small frame and it was so cute when she even waved us off as we drove away.

Having rose quite early at 8am, we knew that today was going to be another full day. We planned to go to the Old Man of Stoer, a distillery (somewhere!) and Eillan Dollan castle. We wanted to be in Fort William by evening so the timing was a bit unrealistic, perhaps. We headed back to Stoer and its lighthouse and parked the car in the carpark – there was a huge camper van from France so this place was clearly popular.

We got out of the car and set off in the direction as shown on one of the sign posts for the Old Man of Stoer. After more than an hour, we came to the stack. The pictures that we took didn't do the place justice – the scenery, the towering cliffs and the crashing of the waves on the rugged shoreline below all made for an impressive display of nature. The weather was pleasant enough and we had worked up a sweat during the trek to the site.

After a while, we headed back to the car park and, on the way, I got my feet wet in marshy grass.

Before we set off again, we admired the view of Stoer Lighthouse. It was about 11:30am by the time we set off again. Once again, we passed some pretty dramatic scenery and sort of lost track of time, although we knew we were sort of heading in the right direction!

We continued to drive along the North-western coast of Scotland and soon arrived at the picturesque fishing village of Ullapool.

While we were in Ullapool, we walked along the harbour-side and visited some of the stores. There was an amazing deal on shortbread so we bought several packages each. Since the place was very small, we covered it quite quickly.

From Ullapool, we continued our drive and came across a place called Ord which stank of manure! Unfortunately for us, there was a distillery in Ord and I had promised Bree that I would treat him to a whisky tour at a distillery whilst we were in Scotland since he appreciated whisky. How can you deny someone who appreciates whisky a visit to a distillery if they happen to be in Scotland?

Well, it was interesting to go on the tour. I didn't know anything about how whisky was made and, to be honest, whatever I learnt on that tour I have already forgotten because I just simply am not interested in whisky!

After the tour, Bree took part in a whisky tasting session, sampling four different whiskies from different parts of Scotland.

Without a doubt, Bree actually preferred the single malt from Glen Ord's own distillery. After the tasting session, Bree actually got merry since we had skipped lunch! As a souvenir from the trip, I bought him a thistle shaped whisky glass and a 12 year old bottle of single malt Glen Ord whisky.

After our visit, we headed back to the car where Bree ate all the crisps he could find to stave off the effects of the alcohol. He admitted to feeling a little bit woozy and I had to laugh!

We left the distillery at 4pm and I decided that visiting Ellan Dollan Castle was out of the question. Instead, we headed towards Fort William.

Back on the A82, we passed Loch Ness, Urquhart Castle and Fort Augustus once again, arriving at Fort William just before 7pm.

To save time in this very busy part of the Highlands, we enquired at the tourist office for a place to stay and managed to find a place not far from the centre for £65 for the room for the night including the usual cooked breakfast. Time was getting on and, as soon as we got into our room, we showered and headed into town for some dinner. Town was lively, fully of tourists who come to this part of Scotland to scale Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis (1,343m).

It emerged that practically every restaurant had a 30-45 minute waiting time so we had a drink while we waited for a table. The drink completely destroyed my appetite, but I still ate. I had soup followed by a mixed grill. Bree ordered Haggis for starters and steak for the main course.

Bree said that the Haggis was very nice, but due to the size of our portions, we left the restaurant stuffed to the brim. It was 11pm when we left the restaurant and we headed to our hotel. We watched some TV while the effects of the drink wore off.

Day 5 – Thursday 29th July
Fort William – Mallaig – Edinburgh (18ºC)

After waking at 8:45am and downing the usual cooked breakfast, we loaded up the car and headed towards the railway station. For the day, we would leave the car at the hotel. We split up for a bit; Bree collected the train tickets and I popped into Safeways to collect some things for a cheap lunch. We had twenty minutes until the Jacobite Steam Train – the same train used in the Harry Potter movies – departed for Mallaig.

We met up again at the railway station, boarded the train and found our seats. The train hooted as it left the station.

You could see smoke passing the windows as the train sped up – within minutes, the train chugged past Neptune's Staircase, the longest of the three staircase flights on the Caledonian Canal comprising eight lochs.

As the trip progressed, we noticed this bubbly old couple sitting opposite us engaging in witty banter that you just couldn't ignore. They were so nice and within minutes of leaving Fort William, we were chatting away about our experiences in Scotland. Such a nice couple, they were from Cornwall although the woman – a Londoner – was born in Holloway Road, in the same area where I was born! In their early 60's, the couple had meet in the 1960's and been married for more than 40 years. They were onboard with their own daughter and two grandsons. They were charming!

Soon, we passed the Glenfinnan Viaduct which appeared in one of the Harry Potter movies and was enjoying a renewed popularity on board train journeys like this.

The train stopped briefly at Glenfinnan railway station where people had an opportunity to visit the observation deck overlooking yet another loch and the infamous Glenfinnan Monument.

On 19 August 1745, at the head of Loch Shiel, Bonnie Prince Charllie raised his Standard, marking the start of his campaign to restore the exiled Stuarts to the throne. From this spot, he and his followers made it as far south as Derby before their eventual defeat the following year at Culloden.

The Glenfinnan Monument was designed by the Scottish architect James Gillespie Graham, and was erected in 1815 as a tribute to the clansmen who fought and died in the cause of the Stuarts.

This stop was particularly interesting for Bree because he heard Finnish being spoken somewhere in the background. There were a group of four Finnish guys travelling together and Bree said hello. They asked him, in their native tongue of course, to take a picture of them. Bree acquiesced.

We realised that we need to be careful from now on. Sometimes, we revert to Finnish when we wish to discuss things privately. Quite clearly, four of the five million Finns just happened to be on the same train as us!

Within minutes, everyone had clambered back on board and the train was on its way once more… When I first discovered that this journey would cost us £25 each, I thought it was a bit steep. After just 30 minutes onboard, however, it was already worth every penny.

Later, we passed a place called Morar where Morag, Nessie's cousin, is reputed to live. We got to Mallaig, a shabby seaside town, with two hours to look around before our scheduled return at 2.10pm.

We walked to the harbour full of trawlers where, in the distance, you could see the Isle of Skye. We sat down and ate the packed lunch I had collected from Safeway in Fort William. Afterwards, we visited the Mallaig Sealife Cenntre, as naff as the seaside town itself. It was so naff that it wasn't even worth the £2.75 entry fee where you could see lobsters, crabs and rays. The Conger Eel was impressive, however.

We left the Sealife Centre and wandered around the souvenir stores before heading back to the railway station.

We boarded the train with plenty of time and found that, on the way back, we were going to be sitting opposite the same family. Great! I asked what they thought of Mallaig and, judging by their expressions, I think they found is equally unimpressive.

Before long, the train was on its way – the weather had been very pleasant. Not very sunny, but shorts weather. The trip back traced the same route and, as expected, people clamoured for a space knowing that the Glenfinnan Viaduct was likely to make another appearance.

I secured my place by one of the doors and rolled down the window and stuck out my head. The appearance of the viaduct was greeted with Oooh's and Aaah's and wows!. When I returned to my seat, Bree told me that the smoke from the steam train had made my face all black. And I stupidly believed him! Bree and his jokes, eh?! I elbowed him as I sat down again…

As we approached Neptune's staircase, the train slowed down and we knew that we had nearly arrived back in Fort William. We arrived just after 4pm and headed to the hotel car park to collect the car. We had planned to travel to Edinburgh during the evening, but before setting off, I suggested we visit Nevis Range, just five minutes away by car, where we could take a cable car up to Anoach Nor (2,150 ft).

The weather held up well and you could see distant lochs and peaks. Lovely! We had a cup a coffee and shared a slice of Walnut Cake and, over conversation, decided to head for Edinburgh once we got back to base.

By the time we got back to base, it was 5.30pm. We located the car and were on our way. As we headed South along the A82, we reached Glencoe Village; it was here that the heavens opened and were therefore more than content to be heading South. We meandered along the A82 to Crianlarich then the A85 to Lockearnhead, later taking the A84 all the way to Stirling.

When we got to the M9, we stopped at a service area. Using my mobile phone, I called some hotels in Edinburgh to organise accommodation for the next two evenings. I contacted the Carlton Hotel – they were having problems with their systems and advised me to call again as we got closer to the city. We decided to do this.

Situated on North Bridge, the hotel was as central as you could get. Upon our arrival, I went inside while Bree waited in the car. After a bit of persuasion, the girl on reception finally agreed to sell one of the no-show rooms to us. By this time, it was already 9pm. We checked in, ate at the nearby Burger King, went for a walk down Prince's street and saw the magnificent castle standing on the Mound. We had a drink in our room at the hotel before turning in at 11pm.