The Great Glen

We had no accommodation booked the next day as we set off for the trip along the Great Glen. At Fort William, Sally’s card failed twice in the money machines so panic set in. We went to the tourism office and we just plonked ourselves down in the only spare seat and managed to get online. The funds were still there, we just had to “contact our issuer” to get them. We phoned for about an hour but no-one answered so I managed to withdraw a bit of cash using my NZ bank card to tide us over for a few days. It took almost a week of phone calls before we managed to make contact and start using her card again. Poor service from an organisation dedicated to travellers.

We followed the Caledonian Canal to Loch Lochy where we headed to Spean Bridge and a memorial to the Commandos of World War Two. The monument was very busy and clearly popular with its former trainees and families. A remembrance garden had many plaques and there was a dedicated ashes spreading area. Bizarrely we were grumped at three times by following motorists, who honked their horns, revved their engines and sat six inches from Sally’s mudguards in an effort to bully us off the road. One time I deliberately drifted into the centre of the road to prevent him from trying to go past us and knocking us off in doing so.

At Invermoriston we had the day’s WOW moment in the form of an old bridge over a swift running river. It had been built with its centre support on a big rock in the middle of the river. I loved it so much I just stayed and soaked it up for about half an hour. At Invergarry the Hostel was full so we found a spot to go freedom camping and put up

our tent in dry but overcast conditions.

The next morning we had sunshine for about an hour before the rain arrived. The sun cheered us up immensely. We stopped at Drumnadrochit on Loch Ness (we did not see the Loch Ness monster this time ) for a cup of tea and then took on the A833 from Milton to Beauly, our stop for the night. The first mile was a 16% uphill but after that it climbed slowly and we were rewarded with stunning views.

Our hosts Hillary and Dave had prepared a Cheese and Leek Pie and we chatted away the evening until 11 pm when we looked at the clock only to realise how late it was. The next morning we departed early and went into Beauly to find a doctor. We got a 10:30 appointment and it was covered by the reciprocal agreement between the UK and NZ. Sally took the chance to get a new prescription for her regular

pills as well, and the pills were free as well. We had budgeted for rather more then $0. We wandered around the old Priory where the original church interior had been re-purposed as a burial ground. Sally also got her hair cut and thoroughly enjoyed a bit of normality and pampering. A lovely café lunch just topped off the day.

We spent a second night just outside Beauly at Kirkhill where our host Sarah welcomed us with freshly baked bread. Our meal was followed by my first ever blackcurrant sponge. It was superb and after dinner we went for a walk to the local church where is buried the Red Fox ( but not his head) http://www.explore-inverness.com/what-to-do/castles-great-places/wardlaw-mausoleum/. He was beheaded in the Tower of London for treachery. All the local Aristocracy were buried there. As we were walking the path back to the house I found another 10 pound note on the road so we now have 20 pounds to spend on something special for Sally. She is still deciding.

After breakfast we added electrolyte to our water bottles to get rid of the calf cramps we have both been suffering. It worked. Thank you so much for that wonderful little teaspoon.