WYSIWYG

What You See Is What You Get. This is a journal blog, an explore-blog, a bit of this and that blog. Sharing where the mood takes me. Perhaps it will take you too.

Menootanabootagain... the Northern Explorer

A tad tardy getting these travel posts to you - hope you'll think them worth the wait.

Bridge at Ballachulish; from my fuel stop
The Little Ren was packed and ready to roll bright and early on May 27th; it was a bank holiday weekend and wanted to get a bit ahead of traffic. Failed. It was nose to tail all the way up to the top end of Loch Ness - then there was the Mumbai-style traffic getting through Inverness... the journey from Dunoon to Skelbo took me 6.5 hours, with only a fifteen minute sandwich/fuel break. About two hours more than necessary. Hey ho.

In spite of this, I arrived at 1530h and a good two hours before the rest of the Macs. You can zoom this map in and out to see the route; I took the A815 round to Tarbet, then the A82 all the way up to Fort William, across the centre diagonal, joining the A9 at Inverness... our cottage was on Skelbo Street.



The weather was warmish, but overcast. The house was stuffy, so I flung open windows and doors and took a step outside...























A garden which also had that slightly left-behind, slightly shabby feel about it. Loads of charm though.

House itself capacious and fairly well equipped - but no internet caught us a little by surprise. Once over it though, two of us at least were glad of it. The other two had their 4g connectivity (at 2g rates... I'm told).

Neither did one require television, for the view was endlessly entertaining, Loch Fleet being severely shallow and tidal and the birds in the hedge and shrubs were astonishingly unafraid of us. Too much flitting about for me to get any decent photos of most of them.

The rest of the clan arrived and evening meal was quickly produced and beds assigned, then a trip back down the road a bit to Dornoch... where the local pipe band was opening their summer season.

Read all about it tomorrow!


8 comments:

  1. Ohhh it is such a lovely spot...the vistas are amazing. Looking forward to Chapter 2.
    Hugs HiC

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  2. Hello, looks like a lovely trip! Beautiful scenery and lovely flowers. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!

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  3. Our kootenai river had a bridge like that...Coffee is on

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  4. Looks like a beautiful place
    hugs
    Mr Bailey, Hazel & Mabel

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  5. that is a super place for a summer day... I love the old barrel, oh how I wish I had one for my garden :o)

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  6. How wonderful you could get together. A lovely spot, and good to be internet-free some times! xx

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  7. Oh, it's lovely. I wouldn't mind at all not having internet or television connections.

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  8. It looks STUNNING Aunty Yam...Mum is always telling me how beautiful Scotland is...so why oh why doesn't she take me there????
    Loves and licky kisses
    Princess Leah xxx

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