F&J do Oz (and Scotland and who knows where else...)

Friday 26th and Saturday 27th August – Pitlochry to Richmond via York

ozzieabroad — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 18:17:33 +0000

Not much to report now – a driving day from Pitlochry to York, with a stop anear Lockerbie for lunch. We had a lovely evening with Jonathan and Tracy in York, first looking at their “Grand Design” and then stopping for dinner in the pub. We overnighted in the Hotel-du-Vin in York, and had a quick wander around York town centre in the morning, before driving back to London.

A super break in an amazing country, with so much more to return and do next time. On our road trip, the total distance driven was 2190.4 miles and for the accountants amongst you (you know who you are) at an average 38mpg!

Thursday 25th August – Forss to Pitlochry

ozzieabroad — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 20:59:02 +0000

Today was mainly a driving day – we checked out of Forss House, and headed south, first calling at a Pottery Gallery near Wick, and the harbour at Lybster before driving to Aviemore where we stopped for lunch in the Mountain Café. After a walk down the high street, it was back in the car to head for Pitlochry.

We checked into our penultimate residence around 3pm, leaving lots of time for exploring Pitlochry - we walked the high street, discovered a gallery at the Festival Theatre, and visited the dam and hydro-electric plant, and walked back via the station. To finish the day we had a light dinner in the Fern Cottage restaurant.

Wednesday 24th August – Around Forss

ozzieabroad — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:41:31 +0000

After a good breakfast, we walked down to the river at the end of the hotel gardens, first to the waterfall (to look for leaping salmon – one sighted), and then on to the river banks, and towards the beach. We met the groundsman, who was on his day off, and was trying his luck at fly fishing – he let both Fiona and I have a few casts, but no results (no surprise there!). After that, we walked to the beach, and visited the ruins of St. Mary’s Chapel, before cutting through the old US Monitoring Station site, and back to Forss Hotel by the road.

Following a cup of tea at the hotel, we set off for the Castle of Mey, where we had a guided tour of the holiday residence of the Queen Mother – very interesting, with many of her personal possessions still in the property (including the coat she wore for 40 years because she didn’t believe in replacing anything that wasn’t broken!). We also had a good look around the garden, before driving to John O’Groats (where nothing has changed wince I last visited except a horrific paint-job on the hotel completed in the name of art!), and then to Dunnet Head where there was a fantastic view of Orkney across a millpond sea. We then visited another gallery on the way back to the hotel, and are now getting ready for dinner with a G&T in the bar. Tomorrow we set off for Pitlochry.

Tuesday 23rd August – Ullapool to Forss

ozzieabroad — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 18:14:46 +0000

A good dinner in the Arch Café in Ullapool, and a comfortable night in the Ardlair B&B, we briefly stopped into the local pottery, before heading north towards Unapool on the coast road. We stopped at Ardmair castle, and a number of other locations along the coast, before arriving in Durness and looking around the Balnakeil craft village, which is built in the buildings of an old RAF monitoring station.

After lunch, we drove to the beach for a very short walk, and then drove via some inland roads for a change of scene. We eventually arrived at Forss House Hotel around 17:30, and again we’ll eat in the hotel tonight. Good to return here after my last trip supporting Craig (brother-in-law) in his Lands End to John O’Groats cycle ride a couple of years ago.

Monday 22nd August – Torridon to Ullapool

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:39:55 +0000

This morning we had a lazy morning at Torridon, with a late breakfast, packing and a drink in the lounge before reluctantly heading off. We first drove back towards Inverness to visit a couple of art galleries in Beauly, and stopped at some waterfalls on the way. After lunch in the second art gallery, we drove to Ullapool and checked into our B&B which has superb views up and down the loch.

We explored Ullapool taking in the shops and the food options, and will return there for dinner this evening.

Sunday 21st August – Around Torridon

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:49:38 +0000

Well – it was certainly an amazing dinner last night, with canapés followed by 5 courses plus cheese, accompanied by some Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir. We slept contentedly after that, and allowed ourselves a lie-in – after all it was Sunday morning.

After breakfast, we decided to do a walk from Poolewe around the local Loch (finding the walk in the book Fiona and Craig gave me for my birthday). So after a 20-mile drive from Torridon, we parked in Poolewe, and headed off, armed with a packed lunch. Initially the walk was along an access track, and we stopped for lunch half way around, sitting on a hillside overlooking the loch. We had a close encounter with a toad, a couple of beetles, and a small mouse but all was good. After lunch, the path was more rugged, with some rock scrambling required before we ended up back at the road for the short walk back to the car. A nice scone and a piece of cake in the coffee shop before driving back to Torridon – Fiona had a nice relaxing bath and I read the paper by the fire.

To save our stomachs from the continuous assault, tonight we’ll have a simple dinner in the pub.

Saturday 20th August – Around Torridon

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:47:22 +0000

After a hearty breakfast, we headed out for our Kayaking session on Loch Torridon. This proved interesting – there were only 2 of us in our group, and the guide was contemplating cancelling due to the weather – fortunately it abated a little so we could set off, and shortly after departing we had an inquisitive seal in our midst bobbing his head up and down.

The lull in the weather was shortlived, and the wind got up again fairly quickly, meaning it was a struggle to keep the kayaks pointed in the right direction. Our instructor chose not to point out the swirling vortexes which appeared out on the lock until we did, and was heard to say he hadn’t been looking for an adrenaline rush when he set off that morning. Anyway – we all arrived back safely if a little wet from the expedition, and needed the services of the hotel drying room.

We dried out, and relaxed in the hotel for lunch, before going out again for a 10km walk around a local loch, and cup of tea in a tiny café in Kinlochewe, and then back to the hotel again for some resting and reading. Tonight we are staying in for the much-acclaimed 5 course dinner in the dining room. Good job we didn’t have too much lunch!

Friday 19th August – Fort William to Torridon

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:46:31 +0000

Another early start, and check out of Mayfield, so that we could catch the 08:36 train from Banave to Mallaig. We had tried to get tickets on the Steam Train, but due to it’s popularity (it was the route used for the Harry Potter film) it was fully booked. It is one of the most scenic train trips in the UK, so instead we opted to take the schedule service which offers the same views, and they were indeed spectacular. After a 20 minute stop in Mallaig, we caught the return journey, and passed the “Harry Potter” train along the route (which was suitably crammed with tourists!).

Once back in Banave, we had a quick look at the Grand Union canal lock staircase (Neptune’s Steps) before heading off towards Torridon, taking a detour to visit Plockton (home of Hamish MacBeth) for some lunch and a walk along the seashore. In the late afternoon we arrived in Torridon, and checked into our hotel – very nice! Much amusement to find a field of highland cows outside (and a toy one sitting on the bed to greet us!), and more amusement during feeding time, with a stampede across the field to the trough.

We had dinner in The Inn (attached to the hotel), and a comfortable evening doing not very much.

Thursday 18th August – Oban and Mull

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:45:34 +0000

After an early start, we drove down to Oban, to catch the Caledonian McBrayne
ferry over to the Isle of Mull. We picked up some bread, cheese and pasties for lunch. After the 45 minute crossing (nice pasties!) from Oban to Craignure, we drove north to Tobemory (better known as Balamory!) for an explore. Then back in the car, and around the north of the island, catching sight of a Golden Eagle, and stopping to view Ulva (an island) from afar – no time to summon the small ferry for the 300m crossing on this visit though, as we had a date with the last ferry home to Oban.

Once back in Oban, we had a super dinner at the safood restaurant Ee-Usk, before driving back to the B&B in Fort William.

Wednesday 17th August – Luss to Fort William

ozzieabroad — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:44:46 +0000

Drove up from Luss along the shores of Loch Lomond, and then north towards Glencoe. We took a detour down a dead-end track to visit Loch Etive, where we were the only people for a while. After this, we headed up to Glencoe village for a hearty lunch of soup and sandwiches in a little café in the village.

Eager for further exploration, we took the ferry at Corran (cross Loch Linnhe), and drove all the way to Kilchoan (on Ardnamurchan), which was beautiful and almost deserted. On the return trip, we took some dinner in the Salen Inn Hotel, before driving to Fort William via Ardmolich, Lochalort and Kinlochell – finally to the Mayfield B&B later on in the evening.