3 happy campers have a highland fling...day 4

[purple myra]

DAY 4...AUGUST 5TH

Another earlyish start. We had booked breakfast at the hotel so we went up there and had cereal from the small buffet selection followed by a full cooked breakfast. Cooked breakfasts are always fun as that is when all the haggling starts…I don’t eat eggs or mushrooms and as Billy is an egg and mushroom obsessive they were worth a couple of tattie scones…I don’t really care for black pudding either so that is was worth a sausage off Jake…I threw in my tomato for good measure this was topped up with all the toast we could eat and lots of tea and orange juice. There was plenty of fruit and yogurt etc on the cold buffet but we didn’t fancy any of that. The breakfasts were £7 each so not bad at all.
Today we planned to head further north to Fort William, Jake and I wanted to do the Gondolas as Aonach Mor as we had done them years ago on our first camping trip together ( when we did it properly in a tent! ) and Billy wanted to do one of the wee cruises that take you out to see the seals.
It was a beautiful morning again and we were parked up near the pier and queuing for the first Seal Island Cruise at 10am.
The cruise is £8 per adult and last about and an hour and a half. It takes you up Loch Linnhe and “affords you numerous photo opportunities of Ben Nevis, lots of local wildlife including porpoise, salmon, seals and possibly a golden eagle! “….well you could hardly miss Ben Nevis…we saw loads of salmon in the fish farm we passed ( another of Jake and Billy’s pet hates ) and when we got to …ahem….Seal Island, we did see a few seals. Unfortunately we never spotted any porpoise or golden eagles. It was a pleasant wee cruise in lovely weather.






Seal Island…..lol…apparently they favour this rocky outcrop as even at high tide ( which it was ) it isn’t fully submerged and at low tide it is still cut off from land so there are no real threats to the seals




Ben Nevis…looking quite ‘wee’


We were told that if you look at Ben Nevis from this angle it looks like an elephant! I couldn’t see it at the time but looking at the photos I can see it..

Time to head back to the pier


Once back on dry land we head up to the main street, there really is only the one street in Fort William, sadly it is one cheap tacky “see you Jimmy hat” after another interspersed with “outdoor” shops….not Blacks or Tiso but cheapo ones that all sell exactly the same things, until you get to the end and there is a glass pyramid that houses the Nevis Range visitors centre. We have a browse around the book shop and Billy buys another map, Jake also buys a big guide to walking the “West Highland Way”…looks like they are getting serious about doing this next year! There is an outdoor equipment store in here too ( not one of the cheapo ones ) and Billy tries on a pair of walking boots he has been looking for but they don’t have his size in stock. We have a cup of tea and a slice of cake to keep us going and head back to the car, passing this gentleman reading his paper lol

[purple myra]

Our next stop is Aonach Mor and we pay £9.25 each for a return ride on the Gondola up to the Snow goose restaurant. Unfortunately when we get up there we are too late to take the chair lifts over to the hidden glen so we settle for a walk around on the well laid paths…Billy goes up to one of the peaks…Jake and I watch him! We go into the Snow goose and I make a fool of myself on one of those ‘ski simulators’ for the amusement of the gathering crowd, we have a drink in the bar before going out onto the viewing platform and watching the mountain bikers taking the quick route to the bottom….they hold the World Cup Downhill Mountain Biking on this track. The Gondolas can carry up to 3 bikes and an unlimited pass for the day only costs £10.75...still don’t fancy it much though!

The Gondolas



Loch Linnhe


Mountain Billy!


Mountain Myra


Don’t know why there is no Mountain Jake.

Some of the Mountain bikers heading back down the track




We take the easy route back down in the gondola and take a short detour to Spean Bridge to see the Commando monument


Then its back home to the cabin for a cuppa. As Jake has been driving all day, we decide to stay’ home’ and have dinner in the hotel.. (since I’d earlier decided not to bother continuing with these trippies, I deleted all the info I was keeping on my mobile ) so I don’t remember what we had but it was pretty good and averagely priced. We had a few drinks and numerous games of pool and a very attractive blonde lady started chatting to me, asking if we were doing the West Highland way etc…Billy was gutted, but I can’t help it if I’m a babe magnet and he’s not!
Off to bed and more hilarity as the methane making machine does its best to suffocated Billy lol, since we moved from the tepees to here Jake managed to bags a bottom bunk so now Billy is sleeping above him….who knew that the smell would rise!

[Guest]

I give up... I can't see no elephant Must admit Fort William does nothing for me... lol the guy with the knotted hankie says it all... I quite fancy the gondola ride though... great pics Myra... good job we don't do smellyvision on the dibb...what with your very own methane machine

[Scotty]

Its years since I was in Fort William - loved our trip on the Gondola then - we stayed in a campsite on Loch Linnhe.
Must say the mountain biking isnt my cup of tea!

[purple myra]

Originally Posted by Scotsmomma

I give up... I can't see no elephant Must admit Fort William does nothing for me... lol the guy with the knotted hankie says it all... I quite fancy the gondola ride though... great pics Myra... good job we don't do smellyvision on the dibb...what with your very own methane machine

See more...

Linda!
look at Ben Nevis and imagine you are looking at a side view of and elephant and its raising its trunk up!
I nearly ended up in the divorce courts over that wee man and his knotted hankie...Jake is losing patience with Billy and I and our wee Trinny and Susannah carry on I was kidding on I was taking a pic of Billy when i snapped the old guy

[Guest]

Another brillant report Myra. It's been years since I've been to Fort William, so it was nice to see what I've been missing.

[luxorsun71]

Lovely piccies,isn't Scotland beautiful when the sun shines Must admit I'm not a fan of Fort William but love up by Glen Nevis,absolutely stunning. Not done the gondolas yet but it is on the to do list. Right away to have another try at seeing this Ben Nevis elephant

[DIBBadmin]

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