Skye

My old workmate Ross now lives in Kyleakin on Skye, and works in the King Haakon Pub. Garry and I drove up there from Armadale, where I discovered they have a chickpea and spinach casserole. Demolished the whole dish, walked back to Ross' place with his flatmate, and fell into the cushiest bed for the deepest, warmest sleep. Camping is a lot of fun, but coming back to a comfortable bed is a great feeling!

Monday morning Garry drove us out to Torridon. It's pronounced with rolling "r's", so ignore my Australianisms and read it with the lovely Scottish lilt it's meant to have. One of the better known mountain ranges in Scotland, Torridon was a grand sight of tall, snow capped mountains, with two large lochs at the base. I took a few too many photos, which I'm having problems downloading, but by the time this chapter is done it should all be sorted.

From Torridon we drove to Diabeg beach, where we saw the washed up remains of a large boat. The boat had been one of three which were scheduled for decommission, and instead were set fire to as part of an insurance scam. Two of the boats sank, but this one turned up on the beach, while those in charge of the process ended up in gaol. Their mistake was our gain, and it made for some great shots.

Back to the pub for another feed, followed by a few hours of catching up and reminiscing with Ross, and I was ready for bed. Quick mention of Ellie, the most energetic 14 year old dog I've ever met! She wasn't so sure of me the first night, but a few games of tug o' war and we had some good snuggles later.

It was a fairly quick drive back to Edinburgh, even with the snow which had started to fall across the Highlands. Garry was keen to get past the snow gates in case we got stranded on the road. Apparently last month there were four thousand people stranded between the snow gates outside Glasgow, after eight inches of snow fell in only two hours. I was pretty keen to not be trapped in a car in the snow, and just as pleased to get to Glencoe without incident.

We did make a brief stop in Glencoe for some photos, and I'm pleased to announce I've now fulfilled a childhood dream and built a snowman! Garry watched me for a few minutes before strolling over in dismay; "You've never built a snowman before, have you?"

Turns out there's an easy way and a hard way, and I've discovered you can roll snow like a blu-tack ball and it sticks to itself as it goes, creating a larger ball than I managed with my "rice ball" technique. A few stones for eyes and nose, and plant leaves for hair, and I was like a big kid grinning and spinning in the snow.

Last stop at the Scottish Antiques and Arts Centre, where I found a couple of good books in amongst the dozens of bird watching guides, bric-a-brac, and Scottish memorabilia. If anyone wants me to read them a Celtic fairytale, I'd be most obliged. The alternative is the history of witch hunts in Scotland; my return journey entertainment is now organised.

Back at Annika's place, with cat cuddles, warm clothes, and clean hair. I like to think I'm not a high maintenance person, but that shower was amazing, and so are modern washing machines. A huge thank you to Garry for all the driving, information, and good chatter, and to Ross for giving up his bed for me and being such a lovely host.