Chronicle for 17 May 2012

Dinner last night was an interesting affair, served in the hotel as part of the deal. We went downstairs at the appointed time and they were obviously not expecting us. Our aspirations of quality weren't too inflated. We were expecting 'pub grub' and we weren't disappointed, however it did do the job of satisfying us. At the next table there was a group of loud British Airways retirees who appeared to be doing an annual boys weekend remembrance tour and taking the chance to talk rubbish and flirt with the waitresses. Their endeavours were wasted however as the two waitresses were both east european. One of which seemed to speak no English, never smiled, and she appeared to depend on cues from what appeared to be her sister who was not much better.

Despite everything about this place, it has a great bath, a good shower, and a large comfortable bed. All of which we enjoyed last night. What more do we need, it's just overpriced and over promised.

We drew the curtains this morning to more of what we were experiencing last night, scotch mist. What we had in mind for today was dependant on the weather so we are still undecided.

After enjoying a full breakfast the weather still didn't look too promising and so despite our wishes we have decided on a little road trip, but before commencing we had a quick look at the gallery near the Loch Leven Hotel where we are staying. They had some nice work although nothing that we were minded to buy, partly because we are becoming mindful that we are running out of wall space at home to hang them, unless we start implementing a rotation system.

We have become aware on our travels around the UK that there is not a lot of good affordable art available unless you really look for it. There is an abundance of 'knock off' stuff that is overpriced for tourists and it is either mass produced or very amateur. At the other end is very expensive originals. There doesn't seem to be a lot in between.

From the gallery we headed around doing a circumnavigation of the loch that our hotel fronts on to, through some wonderful countryside. We then headed through Onich and caught the car ferry that took us across to Corran.  An interesting ferry that had its entry and exit ramps at 45 degrees to the hull. It made driving on and off a little different. We can only guess that this is because of the current running through here and the skew that it puts on the boat.

We progressed westwards through Strontian (where they first discovered the element strontium), Salen, and finally to Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse.

The further west we went the narrower and rougher the roads became making a relatively short distance take in excess of an hour and a half to complete. Ardnamurchan Point is the most westerly point on the British mainland and as you may have guessed there is a lighthouse there, as well as another huge fog horn arrangement as we have seen previously. Inside there are a couple of huge old compressors with several air tanks the size of fuel tanks and big eight inch pipes leading around the building into the back end of the fog horn. They don't use these things these days but they must have been impressive in their day.

This is a pretty remote part of the country and very beautiful despite the rain. We do wonder what the inhabitants do out here as it is a long way along rough roads to get anywhere. The associated boredom was expressed to us by the resident dog that chased and tried to bite the tyres of every vehicle that came and left. Inside the little shop that was there, as is everywhere and at every extremity of these fair lands, we were offered the diverse and eclectic selection of goods that we see everywhere, ranging from a piece of caramel slice to a whoopee cushion. Perhaps they go together in their own way.

After spending some time there to look around we returned the way we had come, as far as Salen, before heading north towards Mallaig via Lochailort and then Arisaig.

Mallaig is the point where we had first planned to return to the mainland from the Isle of Skye. There is a car ferry that runs here from Armadale on the isle, however we changed our plans for various reasons. There are also ferries from Mallaig that run to Rum, Muck, and Eigg (all of which are small isles to the south of Skye), some of which only run in summer and depending on demand. Mallaig is also the end of the steam train route from Fort William. Reputed to be one of the finest scenic routes in the world.

In essence Mallaig is a ferry port, a fishing port, and a train stop. When we arrived here almost everything was closed as most things around here are timed around either the ferry or the train and since neither was relevant at that time the town stood still. We had the impression that this is a town in waiting ... for either a boat or a train. We did however find somewhere willing to offer us a scone and a coffee, but only just.

We returned via the main road all the way to Fort William, which traces much the same route as the scenic rail and it is very pretty, looking out over peaks, glens, lochs, coves, and the sea. It was a beautiful journey and we can only imagine what it must be like without this pall of mist, cloud, and rain about. However even like this it does look a little ethereal.

When we got to Fort William we took a short drive down Glen Nevis looking up at the tallest peak in the whole of the UK, Ben Nevis at 1344 metres. A peak that attracts hillwalkers from all over these isles in their hordes and makes this town the Queenstown of the UK. As we looked up at her we were impressed with ... well we couldn't see much because of the mist, and we understand that this is the way that she often appears.

It was a cheap dinner in our hotel room tonight with hot chicken and bread rolls from the supermarket and a couple of items from the sweet department. Total expenditure, £7! Sweet!