Fort William to Edinburgh

Fort William to Edinburgh

Loch Linhe on the way out of town

Loch Linhe on the way out of town

This  is going to be very short and sweet today, because basically I drove from Fort William to Edinburgh and it rained most of the way, so I didn't jump in and out of the car  all day as I have done in the past, so I hardly have any pics to share and not much of a story to tell...

Maybe that's a fitting transition as I move to the final stage of my journey tomorrow with my  flight to Dublin.

I'll start with a little addition to yesterday's post. I finished my blog before dinner yesterday, which is unusual, but I knew we were going to Mass at 7pm, so it was good to have it done and dusted before I went. But we went to the local Parish Church and Fr  Roddie said Mass. His surname is McAuley and his mother' name was Catherine McAuley.... hmmmmm!!! And some with sharp eyes might have noticed that yesterday was the anniversary of the Venerable Catherine McAuley's death, so she rated a mention in the Saints for the day... Hmmmm again.... and tomorrow I'm heading for Dublin and hopefully going to Baggot St....!!! Connections all round.... Mood music please....!!!

Anyway apart from all that we went over to the presbytery after Mass and Father Roddie shared a wee dram with us. So I had my first  taste of Scottish whisky over here.... and it was very pleasant!
I loved Fort William for many reasons....

So, it was with reluctance that I had to drag myself away from there this morning... I was intending to leave quite early but by the time I repacked things and had brekky it was nearly 10 oclock and the Sisters were heading off to 10am Mass, so I decided to join them before I hit the road. A quick Mass is a happy Mass and both instances were short and very sweet. It turns out that Fr Roddie had been in Perth WA last year and did a swap with the priest in Como for a month. Pity we couldn't recruit him full time. He had also been up to Ningaloo reef and was excited that someone actually knew where both places were...

So I set Gaby Garmin and I was expecting her take me via this route as outline in Google Maps..

I thought it would be the blue line route

Instead it took me back through Glencoe

See lower blue line

It was interesting to go back through Glencoe again. When I first came through 2 days ago the day was relatively clear  and the mountains were majestic and awesome. Today it was raining and the cloud was hanging very low and the mountains had a much  more ominous and sinister look. But they were still very beautiful.

I couldn't really look too hard today though because the drive was quite challenging with all the rain. But it was amazing to experience the different moods of the mountains.

Once again the route took me through Crianlarich, so I stopped at the same pub for lunch and had the same tomato soup - how predictable and boring am I????

Crianlarich Hotel

I was totally in Gaby Garmin's hands after that, and God knows where she took me because I had no idea. At one stage I had 10 kms on a very lower grade road, where if someone came towards you, it was quite hard to pass, and that happened a few times on that route. But she hasn't let me down yet, and she didn't again today. She took me straight to my hotel, which is the Premier Inn at Edinburgh Airport. I didn't look too carefully at the map before I booked last night, because we're actually right at the end of the runway!!!

Location of Premier Inn

So far its been very quiet... but they have warned you can't open the windows!

So that was Scotland, and it was magnificent.

I really loved my time in the  UK, every part had its own special uniqueness, between London and its history, the Cotswolds and their prettiness, the Leicester region and discovering all my relatives...

But for sheer beauty and splendour, Scotland takes the cake.

But.... I haven't done Ireland yet, so in a couple of weeks I could be changing my mind, because I have already experienced the magic of Ireland and it too has a beauty that is beyond compare.

Aren't I so very lucky to have been to so many exquisite places...????