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Published: August 6th 2007
Day 67: Wednesday 12th. July 2006: Clear, cold and windy: Up early and a walk into town to get the Orkney Bus to the ferry (another fishing boat) to John O'Groats and the Orkney Bus to Inverness. A very fast drive along winding roads. We walked to the 5 star hostel - well I don't know who rated it. The shower was out of order and had been for some time, there was no toilet paper in the loos, we were in a dorm room when we expecting a twin room, and I'm sure the carpet had never been vacuumed let alone cleaned so rated it about 2 star or less compared to some other hostels we'd been in.
Never mind, after this we were off to collect our hire car (automatic) which we had paid for prior to leaving Perth. Lo and behold no automatic car because we were late coming to pick it up - had to take a manual until tomorrow, but as we were expressing our annoyance the hotel had a Fire Alarm alert so we were all outside for a while. Any way Vera drove around a little to get used to the car and
it was into a shopping centre to get our usual provisions of food items. tea consisted of cold meat and salad, strawberries and yoghurt followed by coffee and cake - mmm - not bad.
Day 68: Fine and sunny: after breakfast we took a drive to Culloden Moor where the battle was between the Jacobites and the Government - and strolled around the moor. Then on to Fort Augustus, Fort William (for lunch) and on to Loch Ness and as we were driving along a straight stretch of road beside the loch a fighter jet flew at low altitude down the length of the loch - didn't have the camera ready. A visit to Castle Moniach where the fraser Clan have lived since 1500. A stop at Beauly at the Clan Fraser shop to buy gifts for the boys, then back to Inverness to pick up our automatic hire car.
Day 69: Sunny: Off to the Isle of Skye after breakfast at Morrisons (like Woolworths) where I had at 8.30 am, the most delicious chocolate cake, oozing chocolate and about 1400 calories a serve - but it was worth it. We had a photo shoot around Inverness, a
stop at the Culloden Canal just out from Inverness, but missed out on a canal cruise. On for the long drive to Skye along the narrow winding road = glad Vera was driving today. We stopped for lunch of curried egg sandwiches and watched the yachts and launches going through the locks. A beautiful relaxing time there.
We arrived in Skye at Kyleakin to the Hostel there - in the old building as all the twins were taken in the so-called new part. We had a cruddy room that smelled of old men, so to air the room we opened the window to look out over the little river.
Day 70: Saturday 15th. July 2006: Sunny: we drove to Broadford and went into a couple of craft shops - just looking, stopped to walk around at the old stone bridge and admire the Cuillins. A wander around Portree before lunch then onto Uig before visiting Castle Dunvegan and the lovely grounds. It was quite a pleasant day driving around and after tea it was a stroll around Kyleakin to take more photos. Another lovely day.
Day 71: Week 11: Sunday 16th. July: Sunny and hot: Goodbye Isle
of Skye as we went over the now "toll free" bridge for the long winding drive back to Fort William and around Loch Lomond, down the freeway where cars were queued up for miles waiting to get into the Golf Championships, to Lockerbie, then on the A74 through all the roadworks with Vera driving today. Somewhere along the way I took over the driving then had to negotiate narrow back roads and bridges, one of which was around a bend and down a hill of course and there were cars and people everywhere; it wasn't until we were nearly at the lttle bridge we came face to face with a tractor hauling some kind of machinery, so I had to reverse the car around the bend and back up the hill till I could pull off the road and let four of these tractors by. Very cautiously we ventured forth again. We arrived at Bessietown and our first B & B stay. Oh! the place was so lovely and 5 star. Fresh linen on the beds, a lovely bathroom with towels that smelled of rose petals and everything so nice and clean and pretty and girlie. Sheer heaven. We drove
into Canonbie for a pub tea - really nice, then back to a hot shower and bed.
Day 72: Monday 17th. July 2006: Week 11: Sunny and hot: In a dining room set up very nicely indeed, we had the most delightful cooked breakfast served to us on Royal Doulton china followed by toast and marmalade. Time to go so off to Gretna Green and the museum there. A visit to Longtown before driving the long way via Lanercost Priory to Hadrian's Wall and on to Birdoswald Roman Fort. Took the long way back to Canonbie for a pub tea ( really very good) before heading home for the night.
Day 73: Hot and sunny - 36C: Off to Bassenthwaite where Don and I stayed in 1989 - it is still the very pretty little village I remember. On to Keswick and a stroll by the lake and through the lovely town before what we thought was a good idea but turned out to be a horrible drive to Windermere where every Tom, Dick and Harry, Mary, Jane and Sue and their dogs had decided to visit this day. It was so crowded and horrible with no parking
available unless you paid a fortune which we ended up doing before going on a lake cruise to see the countryside smudged with smog. The drive home was just as bad with so much traffic for narrow winding roads. Vera always managed the driving in these conditions as I would have freaked out. We managed to get to the M6 where everyone drives at 70mph = 130 kph. We could have visited any number of places that would not have been overcrowded. Never again.
Day 74: Wednesday 19th. July 2006: Hot and sunny: Off to Stranraer with a stop at Gatehouse on Fleet and a stop in at the mill museum - great place. A little bit of sightseeing around the area and we pressed on to our next B & B. We both had a haircut this afternoon at a little salon whose owner bred and showed Dobermans so he had a lot of photos on his mobile that he was pleased to share with me.
Day 75: Sunny and hot after a thunderstorm last night: We started our sightseeing today with a visit to Castle Kennedy, on to Port Patrick for alook, lunch and a chance
to play the old
Penny Arcade pokies with old pennies. After Vera had put the rubbish in the bin she said she had seen some human hair on another bin and for me to check it out. Oh yuk and enough to put me off my lunch. We aked a local council worker to check the bin and his comment was -"there is no murdda in there". Over to the other side of the harbour where we could see a memorial to a shipwreck.
We took a road and came across the Kirk Stones sign, parked the car and striolled up to an old church where some ancient stones have been placed behind protective glass. Next stop was at Sandyhead, a good holiday retreat; the tide was out and the patterns in the sand were really fetching and some people were trying to get the worms. On to Ardwell and then Logan Botanic Gardens where we saw a plant with enourmous leaves - photo of me next to the plant.
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Bec M
non-member comment
I hope you fall in love with Scotland like I did last year...if you're after a good hostel in Edinburgh St Christophers on Market St is good as is the International Student Hostel in the grassmarket...enjoy Scotland, it's my favourite place on earth :)