Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part III

On Sunday we ventured into the town [Fort William] and strolled around .Stone me after paying through the nose for some much needed supplies on the way in at a Teco's Convenience store we found a Morrisons Then on the way out we noticed, joy upon joy LIDL have a shop here . Saints be we are saved !

We also located the Station where we will catch the train for Mallaig on Weds evening and the coach station for our trip around the islands on Tuesday.

A short drive a round established our bearings and we are but  half a mile from the Ski lift to Ben Nevis so when the skies clear we will venture up on the gondola . We also visited Spean Bridge .Don't know why ? but the name seemed familiar and we felt compelled to go there . we had a Car Picnic in the rain !.
The evening perked up and P went for a stroll around the area.

Not  a lot see but there was an old Land Rover .

Today, Monday before we ventured south to Oban, we  booked our tickets for the Cruise around the islands for Tuesday.

So on to Oban.







  After a short stroll around the town we retraced our steps and visited a castle we passed on the way in.








Dunstaffnage Castle an 800 year old edifice which was built upon an enormous rock base.
 Here we met the ubiquitous yank ! A dentist from Florida who new more about anything than any one else in the world !

Retracing our Steps we then went to a Gardens ? This was set in a an old priory grounds, Ardchattan Priory.

The Gardens were a disappointment but the Cacti house was impressive with its large collection ,a lot of which were in flower.

We did get to meet with the Gardener and had a long chat, he is also a Mcnab  so we had an in !.

He was very talkative and showed J his special Cacti ? It was something Prickly any how, judging from the gasps from the back of the green house.

Mr McNab aslo showed us some 'secret' Knights Templar Carvings in the stone work.

On the journey in from Fort William and along the way to the other sites we visited ,some interesting landmarks were noted and we stopped on route on the way home to take some photo's.

One of the Stopping points was Portnacroish where there is an Island castle  'Castle Stalker ' I thought I had been clever spotting it on the way down but we stopped to photograph it on the way back and so had half the camera brigade in our part of Scotland .

As we had forgone lunch and afternoon tea we stopped at the supermarket on the way home and bought supplies and tonight we feasted upon double steaks and all the trimmings American cheese cake with fresh strawberries and half a bottle of wine each !. So now we are pogged and tired

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part IV

Tuesday : Our Journey to the Isles . We set off early and caught the coach to Mallaig which is about an hours ride from Fort William along the coastal road. This was a very pleasant journey through some wonderful landscapes, we are also traveling this road in parallel on the Jacobite Express on Wednesday eve so it was useful to get a lay of the land and spot the likely photo opportunities we are likely  to see.


Several pictures were taken from the coach window and with a bit of 'editing ' are quite passable.

We spotted a Deer grazing close to the track but doubt if  she will be there tomorrow Sadly we did see a dead deer at the roadside yesterday.

 As it turned out I did the right thing in taking pictures through the coach window rather than waiting for the train ride  as in the event 1: the weather was not good and 2 the views were less than good from the train .

 From the coach you have lots of light and large picture windows plus height and you can see whats coming . whereas on the train you can only see whats going past .fast.

 Arriving in Mallaig we were just in time for the ferry .
The weather was very good and the wind and rain had given way to blue skies and calm seas, so we had a magical tour around the islands upon our Ferry the 'Loch Nevis' We called in at Eigg and Muck.

There were seals to be seen but they were very elusive keeping their distance just out of reach of all but the strongest binoculars .

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011. part II

Leaving the Lake District we continued northwards along the motorway to Carlise and then Glasgow and Stirling ,to our second Travel Lodge stop.As you can see the room is remarkably similar to the Penrith room. Again the journey was easy and uneventful. We had not prepared any food so we dined on fish and chips a la' Costa Coffee and very nice it was too.

From Stirling we moved on towards our destination Fort William. Stopping on the way at Glen Dochart to view the Water falls , well it's a  cascade really but spectacular none the less and gave P a chance to try his luck with the camera. This was also the resting place for the McNabs  [a branch of the family tree]

We made Fort William in about three hours of  again easy traveling, passing through on on our way Glen Coe famous for its Massacre in 1745 and for both the spectacular views and appalling weather ,we had one and glimpses of the other.




Arrived Torulndy 410 miles 53.7 m.pg

Our cottage was comfortable ,clean and very nicely decorated and presented. The actual location was less impressive even though we were at the foot of Ben Nevis .

Scotland and the Lakes. Holiday 2011

This is our Holiday blog. for May -June 2011

We left home on Thursday morning bound for Scotland. but we broke our journey in the Lake District .[225 miles 52 m.p.g ] After an uneventful trip on the A55 to Conwy and Chester we joined the motorway and travelled up the M6 turning off at the Kendal junction where we processed through the Lake District via the Kirhdale pass to Penrith , after stopping of for a cream tea in Patterdale we arrived at the the travel Lodge where had booked in for the night .  As can be seen the Travel Lodges room was clean well proportioned., a little basic but good enough for the weary travellers. 

We dined on cuppa soup and salmon salad, pre-prepared by Jean. The following morning before traveling northwards ,we visited a Garden Nursery .Larch cottage [ www.larchcottage.co.uk]This was no ordinary nursery as it was more like a formal garden and has been lovingly created with great skill and richly deserves all the accolades that it receives. Unlike a traditional nursery most of the plants are set out in beds and they dig up what you want there and then . The whole place has a marvelous feel about it and is also a photographers paradise with so many objects, statues, garden displays and ornaments to shoot, all set within a harmonious and photogenic landscape setting. Let the Pictures speak for themselves .

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