Continuing my account of my Scottish holiday with first of a number of posts about the return journey to Norfolk.
Welcome to the latest instalment in my series about my Scottish Holiday (May 30th to June 6th). This post starts the story of my journey back to Norfolk.
PREPARATIONS
I started my packing on the Friday night, and rose early on the Saturday morning to complete the job. The journey started with the 10:27 from Arisaig, and I had about 45 minutes to kill at the station, as my parents needed to start their own journey a little bit earlier. The weather was reasonable, so I did not need to make use of the waiting room. I was not quite the only one boarding this train at Arisaig, but finding a seat was not a problem. I was due to be on this train all the way to Glasgow where it terminated, which meant that for a few hours at least I was able to relax and enjoy the scenery.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here the photographs I got up to the Glenfinnan Viaduct, which to remind you is east of Glenfinnan station…
The train arriving bang on time, as per the information conveyed by the screen earlier.The front of the Jacobite Express at GlenfinnanThe famous Glenfinnan Viaduct, viewed and photographed from an eastbound train.
A ‘fill in the gaps’ post to set the stage for a multi-post account of the journey home.
Welcome to the latest instalment in my series about my Scottish holiday (May 30th to June 6th). This post sets the stage for a multi-post account of my return journey.
THE RETURN FROM KNOYDART
The voyage back from Knoydart to Mallaig was uneventful. We did some exploring around Mallaig before returning to the cottage.
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COTTAGE
The cottage was well situated, with some lovely views (I could see the sea from my bedroom window), and I was also impressed by the shower. On the debit side I found it very difficult to get comfortable in my bed, and the kitchen proved to be under-equipped. On the Wednesday night I cooked a version of my signature chicken and coriander dish, and found several problems. There was no way to make the ginger paste – all I could do was chop the ginger as fine as I could manage and add water to it. There was no stewing pot and the largest available pan was not really large enough to be ideal for the purpose, and as I had suspected and made allowances for also proved not to be non-stick, and the lid was not actually quite a match for it. Also there was no lemon squeezer, so I had to juice the lemons by using the thumb and forefinger of my right hand to squeeze. It all worked out well in the end however.
PHOTOGRAPHS
The last of the photos that do no relate to the homeward journey…
The Larven approaching Inverie Quay to take us back to Mallaig.Malliag from above and the far side of the harbour.Mallaig Station from the road.
Starting my coverage of the Friday of my Scottish holiday with an account of the voyage to Knoydart.
Welcome to the latest instalment in my account of my Scottish holiday (May 30th to June 6th). Today we move on the the Friday, our last full day in Scotland. For this day we decided to visit Knoydart.
GETTING TO KNOYDART
Although Knoydart is part of mainland Scotland it cannot be reached from outside by road. The only ways for a visitor to get there are by boat from Mallaig or by hiking for over 15 miles across very rough terrain. We took the former option, and our voyage was a very enjoyable one.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from the voyage to Knoydart…
I was much taken with the statue/ monument that can be seen at the summit of this little headland, and took a number of pictures of ti during the voyage.Approaching Inverie, the only settlement on the Knoydart peninsula
Continuing my account of my Scottish holiday with a look at the journey back from Glenfinnan to Arisaig on the Thursday.
Welcome to the latest instalment in my account of my Scottish holiday (May 30th to June 6th). This is the final post about the excursion to Glenfinnan.
BACK TO ARISAIG
After finishing in the museum we had a few minutes on the platform before catching the train back to Arisaig. We managed to find seats well placed to capture the best sights of the return journey, and the service ran according to schedule.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are the pictures from the journey back to Arisaig…
An isolated little church somewhere between Glenfinnan and Arisaig (three pictures)This wonderful map greets arrivals at Arisaig station.
Continuing my account of my Scottish holiday with a look at the island of Canna and the return journey to Arisaig.
Yesterday in my series about my Scottish holiday (May 30th to June 6th) I dealt with the grounds of Canna House. Today I conclude my coverage of the Tuesday.
THE ISLAND OF CANNA
Canna is a beautiful little island and we only saw some of it – the grounds of Canna House were as far as we got, meaning that much, including the main church and an important bridge escaped us. We found out not long after landing that the cafe was closed, but the shop, which operates an ‘honesty box’ principle was open, and there were tea and coffee making facilities there. We also saw a very curious little church – it was utterly devoid of any kind of embellishment, and had no altar, just a large pulpit from which the preaching would be done. There was some interesting bird life. The journey back did not feature any go-slows for wildlife, but there were still a few things to see.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here is my gallery for this post…
The outside of the tiny church mentioned in the text.The gateway to the churchyardStanding alone in the churchyard, a Celtic cross grave.Inside the church.A view of the outside of the church.The map on a t-shirt I bought from the shop.Oystercatchers in numbers (several pictures)A large corvid with a silver patch on its upper back.The bridgeI could not work out what species these birds were. I have included six pictures of the Jacobite Express.These last few pictures feature Morar, the only place of significance between Mallaig and Arisaig.
A look at the cottage we stayed in and its surrounding area, featuring pictures from among others three walks that I took on the Monday.
I am now back from my Scottish sojourn, though I have a large amount of photo editing still to do. I put out a few small posts while in Scotland, though have not put anything up since Thursday. I now resume chronological coverage of the week, going back to my second full day in the area, the Monday. My parents had to go to Fort William and back, and had to do so by car, because the most important thing they had to do was set for a specific time that was enough to rule out the train journey. I opted to stay at our cottage, and was left with the key so that I could go walking if the weather allowed.
THREE WALKS
My first walk started at 11:30AM after a couple of false starts, when opening the front door revealed that the rain had not in fact abated. I was out for an hour and a half on this walk, and did not get wet. I walked in an unfamiliar direction and got as far as Traigh Golf Course before I decided to return. For my second walk I took the second unfamiliar road and followed it for a while before turning back. The third walk followed the route of the first as far as the river crossing before I returned. Two of the pictures that featured in the ‘wildlife feature‘ post were taken during these walks, and in the gallery that follows you will see another of these pictures, taken through my kitchen window.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The walk pictures start with this one.The last walk picture.
My second post in the series about my holiday in Arisaig, dealing with my birthday itself.
Welcome to post two in my series about this year’s holiday. My birthday this year (the same number birthday that Bilbo Baggins missed due to other events on the day of his arrival by barrel at the shore of the Long Lake) fell on a Sunday. The birthday meal was booked for Mingary Castle (there is also a Mingarry that has a good restaurant, but we were going to Mingary, we where we had eaten last year) at 1PM. Therefore we set off at 11AM.
THE OUTWARD JOURNEY
To get from Arisaig to Mingary Castle we had to go east, south and then west rather further than we had started, since this castle is quite near the western end of the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. Along the way we crossed the river Shiel by a stone bridge that I remembered with crystal clarity from an earlier Scottish sojourn. We then had a long run west along the northern shore of Loch Sunart, passing Salen (a place I first saw way back in 1993), Glenborrodale, site of a nature reserve, the Ardnamurchan distillery, and sundry viewpoints. The turn off for Mingary Castle is just east of (i.e before) Kilchoan, and we arrived there in good time, but not ridiculously early.
THE MEAL
It did not take long to identify two courses I wished to eat (a pork terrine starter and slow cooked beef with Yorkshire pudding, carrot, broccoli and triple cooked potatoes) and a suitable beverage to accompany them (Dark Mile, brewed by the local Glenspean brewery). The food was excellent, and the surroundings pleasant (I was one of at least three people that day who had come for a birthday meal). After I had finished I did some walking around outside the castle and got some photographs.
THE JOURNEY HOME
We went home by the same route we had come, which enabled me to get pictures of places I had missed on the way out (I sat in the same seat, the non-driver’s side rear seat, for both journeys, so was facing opposite sides of the road each way). Thus as you will see from the gallery the outbound journey was light on pictures from Loch Moidart, which was on the wrong side of me that way, and heavy on pictures from Loch Sunart, while the homeward journey was the reverse.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
The crossing of the river Shiel on the outbound journey – only the third picture I took because I was on the wrong side for most of the good early scenery.Mingary CastleThese woolly creatures are not the local sheep – I reckon they are alpacas, and as such a long way from their native Andes.Here as well as the possible alpacas there are two ordinary sheep for comparison purposes.The images from the drive back start here.The Bridge of the River Shiel – compare how many pictures there are still to come with how few there were before the first picture of this crossing.A couple of pictures of parts of the Glenfinnan Viaduct.Beasdale is such a minor station that is actually a ‘request stop’ – if you intend to alight there you must notify the conductor.
Finishing the account of the Friday of my Scottish Holiday.
This post continues my series about my holiday in Scotland with an account of the journey back from Eigg to Acharacle which included a diversion north to Mallaig. This is my fourth post about Friday’s activities and the penultimate post in this series.
EIGG TO MALLAIG
The voyage back to the mainland was calm as the outward voyage had been, and we set off along the coast road to Mallaig (there is a quicker main road which we used on the way from Mallaig to Acharacle). This route is very scenic. Mallaig was very busy when we got there but we found a parking space not too far from the centre.
MALLAIG AND BACK TO ACHARACLE
Mallaig well repaid a brief visit – there a few things of interest to be seen there, including a good account of the coming of the railway (late by British standards, early 20th century), and some splendid views. I first passed through Mallaig nearly three decades ago, when I arrived by ferry from the Isle of Skye and travelled on by train to Oban (one change at Crianlarich), and also saw the area immediately around the train station much more recently when I travelled on The Jacobite between Fort William and Mallaig in 2017.
The journey back to Acharacle passed without incident, bringing to an end the active part of a very enjoyable final full day the holiday.
Continuing my account of my Scottish holiday with a look at the crossing from Arisaig to Eigg.
I continue my account of my recent Scottish holiday with a look at the boat trip from Arisaig to Eigg. This post picks up where yesterday’s left off.
THE BOAT TRIP TO EIGG
Though not by any means a large craft the boat taking us to Eigg was considerably larger and stouter than the one on which we travelled between Alderney and Guernsey earlier this year. Additionally, the presence of so many islands so tightly clustered together means that the Sound of Arisaig is not by any means as savage as one might expect of sea of the coast of Scotland. Finally, there was very little wind about, which further contributed to the crossing being a smooth one.
Starting an account of the Friday of my Scottish holiday. There will be several more posts about the day.
I continue my coverage of my Scottish holiday with a multi-part account of Friday’s activities. In this post I set the scene for several more post.
THE PLAN IN OUTLINE
We had arranged to visit the island of Eigg, which involved journeying to Arisaig (home of mainland Britain’s most westerly railway station) to catch the boat. We would explore Eigg, get the boat back and then pay a quick visit to Mallaig before returning to Acharacle. To ensure not missing the boat we were underway by eight AM.
ACHARACLE TO ARISAIG
The journey from Acharacle to Arisaig is exceedingly scenic. Capturing said scenery on camera was rendered slightly challenging due the problems created by being in the back seat of a car with rather small rear windows, but I did get some good pictures. We arrived in Arisaig in good time, and were seated aboard the boat by 9:30, for a 10AM sailing.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from leaving home to getting on the boat…
aspiblog 