Maureen's Travel Blog

Not the best night’s sleep. I’m not sure why as the room and beds were comfortable enough. But the glorious view of the day before was now shrouded in mist and rain. ‘Twas to be a monochromatic sort of day.  Here is a charcoal sketch done from our bedroom window, weather a far cry from the day before.

We headed back across the bridge to the mainland towards Fort William in drizzle – Ben Nevis was lost in mist. We crossed Rannock Moor, the largest expanse of nothingness in the UK. Much of the time thereon was spent in the bus as the weather was so awful with short breaks at various viewpoints to stretch our legs. Steve continued to try and entertain us with his barbaric Scottish yarns, many of which included Jacobites or McCleods or McDonalds, never a Campbell!

Lunch was taken at the Tyndrum Inn where we chose a healthy salad but then promptly treated ourselves to a bag of liquorice all sorts each for the bus!

We passed through such places as Crainlarich, Glen Ogle, Lochearnhead, The Trossacks, Loch naig was the last Loch – banana shaped, Callender…. but saw little of them in the pouring rain. At one point the sun tried to come out causing a series of dramatic rainbows. Steve told us about the Castle used for films including Game of Thrones (now in Ireland)

We continued on through Stirling, saw Sculptures of white horses, on through West Lothian and finally back on the M9 motorway to Edinburgh. After saying our goodbyes we took a taxi to our pre-booked Holiday Inn.  What luxury after the hostels!

Next morning we set off for Skye!  Stopped for coffee at the most beautiful setting of Eilean Donon Castle at Dornie.
Next…. Over bridge to Skye… many appropriate traveling songs were played to us on the bus but not this one, strangely enough.

Portree for lunch on Skye – lovely little harbour town, beautiful weather.

The weather then changed as we drove up to Staffin. We stretched our legs at cliff edge and looked out across the North Sea – would have been beautiful on a clear day. There was a lone piper in his kilt. You could see Kilt rock – a rock formation that looked like a kilt!

As we headed back down, we caught a glimpse of the Old Man of Storr in the mist and got some quite atmospheric photos. 
The weather was still fine and clear as we returned through Portree the  and this continued through to Kyleakin where we were to spend the night at the Saucy Mary Lodge.

Our room was at the top (up 2 flights of stairs) at the front overlooking the sea and the new bridge. Well worth the stair climb for the view!

We decided to eat at the restaurant opposite but not before a good walk and a climb up to the old castle ruin, where we enjoyed a beautiful view at sunset.

We then returned to the restaurant for a fabulous seafood platter with a bottle of Pinot Grigio.

We were up bright and early for our three day Tour of Inverness, Skye and Glencoe.  A comfortable night in St Christopher’s although the breakfast left a little to be desired!

We decided to take a taxi to the tour office on the Royal Mile because although it was only a few hundred metres away, it was up a very steep hill. We’d have considered it if it wasn’t for our heavy wheelies.

The tour bus left at 8.30 and our driver and guide, Steve, proceeded to describe the city of Edinburgh as we passed through. He continued with his spiel as we headed towards the new Queen’s Ferry bridge, where we saw the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier docked nearby.  His quite useful local information turned into the gruesome history of Scottish kings and queens. Our morning coffee stop was in the small touristy town of Dunkeld which had a beautiful cathedral by the river.

We stopped for lunch in Aviemore where we we found a nice hotel for a starter of Haggis balls and salad.

The main afternoon event was a visit to Tomatin Distillary.  I found it a bit disappointing because it was more like a museum as it was a day off for the workers.  Also that the casks were second hand supplied by America (bourbon) and Spain (sherry).

We were further disappointed later in the afternoon to be taken the ‘scenic route’ away from Loch Ness.  Our itinerary had described stopping at Inverness and driving down the length of Loch Ness.  However, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed some stunning views, even taking in some Highland cattle and deer.

Our hostel for the night was Morag’s in St Augustus and the home-made evening meal  Home made chicken breast with haggis and whiskey sauce, green beans, carrots & mash then a relaxing evening with a beer.

Outline plans:      Taking the Train from Charlbury to Edinburgh. My Cumbrian friend, Dot, will be hopping on in Carlisle!  First night to be spent in St Christopher’s Hostel before joining The Haggis Bus to Skye via Glencoe and Inverness, spending two nights in Inverness. We will then return to Edinburgh to spend a couple of days sightseeing before  returning home.