A Holiday From Travelling

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Inverness is currently the fastest growing city in the UK. I was only there 2 nights but I liked it a lot. Its clean and tidy and central to much of the Highlands of Scotland. Unfortunately the weather was not so nice when it poured most of the day whilst I trudged round Fort George nicely snug in my waterproofs. I pretty much had the place to myself and the audio tour actually wasn't too bad. I met a couple of Canadian girls at the hostel that evening and we joined in with some Scottish dancing at a local pub and afterwards in a cosy bar with a rustic 2 man & 1 women hippy band playing groovey music. Various eccentric characters spiritually danced the night away next to the stage and if you had musical talent you could even leap up onto the stage and join in on the spare guitar or microphone. To my surprise I found it all very enjoyable and relaxing.

From Inverness I met with my friends Ashley and Alex, and their 3 girls Alanis, Oli and new born Maddy. I had a wonderful few weeks staying with them and relaxing - a holiday from travelling! My hosts took me to Cairngorm Mountain and Ballindalloch Castle, shopping in Inverness and Elgin, dog walking along the beach at Findhorn and trips to the farm where I helped out using the digger. I went on a bike ride along the beach at Burghead Bay and relaxed happily in front of their bazillion inch wide screen plasma TV with Sky+ and the X-Box at my finger tips and in the on-suite guest room fit for a King. I also got to experience the hectic family life of having two mischievous young daughters running around, a newborn baby girl and a hyperactive dog, but I can honestly say I loved every minute of it. They are a lovely family and I don't think they could have picked a nicer place in which to bring up their children.

Now that I've got my Indian visa and booked my flight to Mumbia, I can't wait to get to India to start the real journey.

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Photos

Inverness
This is the view from Inverness Castle.

Inverness Castle
You can't go inside Inverness Castle and it seems very small on the outside.

Scottish Dancing
Great entertainment can be had jollying around to the sound of Scottish music.

Fort George
Inside Fort George - sheltering from the pouring rain.

Hippy Band
New age or something of that nature.

Big Guns
I love these big guns, the fort is impressive.

Ashley, Alex and Oli
On the beach at Findhorn bay

Me at Ballindalloch Castle
The castle is lived in by some dudes and its really nice to go inside, have a look around and see how the rich live.

Cairngorm Mountain
A great view from the car park. We didn't take the funicular - I suspect the views were even better from up the top.