Inverness – 2 J's World of Adventure

After a slow start, breakfast, putting the laundry away, making a picnic lunch we were finally off and travelling out of Inverness..

Out first stop was Garve on the road to Ullapool. There sat in the station was the Royal Scotsman, the Belmond Company Special train which does tours of Scotland. The clients had just been disembarked on to two busses which would take them off to see the sights prior to rembarking at another station…probably Inverness or Avimore. the train is hauled by a deselect locomotive with the Belmont Royal Scotsman’s livery.

After the buses departed we walked onto the platform for a few more photos of its reception and the platform at the rear of its observation car .

Having peered through the window of the dinning car …

I cheekily asked the train manager if I could step aboard to take a picture…he a little reluctantly agreed…

After a few photos I started to wander back to the car…as it was once again raining….just as these two reprobates left the platform ..!!!

We drove on from here through some fabulous countryside……it was of course raining but this only increased the dramatic eerie moorland with its sheer granite rock faces. We were going to explore Wester Ross.

Arriving at Ullapool. We drove along the front of the quayside. Quite a few ferries go from here to other Scottish Islands and the port was a hive of activity.

We found a nice looking hotel and had coffee and used their conveniences.

We back tracked a little before turning off to Gairloch. This time we drove along the edge of Broom Loch. The Loch had loads of Oyster farms, which always fascinate me….as we drove on we continued to drive along well potholed roads, some were single tracks with passing places eventually winding our way along Little Broom Loch….both of the lochs run into the sea. We stopped at a stunning viewing laybye for our picnic lunch….

As we travelled on we saw loads of Christmas tree plantations …as well as some beautiful beaches….

On our circular route we joined the Kyle of Lochalsh – for Skye- Road at Achnasheen. We’ve seen deer here on the railway track before now…however we were thinking we weren’t going to be lucky ….. but on leaving the station we did see a pair of Oyster Catchers near the pond.

Back on the main road, I suddenly swerved into a lay-bye, this time it wasn’t to avoid the ever present potholes ….it was because I had spied a real beauty…

We continued on along the edge of the Loch Maree and called at the Beinn Eighe visitors centre…really to use their loos but they had some great information boards as well.

Arriving back at Inverness we struggled to find a way across the River Ness, due to one of the bridges being closed due to an accident …we did eventually make it back having stopped at Tesco to pick up a gammon joint, vegetables, croquet potatoes and trifle for supper….however we ended up eating rather late due to the fight I had with the cooker, hob & microwave !!! Why can’t all appliances work the same?????

More sightseeing tomorrow….

We had a slow start to the day, not least because my tummy had misbehaved during the night. John got up and walked to the station. He waved my sister and brother in-laws train goodbye, but didn’t see them.

Having caught up with emails, claimed my lottery win….yeah!!!! Ok …you guessed it was £5 …..well!! ….my Grandpa used to say if you “look after the pennies the pounds will look after themselves” ….so £5 is not to be sneezed at…I decided to frivolously reinvest it !!!

At midday we took the car, the stones throw, down the hill to the Eastgate shopping centre carpark….not because we are lazy but because the steep walk back up is too much for us.

Dad went and sat in The Royal Highland Hotel lounge, while John and I went to meet Steve off the Aberdeen incoming train. Steve and Mags have been friends of mine for 35 years. We met while I was working in Africa. Several years ago they moved up to Nairn. Very sadly Mags passed away, recently, unexpectedly. However she was very much with us in spirit today as we laughed our way through a very pleasant lunch in The Royal Highlanders Ash restaurant. We were extremely grateful to Steve for making the considerable effort to come into the city to meet up.

Lunch and afternoon coffee went far too quickly. The hotel still has the wonderful charm of a bygone era. The ladies loo is more like a good old fashioned powder room….huge with superb large oval table combined with modern sinks and toilets…..and strangely enough a photocopier ….that made me laugh…I suppose they have to put it somewhere……On several occasions we have stayed here, but this time they were full. I had thought about turning the trip around but when I looked up the price, it made me gulp….we are very comfortable in our AirB&B…But that didn’t stop us enjoying the hotels ambiance and getting the “must have” photos on the impressive staircase.

We walked with Steve back to the station, so he could catch the 20 minute trip home. He knows he has an open invitation to come and visit us…it had been so lovely to spend time with him.

We decided to take drive across onto the Black Isle. Enjoying the wonderful scenery before driving back along the edge of the Beauly Firth.