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Today I said goodbye to Edinburgh and took the train up to Inverness. When I looked at the train schedule, I saw I could get on at Haymarket but I thought it would be better to walk up to Waverly to ensure a window seat. Luckily the rain stopped and held off for my walk! There was a break in the clouds and the sun was shining on the castle as I walked along Princes Street.
Waverly is a fairly large train station with plenty of signage to help you find your way. The ticket counter lady was very helpful and I was able to buy a return ticket as I will be passing through here again on Friday. Buying a return and then another ticket to my next destination worked out to be cheaper than two one-way tickets. According to the app my train was estimated to leave at platform 16 and I had some time to kill. I wandered around, grabbed a snack, saw the fancy Royal Scotsman train pull in and then was able to board. Let me tell you I am glad I made the walk to Waverly as the car I was in seemed pretty
full. I do not think I would have found a window seat if I chose Haymarket.
The first leg of the journey was to Stirling so I was familiar with the scenery. However, the train stopped for a bit at one point and I was able to see the Falkirk Wheel. This is a circular boat lift that works sort of like a lock only way fancier!
A lot of people left the train in Stirling and I had the row to myself for the remainder of the time. From Stirling we headed to Perth and then north. The further north, the more rugged and beautiful the scenery. There were sheep and lambs dotting the hillside, the occasional cow or horse and lots of rolling hills. Some of them even had snow at the top! This route has signs at two different summit points. The first is Drumochter at 1,484 feet and, later, Slochd at 1,315 feet. The train speeds by the signs alerting you to the fact that you went through these high elevation points.
When looking at the route it seemed Aviemore was a good spot to get off the train for lunch and a
wander. I am not sure if it was too early in the season or what but I ended up regretting my choice. Very few places were open and I ended up getting a snack at the local Costa coffee shop. With nothing else to do I waited at the train station for the next train to Inverness. I was able to get a window seat and spent the remaining 45 minutes staring out the window.
From the train station it was a 20-minute walk to my B&B, although it seemed longer when pulling a suitcase. I finally arrived at Bannerman B&B where Alison greeted me warmly and showed me to my room. I took a moment to sit and relax before walking back to grab some dinner. As I was going down the stairs I met Rupert, the charming dog who lives here. Alison said he thinks everyone who comes to stay is here specifically to see him. He is probably not wrong because the note about young Rupert on the website was enough to draw me in.
A short walk back up the road and I grabbed a steak pie and chips to bring back to the
room. This was clearly a mass-produced pie but it was a quick dinner after a long day of travel.
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