Fort William and Glenfinnan

XVII BLOG Toto Travels
27 May, Friday 


We woke up hoping for decent weather and planning a drive toward Fort William. Breakfast at Tanglin was delicious, of course. We did have eggs,  "bacon" (more like ham to us Americans) and the sausage, but not the mushrooms and tomatoes.
 It was time to do laundry, so we asked Jim and Liz about the laundry that was recommended by Rick Steves' Scotland guide. And off we headed through the somewhat  confusing streets of Oban and after one circuit, found the laundry. As we passed it, a lady started coming up the wrong way - Mike pointed urgently at the one way sign and she gestured indignantly to get out of her way.  Wow, we both thought, grouchy. We came around, parked and took our laundry in the door to be greeted by the "wrong way" lady as the laundry lady. OOPS. She was not a happy person. We left the laundry wondering if she would launder Mike's clothes with the dirty diapers and maybe conveniently forget to rinse them. Ah well, time will tell. 
I wanted to get our seats reserved for the train trip to London on Tuesday and we checked out tours to the  Isle of Mull.  Jim had recommended a trip to a tiny basalt island of Staffa where more sea life is usually visible and where puffins are commonly seen. Liz came up very quietly and told me, in a low voice, "It's a very small boat and a rough ride, just thought you should know." WHEW, glad to hear that tip, especially after the rough sailing between Larne and Troon across the Irish Sea.
We booked our Bowman ferry and bus tour for the Isles of Mull and Iona for tomorrow, Saturday, and headed toward Fort William. Over Connell Bridge and up more into the Western Highlands, although we would barely scratch the countryside. I had grand visions of making it to Mallaig and then being a able to zip over to Glencoe to check it out before we went back to Oban. However, it is slow going, awesome views- even with the rain -  and we stopped often to enjoy the scenery.  Jim had recommended a side trip to Appin Harbour, and that was a 10 mile or so side trip that was, of course, on a narrow road. All beautiful, but slow going.
Arrived in Fort William, with the rain stopping for a bit, and enjoyed browsing through some stores in this picturesque town on Loch Linnhe. Big shopping on High Street, but we find Oban much more charming. 
Neptune's staircase is a series of locks on the Caledonian Canal that goes to Inverness. It was raining again now, so we stayed in the car and drove to Glenfinnan. I wanted to see the "Hogwart's train " viaduct and a bit more of the highlands on the road to Mallaig.
Rain started in earnest shortly after we left Fort William, sigh.
Driving along Loch Eil on A830, I kept watching for a train, but we did not see one. I was hoping for miracle timing and getting to watch a train cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct.

As it was raining pretty steadily, we did not walk out very far toward the viaduct, partly because it WAS wet, sloshy and soggy, partly because Mike was restless to head back toward Oban, and partly because he was concerned about me falling in the wet conditions (sigh!)    The viaduct is set in a spectacular glen, framed by mountains with a marvelous construction on stone. 

On the other  side of the road is the real reason for the tourist information office, the Glenfinnan Monument on the shores of Loch Shiel.  Erected to honor the men who fought for the Jacobite cause with Bonnie Prince Charlie (Prince Charles Edward Stuart)  in   1745.  The Jacobite cause set to support James VII of Scotland (James II of England), which was unsuccessful. Again, it would have been a lovely short walk out to the monument, in the rain of course, but we were hungry and needed to leave. 
Back to Fort William and on to A828 and eventually on A85 toward Oban. 
 
We had a very late lunch at Castle View Restaurant.  Providing the view is Castle Stalker in Loch Linnhe between the Isle of Lismore and Appin.  It was still raining as we enjoyed a very tasty lunch, a mist-shrouded view of the castle, a peek at the displays of the area history that covered the walls between the gift shop and the little cafe. Mike picked out a great place to eat.
Over Creagan Bridge to Connell Bridge again and back to Tanglin Bed and Breakfast.

My revised grand plan of making the loop up the Caledonian Canal,  through Inverness, and back to Glasgow also proved too ambitious. I had to agree that we needed at least 2 additional days for that plan. The original plan involved going to Mallaig, taking the ferry to the Isle of Skye, skirting the coast of Skye, going over the bridge at Kyle of Lochalsh then to Dingwall to see Tulloch Castle - once a Clan Davidson castle- and on to Inverness. I abandoned that plan early.
George MacDowall told us we did not want to do that, it was too much traveling, we needed to enjoy the area and not travel so much. Mike also looked at the route and said, 'I don't want to drive that much." They were both right - so hard for me to admit! This trip the primary focus was part of Ireland, and I need to enjoy the time in Scotland, but realize that five days does not cover much territory unless you drive a ridiculous number of miles at a slow pace.
Tomorrow takes us to the Isle of Mull and to the wee Island of Iona.