It was an early start to the day, with everyone up and about by 6:30am. Breakfast was finished, the car was packed and the cottage locked before we set off at 7:30am. The sky was grey overhead but sunshine was breaking through the clouds to our east.
The first milestone for the day was returning to and crossing the Skye bridge that connects the Isle of Skye to the Scottish mainland. It is a long, high bridge that allows islander trading ships to pass underneath. As a consequence, apparently, the bridge can be closed during periods of high winds. We’re not sure what this does to the flow of commerce that normally uses the bridge.
Our journey retraced some of the final steps we took on our way to Skye a few days ago. We passed the famous Eilean Donan Castle with an empty car park and a full tide surrounding the island. A lengthy drive beside Loch Duich followed as we continued eastwards with the Scottish highlands closing in around us. One observation we have made during our travels in the rental car is that there are very few places where you can safely pull off the road to take photos, and the parking areas provided have not been planned with photographers in mind. As a result, we have few photos of the highlands that we would have liked to take.
When we arrived at the end of Loch Quoich the road swung to the right and we crossed over a small estuary that flowed into the loch before beginning a gradual climb deeper into the highlands (along Old Military Road, that runs parallel to the River Shiel). The towering hills and mountains continued to close in on us and it was difficult to see how we were to escape from this valley. A gap in the steep hills opened up ahead of us and we began a descent into the next valley with the water flowing downhill into yet another loch.
Traffic was busy today, with a large number of delivery vans heading towards the Isle of Skye. There was a mix of vans delivering supermarket goods (in Tesco vans) and large timber trucks loaded with freshly harvested logs from the nearby forests. In amongst this were tourist buses and holiday makers in their left-hand-drive European vehicles.
Loch Lochy was our next travel companion beside us. The steep-sided hills dropped abruptly into the inky blue waters of the loch. As the road swung away from the loch, Ben Nevis came into view with patches of snow lingering around the higher peaks. Ben Nevis is the highest peak in the UK at 1,345 metres – which in comparison to other peaks isn’t all that high, but given the distance it is from the equator it can understandably be a cold place. It is a popular attraction for walkers and climbers and takes about 3 hours to climb and 3.5 hours to descend.
Fort William was soon on the horizon and the vehicles ahead of us ground to a halt while attempting to navigate a roundabout. We found a car park at the back of the High Street and set off for a café for morning tea before browsing the shops up and down the mall. A few souvenirs were purchased and replacement walking gear was checked out. We concluded our walk around town and set off to check where our B&B was to the south of the centre of town.
A light lunch was enjoyed before we set off for a drive to Glencoe and the site of a bloody battle between the McDonald clan members and the English in the 18th century. There was a bit of underhanded business, where the English befriended the McDonald clan before turning on them and massacring 35 of the clansmen. We drove back to our B&B and checked in slightly early.
The key to our apartment was in a locked box beside the entrance. The code to open the box was sent to us by text a few days ago by the owners. We have attempted to book a table at a pub in town for dinner but they don’t take bookings. We will head in there for drinks and take a table when one becomes available.
Tonight we dined at the Tavern pub in High Street. Chris had rung earlier to see if we could book a table and was advised that they don’t take bookings. As a result we left for dinner slightly earlier than normal in the hope we would get in early and secure a table. It was a well executed plan as we were able to walk straight in off the street and secure a table before the evening rush began just minutes later. We all enjoyed the fish and chips and found room for an ice cream each on the walk back to the car.
The sound of bag pipes could be heard in the distance but as we got closer to our car the sound increased in volume. We discovered a junior pipe band warming up next to where we parked and learnt that they would be marching down High Street to perform in the town square for about 20 minutes. It appeared to be a fundraiser but it wasn’t quite clear who would benefit from the funds raised. As Wendy commented, “these teenagers could be up to far worse on a Thursday night in Fort William”.
