Our Return to Scotalnd
We came as we left, on the Caledonian Sleeper from Euston to Fort William, 12 hours or as it turned out 13. It is the atmosphere on the train that makes the journey, it is like a large house party on wheels. There is a host to greet you when you arrive dressed in either a tartan tie (gentlemen) or a tartan waistcoat (ladies.). Everyone gets chatting to other "guests" at the party. Where else would you find a crusty old Scottish gentleman in a fine tweed suit walking though the lounge car into the restaurant car carrying a musket? Josh's comment was wonderful "Are you expecting trouble on the border?" I do recommend a journey on the sleeper if you can just for the eclectic mix of characters. I could write a book about the conversations overhead and the antics in the sleeper car and I may well do that some time.
Anyway, we had a reasonable night's sleep in our cabin and arrived an hour late at Fort William, but that didn't matter to us. However some passengers get the sleeper train so that they can then experience the Jacobite steam train ride from Fort William to Mallaig, which gives about a 20 minute window from arriving on the sleeper to leaving on the steam train, so some poor passengers missed their connection.
After a quick shop in the local supermarket we got a taxi back to the boat, as it was raining as usual. All was well with Lunar Sea so we moved her onto another berth so we could "plug in" and refill the water tanks.
The next day dawned overcast, grey, wet and windy, but hey, we have come to expect this now in Scotland. Josh had loads of "jobs" to do on the boat so he disappeared into the engine room for the day so I decided to brave the rain and catch the train into Fort William. It is one stop and £1.50 from Banavie to the town and there are only two trains in the morning, so I went for the 11.25. The next train home again was at 4.20 so I had a few hours to kill in Fort William. I was already soaked by the time I got to the station but hey ho that's a Scottish summer for you.
My first stop was the swimming pool, where there was a family friendly hour and unaccompanied adults (!) not allowed in, so I made use of the steam room which was included in the price of a swim at £1.95, a bargain. I was joined by a young man who proceeded to tell me his life story, how he realised at school that you don't have to have one career and it is important to do what you enjoy. He is a musician so he spends the winter in the ski resorts playing in a band. In the summer he comes back to Scotland and his house overlooking the Loch and teaches bush craft and clay pigeon shooting. In the Autumn he heads to the Caribbean and brings yachts back to the UK.
After my swim I had a few hours to kill so I escaped the rain for an hour in the Highlands Museum, an odd mix of stuffed animals and birds, Highland costumes (one given as a gift from Queen Victoria to her faithful John Brown) and an interesting exhibition on the commando's,(the famous Green Beret's), in the Highlands, where they came for training. You can pick up an old black telephone and listen to first hand accounts of their training and D-Day landings which was very interesting. One of the things they were trained for was paddling small one man canoe's for stealth in getting behind enemy lines or landing on beaches. They were very crude and had floats either side of the canoe to help with buoyancy which were filled with ping pong balls!
In the evening it stopped raining and next day, which is today Sunday, it is cloudy and very windy but at least it isn't raining. Tomorrow we will do our descent of Neptune's steps and so out through the sea lock into Loch Linnhe and goodbye to the Caledonian Canal.
Anyway, we had a reasonable night's sleep in our cabin and arrived an hour late at Fort William, but that didn't matter to us. However some passengers get the sleeper train so that they can then experience the Jacobite steam train ride from Fort William to Mallaig, which gives about a 20 minute window from arriving on the sleeper to leaving on the steam train, so some poor passengers missed their connection.
After a quick shop in the local supermarket we got a taxi back to the boat, as it was raining as usual. All was well with Lunar Sea so we moved her onto another berth so we could "plug in" and refill the water tanks.
The next day dawned overcast, grey, wet and windy, but hey, we have come to expect this now in Scotland. Josh had loads of "jobs" to do on the boat so he disappeared into the engine room for the day so I decided to brave the rain and catch the train into Fort William. It is one stop and £1.50 from Banavie to the town and there are only two trains in the morning, so I went for the 11.25. The next train home again was at 4.20 so I had a few hours to kill in Fort William. I was already soaked by the time I got to the station but hey ho that's a Scottish summer for you.
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| Local paper weather forecast Saturday 15 July. |
My first stop was the swimming pool, where there was a family friendly hour and unaccompanied adults (!) not allowed in, so I made use of the steam room which was included in the price of a swim at £1.95, a bargain. I was joined by a young man who proceeded to tell me his life story, how he realised at school that you don't have to have one career and it is important to do what you enjoy. He is a musician so he spends the winter in the ski resorts playing in a band. In the summer he comes back to Scotland and his house overlooking the Loch and teaches bush craft and clay pigeon shooting. In the Autumn he heads to the Caribbean and brings yachts back to the UK.
After my swim I had a few hours to kill so I escaped the rain for an hour in the Highlands Museum, an odd mix of stuffed animals and birds, Highland costumes (one given as a gift from Queen Victoria to her faithful John Brown) and an interesting exhibition on the commando's,(the famous Green Beret's), in the Highlands, where they came for training. You can pick up an old black telephone and listen to first hand accounts of their training and D-Day landings which was very interesting. One of the things they were trained for was paddling small one man canoe's for stealth in getting behind enemy lines or landing on beaches. They were very crude and had floats either side of the canoe to help with buoyancy which were filled with ping pong balls!
In the evening it stopped raining and next day, which is today Sunday, it is cloudy and very windy but at least it isn't raining. Tomorrow we will do our descent of Neptune's steps and so out through the sea lock into Loch Linnhe and goodbye to the Caledonian Canal.
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