Day 22: While in the US, a 180-mile drive would be an easy day, in Scotland, it translated into a 4-hour drive – and that’s without any stops. We began our journey leaving Cairnryan right at 9am. It was slow going until we got close to Glasgow, when the road opened up some. We were able to drive highway speeds for a short while. Once we were north of the city, we had to slow down as the road narrowed again.

I found us a place to stop for lunch in the adorable little town of Luss, along the shore of Loch Lomond. We stretched our legs while checking out the town.

The landscape changed dramatically as we drove north toward our destination, Fort William. We entered the area of Scotland called The Highlands as mountains started to surround us. Wow!

Our long drive came to an end when we arrived at the Morrisons in Fort William. We stocked up before going the last 2.5 miles up the road to Glen Nevis Campground. After setting up for the next 4 nights, it was time for Happy Hour!

Day 23: Chores, specificially cleaning and laundry, were on the to-do list. We walked into town to get some steps in. While Fort William didn’t have the same “charm” as Irish towns we’ve visited, the views all around were amazing! Like comparable to AK views.

Linda made the most delicious Colcannon (an Irish dish made of potatoes and cabbage) and also blue cheese mushrooms to accompany our steaks for dinner that night! YUMMY!

Day 24: September 14, 1985 was the day Bill and I married, and we celebrated our anniversary with a train ride from Fort William to Mallaig. I was very excited Linda and Steven agreed to go with us! The train was pulled by an old steam engine and crosses the 21 arch Glenfinnan viaduct, made famous by the Harry Potter movies. So, basically, we were on the Hogwarts train! How cool was that? While I had attempted to book a private compartment a few months back, since it was off-season, we had to settle for first class. Riding in first class meant more comfortable seating, tea, and cookies.

The turn-around town for the train was a very small fishing village about 40 miles from Fort William called Mallaig, which is on the west coast of the Highlands of Scotland. It didn’t take very long to walk around and see the sites, so we stopped for a yummy hot chocolate with cream. Steven and I added marshmallows to ours. Warmed us up nicely as we made our way back to the train station for our return ride.

The train cars are set up in 2 different ways, one car has a 2 seater booth then an aisle then a 4 seater booth; the other car is the opposite. The locomotive gets turned around and attached at the other end. Passengers are assigned to one car on the way out and the other on the way back, so they can see the views off both sides of the train. Hope that makes sense!

Since the train station was right next to the Morrisons (grocery store), we stopped in for a couple of items before calling for a taxi to take us home.

Day 25: My alarm woke us up at 6:30am so we could get up and be ready to leave by 8:00. Yes – that’s very early for us. We are generally awake between 7:30 and 8, but to be dressed, have a lunch packed, and be ready to go by 8am is rare indeed. Steven and Linda were also ready to go and we started our walk to where our hike would begin. The summit of the Ben Nevis is the highest peak in the United Kingdom and our plan was to hike half way up. Looking at the mountain from the campground – it was quite intimidating. I felt better about it having bought poles to use.

I did my best but was disappointed that I couldn’t make it to the planned halfway point. The trail started out smooth enough with a gradual grade upward, after a short time rock steps were added, and they weren’t too steep initially. Then we rounded a “corner”, and it became much steeper. Linda was right in front of me and when she realized I had paused she looked back and said, “Are you ready to go back?” and I replied that I was. There was a brief conversation between Bill and Linda regarding who would go back with me, and Linda won. We began our walk back and it was certainly more complicated going down verses going up. Again, the poles were very helpful. We passed a lot of people heading up who commented about how we must have left very early to have summited and been on our way back down already. It wasn’t easy to admit we hadn’t gone all the way up, but I did try my best.

I’m grateful to Linda for pushing me – ever so slightly – to step outside my comfort zone, while still encouraging me to do it safely. She insisted that as soon as I felt I had gone far enough then I should turn around.

We made our way back home and I realized I didn’t have my key to get inside, Bill had it in his pocket. No worries, Linda had hers so we hung out and waited for our guys to get home. It took them about an hour and a half – and I was so happy they made it back safely. They showed us on the map and also with pictures how far they got, plus Bill has an altimeter – shocker! – to show the elevation, so we know they made it to the 1800 foot half way point. They both told us that we turned around at a good point because the climb got increasingly steeper and more challenging right after we turned back.

You’ll have to read the next post to follow along as we navigate the NC500!

Bill’s Lingo Lesson:

trolley = shopping cart

calming traffic = slow down, lower speed limit

overtaking lane = passing lane

blind summit = limited visibility

Dash Cam Footage:

Previous Post: Galway, Donegal, and Giants Causeway

Coming Up: The NC500!

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