Day Nine - Fort William

26 July 2014

Fort William – Westhaven B&B

Weather – overcast giving way to rain

Temperature – top of 20 degrees

What a difference a day makes in the weather.  We looked over Loch Linnhe from our bedroom window and could see a the day was overcast.

We had a full day to explore the area so we headed to the gondola ride north of Fort William.  Even though the day wasn’t sunny we still had reasonable views of the area looking down onto the town.

Overcast views from the top of the gondola ride just outside Fort William.

 

We were going to take the train to Mallaig however after talking to our B&B host he suggested we drive and take a stop at Glenfinnan to explore the area.  Local knowledge steered us in the right direction once again and we were glad we did this as we were able to walk the 4km round trip starting at Glenfinnan Railway Station.  We saw the Jacobite steam engine which had pulled into the station and then we walked through the woodland, up a slope overlooking Loch Sheil and onto the path to view the viaduct featured in the Harry Potter films.  The Glenfinnan viaduct has twenty-one arches and is a picture against the green fields seen through the arches.

An outstanding view of Loch Shiel.

Heading to Hogwarts!

 

As we emerged onto the road to the visitor centre and the statue to Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonny Prince Charlie) the weather turned and some light rain started coming down.  It was a further one km back to the car however the weather fortunately held off reasonably well until we were back at the station where we had started.

A statue to commemorate Bonny Prince Charlie and the  unsuccessful Jacobite uprising in 1745 to restore his father to the Scottish throne.

 

The weather turned on us now and we drove through rain to the lovely little village of Mallaig.  Coronation Chicken was on the menu so how could I pass up something so British and wash it down with a cup of tea!

Coronation Chicken.....created for Queen Elizabeth's coronation banquet in 1952.  It consists of cold chicken, curry, egg mayonnaise, herbs and occasional raisins.....served with crisps!

 

We strolled the fishing port ducking in and out of the shops before we headed back to Fort William.

A wet day but Mallaig still looked idyllic!

 

As we had a late evening booking for dinner we had rest time in our room.  Travelling can be tiring!

Fort William is a busy area for tourists which meant tonight the only booking we could get at the well-known Crannog Seafood Restaurant on Loch Linnhe was 9.15pm.  So, at my normal bedtime when I am usually reading a book I was reading a menu and settling into fine dining for the evening.  It was well worth the late night booking as the food was delicious and the view as the sun set on the loch was stunning....and we didn't see any mad Scotsman swimming!