Fort William

Fort William

Fort William from the lookout

What a lovely day I have had today... Just a peaceful, restful "go slow" kind of day, which was still filled with grandeur of the Highlands.

It started with a great sleep in, brekky then a wander up the street just to have a look around.

June had alerted me to some things to look out for, so I had a few starting points.

The first place I went was up to the lookout where you could see an overview of the town. It sits beside Loch Linhe and it is the beginning of the Caledonian Canal which travels across  Scotland and includes  Loch Ness and ends up in Inverness.

Also from the lookout... that's Ben Nevis with the cloud on top...

 It was a beautiful view from 360 degrees with water and mountains surrounding me.

On the way down from the lookout

Then I went down to the town. Because I had stopped briefly yesterday on my way to the Sisters house, I knew where the parking was, so I parked the car and  went for a walk down the main street. It wasn't what you would call a busy day... but it's in between seasons.... Summer gets the crowd for the water, and winter gets the snow crowd.

High Street Fort William

High Street Fort William

Obviously one of reasons the Josephite Sisters are here is the link with Mary MacKillop's family. Her mother was born in this hotel in the main street which is now the Ben Nevis  Hotel. Her father was the Publican and they also had connections to a Distillery. So of course I had to go in and have a coffee there, in honour of my Aunty Lucy - who was a Sister of St Joseph.

The birthplace of Mary MacKillop's mother.

Celebrating Mary MacKillop's mother

Another landmark..

Statue of a man celebrating the end of the Highland Way. Original Catholic Church in the background

Views of Loch Linhe from the town foreshore...

Loch Linhe

Loch Linhe

Loch Linhe

Then home for a lovely lunch of homemade soup - just like Mum used to make.

After lunch Diane took me for a drive to Glen Nevis and it was just beautiful again. We followed the base of the mountains around, still in the shadow of Ben Nevis. There was just a touch of snow on the top, although cloud hid the top of the mountain for most of the day...

We stopped constantly to take some pics, so I'll just have to choose a few, otherwise this will become very long.

Glen Nevis

Bit chilly!

Braveheart Country

Thinking of the Good Shepherds!!!

Then we arrived at Glen Nevis Lower Falls

Glen Nevis Lower Falls

This one's for you Paddy!!

I'm inserting a very short video here that I took with my ipad - hope it works. Don't forget to put the sound on...

Diane near Glen Nevis Falls

Beautiful scenery

Love this one...!

As I said, I have plenty more pics, but I have to to pick and choose a bit. It was a really beautiful drive, and to me it was quintessential Scotland. It was misty and raining and freezing and surrounded by these rugged mountains... What more could you want? It's so nice to have a local to take you to the places you may not discover on your own. Thanks Diane and June for your readily shared local knowledge!

On the way home, Diane took me via the locks that form the beginning to the Caledonian Canal

The water was really black and swirly ... looked a bit eerie to me..

Locks on the Caledonian Canaal

And one last place on the way home, was the foreshore of Loch Linhe near where the Sisters live. They are just out of Fort William itself in a suburb called Lochyside and this is just a few minutes from their home.

View of Fort William from just across the water.

So that was my lovely day in Fort William.

Now for a home cooked roast and Mass tonight.

It's been  a great break to just pause a while and smell the flowers, as I prepare to change countries yet again.

Tomorrow night in Edinburgh, then off by plane to Dublin. How blessed am I to be having such a wonderful time.