Blogs from Fort William, Inverness-shire, Scotland, United Kingdom, Europe

Friday, 15 July 2022, and Saturday 16 July 2022. Our morning was off to a great start with the good breakfast at Myrtle Banks Guest House. Karen had an agenda for the first part of the morning. We had to be back by 1100 as we had train tickets to go to Glenfinnian. Lee and Jo knew all about the Jacobite Train that was used in the Harry Potter movies and the Glenfinnian Viaduct with its 21 spans that are shown in the movie. So at 1045 I send a note that we will met the others. I then remember our tickets are still in the room. Karen waits at the square for them and I dash back to get the tickets, meeting the four of them on the way. We reunite outside the bakery with ... read more

Dear All Greetings from Fort William, in the Western Highlands of Scotland! Although it is not such a pretty town itself, its location is stunning – at the foot of mighty Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis (a glen is a flat-bottomed valley in between mountain ranges), and on the shores of beautiful Loch Linnhe. It is also a good base to explore nearby Glenfinnan to the west, and Glen Coe to the south, as well as being on the southern end of the Great Glen, linking Inverness to Fort William. There are certainly a lot of glens, as well as mountains, around here. I arrived here on Tuesday after a short one-hour bus ride from Fort Augustus, and although I’m still in the “Highlands”, things feel really quite different here to what I’ve experienced so far. ... read more

Sie ist wieder da! Und zwar in Schottland. Zwei Jahre nach dem West Highland Way breche ich zu einem neuen Abenteuer auf. Dieses Mal gibt es den Skye Trail auf der Isle of Skye und noch eine kleine Rundreise danach. Wie schon der West Highland Way, wird auch der Skye Trail mit einem Guide von Thistle Trekking absolviert. https://www.thistletrekking.co.uk/treks/skye-trail/ Vor zwei Jahren sind wir von Glasgow bis nach Fort William gewandert. Heute bin ich diese Strecke mit dem Zug abgefahren und habe viele bekannte Orte wiedergesehen, was zahlreiche wunderschöne Erinnerungen an die Oberfläche gebracht hat. Der schottische Regionalexpress ist wie erwartet top: pünktlich, gratis WiFi, gratis Sitzplatz Reservierung, überall Steckdosen und oft kommt der Kaffeetrolley vorbei. Das Personal ist natürlich auch sehr freundlich. Als in Crianlarich der Zug geteilt wurde, haben sie m... read more

Fort William ...three sleeps... have seen at least five men in kilts...but they were all walking tooo fast to catch them digitally! Two reservations on the National Rail and two seats taken by others. The first taker was a young arrogant looking sort sitting with an equally belligerent looking young thing as girlfriend... left them to it but sent evil looks in his direction every time I looked at him and he looked at me … just in case he thought he had gotten one over on an old lady. The second train ride I was faced with two men in my space... but after a promise of a cup of tea I sat in the four seat combination and spent the rest of the train ride to Fort William talking to two Norsemen. One worked ... read more

"If you don't like the weather in Scotland, just wait five minutes" This is something I would grow to understand. I reached Glasglow amidst some really miserable weather. The hotel dorm room was even more depressing. It was about two in the afternoon and the only other person in my dorm was fast asleep. There were no windows. A far cry from the hostel I had come from. I had to get some stuff in order so I jumped online to plan out stuff. A menacing looking guy walked into the room and went to the bed near mine. I continued doing my stuff and after about an hour the dude got up to make a cup of tea. I too wanted some tea so I joined him and he turned out to be a pretty ... read more