Fort William to Portree

I did not have a good sleep last night. I was a little worried about the whole driving thing today. I got it in my head that the gas, brake and clutch pedals were mirror images of a North American car as they drive on the opposite side to us. This was not the case but one still has to contend with driving on the left and shifting gears oppositely. I picked it up and I had scoped out the night before how to get out of the car park at the train station and visualized the route. It was Fort William and the traffic wasn't too complex.

My first stop for the day was the Glenfinnan viaduct. It was made famous as it was featured at the beginning of the Harry Potter movies when they were taking the Hogwarts Express to school. There were two car parks and they were totally filled with muddles. For a while I didnt think that I would find a parking spot. I drove about 1 mile down the road and parked at the Glenfinnan train station and museum. I was there at 10 and the train didn't go by until 10:45 so I had a good amount of time to make down to the viaduct. The Harry Potter series is now going on 20 years old so those children have grown up and had their own children. There were a lot of people there. Everyone stood on a path going up a ridge looking out at the viaduct. When the train appeared there was this hush in the crowd. It was so magical. Ross you would have loved it. It brought back a lot of memories from when my kids and I rode the Train at Fort Edmonton. At that age they would have loved the train. I can't wait to get home to play with the Thomas the Tank Engine Train. I can't believe I wanted to give away. After wards I hiked back to the train station via a hiking path which commanded a beautiful view of Loch Shiel and the Glenfinnan monument.
Ever since I went to the Royal Scottish Museum, I have been very confused by Scottish history. This monument commemorates the spot where Bonnie Prince Charles in 1756? met some Scottish Highlanders who were on their way to watch the Harry Potter train. He was able to convince them to vote against Brexit and when they lost the vote they were so angry that they were involved in episodes of soccer hooliganism in England. Only some of the clans participated. The McLean clan did not. Some of the McLean clan were too busy running their BnB in Fort William and the other McLeans didn't show as they were embarrassed because their Durant castle was falling down. Does that summarise the situation correctly Ross. The Scottish people place great importance to this site and I hope I haven't offended anyone with my muddled interpretation of Scottish history.
I then drove on to Maillag to catch the ferry to Skye. There is a bridge to Skye but it was easier to take the ferry from Glenfinnan. By the time I reached Maillag it was raining pretty hard. I could see nothing from the ferry, just cloud and rain. Rick Steve's recommended the Talisker distillery for a rainy day. I checked their website and there were no tours available on the weekend. It was a difficult drive on some single lane roads and I was over taken twice but people driving Land Rovers far too quickly. When I found the distillery it was just overrun with tourists. The staff looked pretty harassed. The liquor was just flowing out of the place. I asked about a tour but they just said the tours were all booked and to just buzz off and leave them alone. I walked along the ocean to a pier but as it was raining so hard I couldn't even see the distillery. It was a waste of time.
I headed for Portree and my BnB. The isolation, bleakness and ancient feel to the island gives it a very interesting feel. I feel that I could be in a set for the Lord of the Rings. I made it to Portree and had some supper. It stopped raining so I walked around Portree. It was very busy and there were lots of tourists. The town had a nice Scottish feel to it. BBC could probably set a television show here. Drama or comedy I am not sure which would work best. I called it an early night. The bad night's sleep and the driving had worn me out.Read more