This Sunday morning, I start my 4th day here in the Scottish Highlands. I must say it has been a tremendous journey so far -- all by public transit (i.e. - no rental car).
Thursday morning, I departed Glasgow on the West Highland Line up through the beautiful rainy countryside to Ft. William. The train journey was very pleasant with views of the various lochs and mountains and glens along the way.
Just north of Glasgow on the West Highland Line
West Highlands and loch (I'm not sure which loch)
Enjoying the journey
In Fort William, the train arrived right on time where I quickly disembarked and jumped into a waiting taxi. I told the driver my B&B and he promptly gave me a "Righty Ho" and we were off for a not-quite 5 minute journey just outside of the town to the B&B. Thankfully, it was still walking distance to town, though I'm glad I took the taxi to avoid having to take my (wheeled) back-pack and other bags up the steep hill to the B&B.
I paid the £2.90 fare and went into the B&B - where no one seemed to be around. Though, after a couple minutes, the husband-and-wife owners were walking out. I said I had a reservation, and the wife acknowledged my name. Though, the husband didn't seem to want to let me check in, as they were on their way into town. She said that I could, of course, set my bags down in my room while they were away. Up in my room, I settled in a bit, got my bearings of the city, and headed out in the ABSOLUTELY DRIVING rainstorm that engulfed the city for the rest of the day (well, until nighttime, anyway). I had my umbrella which did little good, as I walked on the sidewalk along the main road (A82 motorway) and some cars would inadvertently splash me (though some cars and heavy trucks did swerve out the way a bit). It was weird to be walking on the right hand side of the road and have cars appear to come right at me (instead of from behind, as they would in the U.S.). At least I knew when to get out of the way for splashing vehicles!
In the town square, which was cute and small, I popped into the tourist information center for information of bike rentals and nearby trails to hike. This entire town was jam packed with backpackers in all their gear. It really is an outdoor center for the UK - indeed the outdoor capital of the UK, thanks to it's proximity to so many wonderful trails. Being without a car, I didn't have access to the real great hiking trails (plus, it was, of course, raining so hard and snowing at the peaks that it'd be dangerous to do much hiking). I decided to rent a mountain bike and make a run at some local trails, which the tourist center offered. With some maps in hand, I walked to the local bike shop and inquired about renting bikes. They had plenty on offer they said, so I promised to come back the next day (it was about 4 PM by now) and get a bike.
The High Street of Ft. William
The remainder of the day, I did some tourist shopping at the local trinket shops (for some reason, this is something I really love to do when traveling), drinking in a few pubs (OK - something else I love to do while traveling), and eating a nice Scottish dinner of lamb shanks, veggies, tatties, and a Tennents beer (this is the main lager made down in Glasgow). After dinner, another drink in a pub, and the 15 minute walk back to the B&B, in the not-too-heavily-rainy weather. I crashed in bed about 8 PM.
Friday morning, I woke up and had breakfast in the B&B. I seemed to be one of the only guests there, so I enjoyed my morning eggs, sausage, toast, porridge, and coffee while looking out the grand picture window of the B&B dining room over Loch Linnhe and the mountains beyond.
View of Loch Linnhe and mountains from B&B front yard
Mountain Biking Scotland
After breakfast and showering, I went outside and took some photos of the surrounding area since there was decent light outside. I then headed into town, browsed a local artisan shop, and went into the local bike shop. There, I waited for an English couple to try on and buy biking shoes (there was only one sales attendant) before talking to the attendant about renting bikes. Since it was just before noon, he only charged me a half-day, which was I believe £12. He took my information, kept my driver's license (driving license as they say in the UK) and ushered me down to the basement which is where their bike mechanics were working and where I checked out the 19"-size Specialized mountain bike. It wasn't too bad of a set-up, with a pump, spare tube, helmet, and maps.
Highland Cattle along the Great Glen Way bike route (I only rode it for a couple miles to Ben Nevis)
With a general idea of directions to Ben Nevis area, I set out on the side streets of Ft William towards the Ben Nevis Distillery (no, I didn't go in) and onto a nice cycle path along the main road towards a liittle town along the M82 (I forget the name) where I pulled off onto forest roads up to the North Face Trailhead. Originally, I would have started the trail from the Ben Nevis Gondola and Visitor's Center, but there was Forest Service road works (construction), so I took a detour to a different trail head parking lot. However, this seemed to be a great way to ride the trail I chose -- the "10 Under Ben" trail. At the trailhead, I saw well-marked signs for this trail (the bike shop dude recommended it, after I told him what kinds of trails I was looking to ride). And so I set out. The first sections were very nice and extremely well-maintained sections through the forests and peat bogs of this beautiful country. The civil servants of the British Forestry Commission sure have done on helluva job keeping these trails maintained and very accessible.
For my MTB friends, here is some bike porn:
My kind of bridge
Nice trail system
Ben Nevis (I think) from the "10 Under Ben" trail
Why don't they have nice MTB bridges like this in WA?
Yeah, I got a little muddy this day
Another stream crossing
Very well-marked trail
Sweet single-track
Umm, yeah, I don't think so (I walked this section), though I've never seen a steep downhill switchback with pads and nets to protect people when they fall
As you can see from the photos, this trail is great! It certainly was technical enough for me, with my mix of climbs (on both forest roads and single-track), views, cross-country single track, downhills (including a very very gnarly section at the end that I walked), and a stop in the middle at the Ben Nevis Ski Lift cafe for coffee. And, most importantly, the weather held out the entire time!! It rained just a little bit on my 3 mile road ride to the trailhead, though once on the trail, there was no rain - though there was plenty of mud due to puddles and stream crossings.
I didn't have much time to do any other loops of this, or any of the other numerous trails there, nor the mountain bike skills park (with various color-coded levels) near the ski lift, since I had to return to town and turn the bike in by 4:30. Geez - why didn't I get up earlier and not doddle around the B&B. Oh well, I manage to get this wonderful ride under my belt.
The road ride back into Ft. William (from Ben Nevis)
Back on the road ride back to town, I did stop at the Ben Nevis distillery, though there was a huge tourist bus full of French students, so I opted to not take a tour, and continued my journey into town with a stop in a huge gift shop just on the outskirts of town. I locked the bike outside and bought a few trinkets before headed back outside, only to find that a huge downpour was again falling on the town! I decided to just brave it and pedal back into town and return the bike. At least the rain washed the bike and me!
Back in town, I dried off by having a pint in the ol' Grog & Gruel pub where I'd been to a couple times already and trudged back to the B&B to do laundry and catch up on writing and some reading. Around 7, I walked back to town for a delicious dinner of Angus steak, chive&cheese souffle, couple glasses of wine, and a type of gooey chocolate cake, and a wee dram of whisky for desert. Yum, yum!!
Journey to Skye
Yesterday morning, I awoke and had an early breakfast at the B&B (7:30) since I had an 8:30 train to catch up to Mallaig, which is the terminus of the West Highland Line. A taxi took me to the train station where I bought the Guardian and Scotsman newspapers. I hopped on the very empty train and read a few pages of the newspapers before the train took off, right on time. There were probably 8 people on the train. The train journeyed through some of the most beautiful countryside I've seen. It didn't take too long during the journey before I abandoned reading the paper and just watched the scenery pass outside the windows. I managed to take some photos, though they're not the best since they're through rainy windows. However, the further north we got, the sunnier it became! Yeah!
As the train travelled around the sweeping Glenfinnan viaduct, the few passengers on board all got up to look out the windows - as this is the bridge that was in the Harry Potter movies that the Hogwarts Express would take to the school. In fact, two young Scottish school boys were in the carriage with me, so I kinda had a little Harry Potter moment as they peered out the windows at the viaduct.
No, I'm not on Hogwarts Express, just the local West Highland Line to Mallaig
Glenfinnan Viaduct
Ancient church
Getting closer to Mallaig, and sunshine
To Armadale (ferry terminal on Skye)
After passing through more beautiful scenery, we arrived at the tiny little village of Mallaig where everyone got off. I walked immediately to the nearby ferry terminal, which was conveniently only one block away. There, I bought a ticket for the next ferry up to the Isle of Skye - which was just over an hour from departure. I asked the attendant about taking a bus from the ferry landing in Skye (Armadale) up to Portree, the main town. She said that service was infrequent, but she looked up a timetable (and then gave it to me) of the buses to Portree. Indeed, today would be my lucky day, as there would be a bus headed up to Portree about an hour after I would arrive at Armadale! (and, I noted there was NO bus service on Sundays, so I'm very very glad I decided to head up to Skye on Saturday).
With my ferry ticket in hand, I strolled over to this little village of Mallaig and took some photos of the local "downtown" and the fishing fleet. It seems the economy here is based upon oil and fishing.
The wee train station of Mallaig
"Downtown" Mallaig
I went into a grocery store and bought a few items for lunch, then went back to the ferry terminal and waited to board the ferry, which wasn't too long of a wait by this time.
Boarding the ferry to Skye
The journey on the ferry boat was very pleasant, and not too long. I believe it was about an hour, though I was spending so much time taking photos that I lost track of time. The sailing and scenery were similar to sailings that I've done in Washington State's San Juan Island archipelago. There were rolling mountains, deep blue seas, blue skies, and forests of pine (though in this case, Caledonian pine). I did manage to scarf down my sandwich and a diet Coke onboard the boat before we arrived at Armadale on the Isle of Skye.
Views from the ferry to Skye
Ferry boat is smaller than we have in Washington State
More nice views from the ferry
To Portree
At Armadale, I disembarked from the ferry and walked along the pier to the ferry terminal waiting room and asked where I would pick up the bus to Portree. The friendly Scot behind the counter pointed to a little bus stand across the parking lot and said I may as well wait in here (an enclosed building) since it was now pouring rain, again. A English husband-and-wife and the wife's very elderly mother had also gotten off the ferry and were waiting for the bus. I read the papers some more, then got bored and walked around the ferry terminal to take photos as the sun was coming out again. The English husband was doing the same (though not taking photos) and he found a little gift shop near the bus stop. So, all four of us walked over to the little gift shop and browsed around. A friendly Scot artist guy was telling old jokes and laughing at his two cackling parrots outside the shop.
Waiting for the bus to Portree (from Armadale)
I parked my rolling backpack outside and looked around a bit, though didn't find anything too interesting to buy. After waiting for about 15 more minutes, the bus showed up and picked us up. I paid the £6 fare for Portree, which was an hour journey along a most beautiful route around and through the Isle of Skye.
Bus journey to Portree
To Portree
Little village along road to Portree
Isle of Skye
Camp ground outside Portree
In Portree
Around 1:30 or so in the afternoon, we arrived in Portree where I made a beeline to the Tourist Information Center since I needed to get a room for 2 nights (I previously hadn't gotten around to booking a room, yet). For £4, the information desk found a room for me at a little B&B just outside of the central town. This was was smaller than Ft. William. I think there's around 2000 people here. It's small, yet bustling with tourists from all over the UK and Europe. I haven't seen to many Americans at all on my journey here, so far. I guess that's a good thing. :-)
The information desk gave a map of town and directions to the B&B. With this (and with no rain), I walked briskly up the hill outside of the town square and then back down a little shady side-street to the B&B. There, a friendly older Scot took me to my little single room and showed me around. It seemed to be a decent-enough place. Nothing fancy, though certainly bad at all. I plopped down my bags, got organized a bit, and then headed back into town for some photographing and a wee bit of shopping (I admit the shopping here isn't as nice as Ft. William or certainly Glagow).
The Portree harbor
Quayside in Portree
The Portree fishing fleet
Quayside in Portree looking back into the town
Church of Scotland, Portree
Drinking with the fisherman and dinner
After touring the town center, I saw signs for a little arts & crafts fair, so I walked up to the comunity center for this. I was disappointed in the lack of arts & crafts at the fair, however, so I walked back outside into the rain and then down to the quay for some of the sights and smells. Before too long I stopped into a very tiny little pub that was nearly full of Scot fishermen telling stories and jokes. Heck, even their yellow and orange fishing gear (coats, waders, and boots) were taken off and strewn about the back table. I stood along the wee bar and ordered a Tennent beer and listened to the fishermen tell their stories. I heard about the various bad captains and the good captains (seems like most were bad ones). After my 2nd drink, the (or one of the) town drunks came in and settled into a barstool and ordered a double dram. Two very old men in the back rolled their eyes as the drunk went on and on about this bagpipe player in the town square. Then, he got into it about his clan (the MacLeod's), and another man was there who was a MacLeod, though he came from a different island. The drunk said that McLeod's from that island were not honest McLeod's. The old man bartender was a McLean, so he wanted nothing to do with this conversation, and another man was a MacKenzie. There was an Irish fisherman telling some great yarns who was a Callahan. I swear I was in a movie or something with these Scottish (and one Irish) fishermen in a tiny little pub drinking pints and talking clam rivalries. Such a great experience. After my 3rd or 4th pint, I walked down the quay to a restaurant highly recommended in the Rough Guide book - The Lower Deck. Boy, am I glad I went there! I got there right at 6 when the doors opened and was their first guest that night. Within 10 minutes, literally, the entire place (about 12 tables) was full of English tourists (and me, and a college-age couple from France). I ordered cullen skink (since I loved it so much in Glasgow) and boiled mussels in a garlic chive sauce. Wow - on wow - was this dinner delicious. The sea food here in this town is as fresh as it possibly can be, since the fishing fleet is literally right outside the door. I devoured my meal and finished it off with a Highland desert (I can't remember the name, though it was a sort of pink jello-y mix) and a dram of whisky from the sole distillery on Skye - Talisker (which is so far my favorite whisky I've had). Honestly, I hadn't ever drunk whisky before this trip. Now that I've had a few different whiskys, I've grown to appreciate it, and will now be able to drink it occasionally (though not as often as wine or beer as it really does pack a punch!).
Old boat in Portree
Tending his nets
After dinner, I walked around just a bit more before headed back out of town to the B&B for a great nights sleep. This morning, I awoke and had a great breakfast of coffee, scrambled eggs, black pudding, bacon, and brown toast. Yummy!
Now, I'm going to set out and see a little bit more of town (is there anything else to see?) before my friends from Glasgow, Alan and Stuart arrive this afternoon.
Tomorrow, it's off to Inverness for a night (I need to decide if I'm going to go tomorrow morning or in the evening) and then tour Loch Ness on Tuesday.
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