Baca Ruadh

Hi all,

This is just to update you on what we have done over the last 3 days.

Day 4 - Tuesday. We left Falkirk and travelled north stopping at Fort William for lunch. Then onto Glen Finnan where we took time to check out the Viaduct that was used in the Harry Potter movies. While we were there we were lucky to see an old steam train crossing the viaduct. Then the rains came down and it was just as well we had umbrellas as otherwise we would have been soaked. There was a crowd of people who had also stopped and together we had to climb a steep hill to be able to view it properly. Gary who knows nothing about Harry Potter was at a loss as to why it was so popular!!!

Back to the car we travelled beside several Lochs until we reached Glenelg where we caught the ferry to the Isle of Skye. This ferry is the last manually operated turntable ferry in Scotland and people come from all over the world to visit it. To get to the ferry and also on the other side the approach roads were very narrow making it difficult to overtake or even pass another vehicle coming in the opposite direction.

We found accommodation down the south part of the island and had a great view of the coast from our bedroom window. Meals were also provided at a very reasonable rate which was good as being a small place it would have been difficult to find somewhere else to eat.

Day 5 - Wednesday. We set off to explore the Isle of Skye. The hills close by were very barren and the beaches were not beaches that you would swim at. Gary was not particularly impressed and soon put it in the same category as Kangaroo Island, and as people who know him also know that he was not impressed with that island either.
We had lunch at Portree which was a lovely little village on the northern side. When leaving the Isle we were able to cross the bridge that was built in recent years so we did not have to return on the ferry.
Later in the afternoon we travelled beside the famous Loch Ness Lake which is 23 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide and 433ft deep. It is the largest fresh water lake in the UK. We stopped at the Loch Ness Centre & Exhibition. Again it was really busy but I managed to get a ride on the 4pm Lake Cruise as they had one ticket left. Gary said he didn't mind and was happy just to wait. And no I did not see the Loch Ness Monster but heard all about the sightings over the past 100 years. That evening we arrived into Inverness where we were lucky to get accommodation beside the river not far from the centre of town.

Day 6 - Thursday. After breakfast we walked along to the Inverness Castle where we spent some time checking it out. We had some great views of the city and surrounding area from the top of the tower.
Then we set off once again this time towards Aberdeen along a fairly uninteresting road. There were heaps of vehicles coming and going but very few motor homes or caravans which in the previous few days we had seen plenty of.
We stopped for lunch at Keith a small town along the way, and arrived into Aberdeen mid afternoon. Gary had told me about the buildings made of granite and how on his previous visit back in the 60's they glistened in the sunlight. Unfortunately just before we hit Aberdeen the rains came down so our view of the sparkling granite was pretty much non existent. We decided to keep going and tonight we are in the town of Montrose half way down the east coast. Scotland is not very big but it does take quite some time to get around on the roads.

So folks this is my report up to date. I have just had to retype it as I originally intended to attach some photos but I tried send them from my iPad but it didn't work so I have done this written version on Gary's computer as he has gone to bed.

If you did not get Part 1 of our trip. Let me know and I will resend it as some people had trouble with the picture and type size. As you can see I am not as experienced or as good as my daughter at doing blogs.

Bye for now,

Barb.Read more