Tales of wee mountains and monsters

We have just arrived at our B&B, ten minutes from Inverness, virtually on the shores of Loch Ness. In case you didn’t already know, Lock Ness is the biggest loch in Scotland; very long indeed, but quite narrow. Also, in case you didn’t know, it is home to that most mystical of creatures, the Golden Eagle (ah, you all thought I was going to say the Red Squirrel, didn’t you). Oh, and yes, there’s some creature called Nessie here (actually, much harder to spot the wee eagle).

Famous Loch Ness - if you look really, really closely about half way down the lake on the far side, I think you can just make out an ice-cream wrapper.

On our way to Inverness, we went past so many lochs each one has started to look much like the last, mind you, they’re still pretty spectacular. 

Another bloody castle stuck out in the middle of yet another loch.

Something that was spectacular was Ben Nevis, which we went within a few kilometres of. It was shrouded in fog, with lots of snow still on its higher sides, but a beautiful thing nonetheless. Ben Nevis is the tallest peak in the British Isles, but still only a little over half as high as Kosci.

Ben Nevis, Britain's tallest peak.

Last night was Oban, on the very rugged Scottish west coast. Oban is famous for ancient castles, magnificent scenery, the departure place for ferries to the Isles, and that great Oban institution, the Regent Hotel. OMG what can I say, I could compare it to Fawlty Towers, but that would be doing an injustice to Basil and Manuel. This place looks like it was hit in a German bombing raid during the war. It is such a dump, I even saw the cockroaches complaining about the smell. Now, I don’t pretend to be a spring-chicken, but when Alison and I checked in, I think we lowered the average age by about twenty years.

Oban, I think you can see Hamish Macbeth in the wee boat.

The weather in Oban was a bit ordinary (which is how the locals describe pelting with rain), so we were a little hampered in getting around, but we still managed a pretty long walk. There is something almost mystical about Scotland, with its ruins, its beautiful highland cattle, and its Hamish Macbeth impersonators, you never quite know what’s around the corner (most likely a fully loaded Mac truck doing 120 clicks on a road barely wide enough for cyclists).

 

Sunset at Oban - and it's 9.30 pm!

More of Oban

Tomorrow, it’s off to Aberdeen, home of the Angus, and then the famous city of Edinburgh. But first, it’s off to get a wee bite to eat at the wee pub.

Inverness at 8 degrees C (the locals thought it was positively balmy)

Post script: While we were down visiting the Loch at the tiny village of Dores just before heading into Inverness for dinner, we came across a camera crew filming a documentary on the lake and Nessie. Out of the blue, one of the guys asked us whether we would pretend to buy something from the local Nessie spotter, which we were only too happy to do. All over in a few minutes, but you never know, I could be the next Neil Oliver (whom all the locals think is a pretentious twat, so maybe not).

That's me (the handsome one) talking to a guy (in the van doorway) who has spent the last twenty years of his life on the shores of Loch Ness making Nessie figures out of Femo for the tourist trade. He swears he saw her once (whereas I just swear he's loopy). The other guy is the documentary maker.