AT LAST AT LAST
London, Scotland and Some Canals
Skye to Worcester
Saturday 17th September 2022
Sunday 18th September 2022
Monday 19th September 2022
Tuesday 20th September 2022
Wednesday 21st September 2022
Saturday 17th September 2022
Plockton Harbour
arewell to Skye! We got away at about 0930 after a fond farewell to Betty MacKinnon who was making up the cottage next door. We have very fond memories of Betty, who kept the booking open for three years and did not put up her prices!
Plockton Shoreline
irst to Broadford to fill up with petrol at the Co-Op, then across the bridge and onto pretty Plockton. I can't believe it is 22 years since we saw it last. Nothing much has really changed. We strolled around the shore, seeing again "Rory Campbell's" store which was still marked as such after all this time. After all Hamish MacBeth had already finished when we saw Plockton last. We had coffee in a pub and went on via Stromeferry and Shieldaig.
Heading North, near Aultbea
ll the roads were single lane but the passing places were numerous. The scenery was stupendous, huge walls of hill ravined with little waterfalls (unfortunately it misted rain most of the day) but it was still spectacular. Our way was often on the top of cliffs looking down on the silver (i.e grey) sea, punctuated by small islands.
Looking down on Aultbea
e parked by Loch Maree to have our simple sangers and coke, then headed on through Aultbea and Gairloch to Poolewe, where we found our accommodation for the night at the Poolewe Hotel. This was a quaint, old-fashioned place, we had to go looking for someone at Reception but it was quite efficient in the end.
Our Room Poolewe Hotel
ur room, nearly a suite, was strangely shaped but very spacious with windows looking out to sea. We have a bedroom, a little lounge area with armchairs and tea and coffee facs. The bathroom is large and clean with a large bath and amenities bottles of gel made with sea kelp. We have booked dinner tonight at 1930. See how they do.
From our Window, Poolewe Hotel
had a chicken and leek pie, chips and veg, Mac had game pie, mash and veg. Mine was very nice but Mac says his was a bit tough.
Sunday 18th September 2022
Waterfall near Loch Assynt
very good breakfast today, including fresh fruit salad and just baked croissants, Yummy!
We headed off north towards our next stop at Scourie. Although raining on and off most of the morning the scenery was still amazing, lots of waterfalls, large and small, and the sky gradually cleared towards midday when we arrived at Loch Assynt and the ruined Ardvreck Tower.
Ardvreck Tower
hen we were here last we just walked down to the little island where stepping stones led across to the tower, and I didn't do it. But now it has either silted up or someone has decided to fill it in and you can walk up to the tower without wetting your feet .
Ardvreck Tower
e parked down the road away from the Pay and Display in front of the view, and walked down from there. It was a bit muddy, but worth the effort, I feel. I got some good close-ups of the tower before we left and drove on to Lochinver.
We found the pie shop we remembered was still there but closed for Sunday. So we bought a sandwich, diet coke and a packet of crisps at the Co-op to share and took them to a picnic table overlooking Loch Inver. Very nice, and cheap.
Lochinver
e then took the coast road north. This is a very minor single lane road which, although spectacular, was rather nerve-wracking. The sea views backed by the hills were wonderful.
However, we got through to Kylescu where we confirmed our booking for dinner. Then on to Scourie to our B and B.
Coastal Road to Scourie
Scourie B and B
his is in a cute old cottage with three letting rooms shoehorned into the space. The room is tiny but has some amazing mod cons like power outlets which incorporate USB slots and a demisting mirror and an interesting tap in the bathroom. The view of sunset from our window was also spectacular.
Sunset at Scourie
e changed (at least I did) and we drove back to Kylescu for dinner at the hotel. It is heavily into seafood, unsurprisingly, so Mac had little to choose from. He had beef carpaccio and vegetarian gnocchi, which he enjoyed, and I had three oysters with bloody mary (!) and Catch of the Day (sea bass fillet grilled with new potatoes and broccolini. And a glass of pino grigio. Mac asked for lemon, lime and bitters and had to tell them how to make it! The meal was very nice, but the most expensive we have had so far, even in London and the Sunday Roast we had in Uig last week. Still, we have not been spending what Mac estimated on meals in general so are not doing too badly.
omorrow we head even norther and then back towards Inverness. Tomorrow is also the Queen's funeral and most businesses are closing as a mark of respect. Don't know if we will get anything to eat along the way. But we have booked dinner at our hotel so all should be well.
Monday 19th September 2022
Smoo Cave from the Top
oday is Warwick's birthday. We emailed him a couple of photos and birthday wishes. After a good breakfast we left our little B and B. I hope the young couple who own the Guest House are doing alright. Three rooms does not give much scope for profit. But they were very pleasant and chatty. I think they have a farm or some other source of income.
Outlet from Smoo Cave
eading ever northwards our first stop was Durness and the Smoo Cave. This is a popular tourist site and there were quite a few tourists there. It is spectacular, even the bit we were able to access. We walked down to the viewpoint but the sheer number of steps to the cave was impossible for me, so we got a few snaps of the top and the outlet to the sea, and went on.
Moine House on the Flow
hrough more and more single lane roads, which I find nerve-wracking, across an area known as the Sutherland Flow Country. It is a region of peat bogs and biological significance which used to be very dangerous to cross.
Rosemary at the Window, Moine House
here was the ruin of a little stone house that was built to rescue travellers if they got lost or whatever, and we went for a look. It was called Moine House and a family lived here in very remote conditions just to help travellers. Very interesting country, I remembered seeing it on a TV program on a Scenic Train journey to John o Groats and Wick.
Dunrobin Castle Railway Station
e continued through lovely scenery over the north coast with beautiful white sand beaches and generally more of the same great hill, loch and fushy burn as we have been appreciating every day. I whiled away the journey composing a poem about Scotland which I will append at the end of this record.
Mac at Dunrobin Castle Station
inally turned off the single lane roads and on to the A7 to Brora where we got a very distant prospect of Dunrobin Castle. We continued on towards Golspie and looked for the cute little Dunrobin Castle Railway Station we had seen on another TV train program. (There are so many of them). It was easy to find, being well sign posted so we drove in to it. It is so cute, being a duke was OK back in the day. He wanted his own station as a condition of letting them build the railway line. We really enjoyed wandering along the station which still gets trains, you have to let the guard know you want to get off there, and coming back you have to signal the driver to stop, like a bus!
Our Room, Golspie Inn
nyway, after this we drove in to Golspie and found our hotel, the Golspie Inn as soon as we turned into the town. We have a rather snazzy room, although not too well serviced (staff problems, which we have found all over the place, blaming Boris for Brexit! )
We went out for a walk and found Golspie really started quite a way from the hotel. We walked along the beach promenade, noting the heavy flood doors on all the property behind the prom. Must get high tides or massive storm surge.
Artwork in our Room, Golspie Inn
inner tonight is a delight in store as we did not find any lunch. I had confit duck and Mac had gammon steak and eggs (more like breakfast) and we both started with crispy breaded brie with berry jam and salad. And a bottle of pink pinot grigio. OK all up.
Tuesday 20th September 2022
Inverness Street
ff today for Inverness, not very far, only about nine miles to the airport where we got rid of the car with remarkable ease. We had not found a petrol station on the way so had to pay for refilling but that is not really a problem. We then caught a cab to the Railway Station.
Inverness Market Square
e put the luggage in a left luggage locker and sallied forth to look at Inverness. Having only really seen the Caledonian Canal end of the river it was interesting to see. We explored the old Victorian Market for souvenirs and bought a couple then scoured all the kilt shops we could find for a tartan bowtie for Geoff. Unfortunately it seems they have to be custom made. Pity.
River Ness
e wandered about, then went to Burger King for lunch in the Market Square, which was marked by a Mercat Cross topped by a unicorn, then went for a walk by the River Ness. We crossed a couple of bridges and took some photos of churches (lots of spires) and also Inverness Castle on the skyline.
Inverness Castle
fter coffee and a cake at the Station Costa we collected the luggage and went to the Caledonian Sleeper Lounge to wait. Finally got on board. Mac dropped one of the suitcases on my leg by accident and the subsequent bruising from shin to ankle lasted most of the rest of the holiday.
We ordered breakfast for 0630 and got ready for bed.
Caledonian Sleeper Bed
he cabin is, of course, very compact, the bed takes up most of the room. There is a shower and toilet but I feel the shower is fairly unusable. The girl at the Caledonian Sleeper Lounge was pushing having showers there rather than on the train "because of some pipe problem" but I think it was because they know how hard it would be on the train. The toilet was fine, however. There were lots of complimentary gels and shampoos and chocolates on the pillows. The bed was quite hard but I slept better than I had expected. I have not had a good night yet, my back is giving me a lot of trouble.
Wednesday 21st September 2022
Caledonian Sleeper at Euston
e arrived at Euston at 0730 after our breakfast of bacon roll and coffee. Our train to Worcester was not until 1450 so we killed as much time as possible, then got a cab to Paddington. We have spent more time hanging around railway stations in the last couple of days than we have spent on trains. We just got to the time when our train was on the board when it was cancelled without warning. There have been many trains cancelled today because of damage to the electrical wiring. Anyway we waited another hour and finally caught the next train to Worcester, using the same tickets. We got our first class seats eventually so that was alright but it was quite worrying at the time.
Cardinal's Hat Hotel, Worcester
rriving at Worcester Foregate Street Station we consulted a city map displayed outside and walked to Friar Street in the Cathedral Quarter, where we found our hotel, the Cardinal's Hat in a block of ancient black and white Tudor buildings. The hotel is full of quirks and character like the Cheshire Cat in Nantwich and I can't wait to explore more tomorrow. Our bedroom is, unfortunately up three flights of stairs but is spacious and comfortable.
Our bedroom at the Cardinal's Hat
e had dinner at the hotel, cider and a chicken and mushroom pie with mash, peas and gravy, huge and delicious. Then up the three flights of stairs and so to bed.
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