| 0615 |
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Wake up to the alarm on my watch - time to get a start on Day 2 - though Day 1 seemed like more than just one day! We hope to head to Fort William, possibly via Oban on the Western coast. I don't know what path we'll take just yet.
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| 0800 |
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Holly is ready, we'll get a nice breakfast downstairs now, if we can fight off the mad curlers: contestants in the World Championships of Curling are in town and are staying at the Marriott with us! We are all packed and ready to go. The sky is still grey, clouds are still low - just what we expected.
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| 0930 |
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Hit the road, taking the M8 to A82 out of Glasgow to the northwest - towards the highlands.
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| 1045 |
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A83 past Tarbet - in Glen Kinglas with a view of Ben Ime.
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| 1130 |
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Town of Inverary - it's ... very very cold. The weather is definitely getting colder. Inverary is on the banks of Loch Fyne, a sea loch, and the wind blowing off the water is biting. It's a neat little town, mainly a string of little white shops and tourist attractions along the road. We stopped and got Holly a cup of hot coffee and picked up a supply of shortbread for the road! I think this is Campbell clan country. Inverary castle opens at 1300 on Sundays; I don't think we'll wait though.
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| 1203 |
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past Cladich on A819 - Loch Awe
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| 1215 |
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Stop along the road across a field from ruined Kilchurn Castle at the North end of Loch Awe
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| 1235 |
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Junction of A82 and A85 - on the way to Ft. William
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| 1300 |
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On the summit of Rannoch Moor - 1185 ft. A moor is more like a plateau than a hill; most are high spots with large open plains or fields. What you can't tell from this pictures is that there is a 30 mph wind blowing snow sideways across the moor. Quite inhospitable weather right now. It gives you a definite sense of aloneness.
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| 1323 |
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Glen Coe, the site of an infamous massacre. It is absolutely beautiful, while at the same time, bleak and brooding. The wind is still very strong and the snow is still blowing.
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| 1339 |
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From the bridge across Loch Leven - Ballachulish
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| 1400 |
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We arrive in Fort William, look around, and discover the TIC is closed. Oh well, we pick up some fish & chips at a place called Nico's on High St. Now we'll look for a hotel and try to get a start on our tour.
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| 1430 |
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We decide to drive into Glen Nevis to see about a couple of places to stay, it's not a major thoroughfare that goes that direction, so if we don't find anything, we'll turn around and come back to Ft. William. We pass beneath Ben Nevis which rises massively above the Glen. The road begins to narrow, it is snowing still, amnd very cold. We are forced to slalom through some slow-moving Highland cattle! We eventually will turn around, as we don't think we'll stay out here, but it is very pretty and worth looking aroud some more.
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| 1600 |
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Check into the Anna Croit Hotel - a nice place all-in-all, though for some reason it feels like we're too young to be staying here. The hotel is probably half-full, and most people seem to be most interested in sitting in the parlor enjoying drinks, etc. We did get a very nice room on the corner of the hotel, overlooking the loch.
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| 1700 |
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It's nap time again, right now the weather is keeping us from going out much, but I think it'll get better tomorrow. Some pictures from the hotel room across Loch Linnhe...
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| 1900 |
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Dinner at the hotel with a very nice view of the lake. The hotel restaurant was nice, though again, a little too formal for my taste. The food was good though, we enjoyed it.
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| 2100 |
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I decide to try calling home from a pay phone in the lobby; the rate was shocking (around $1.50/minute). I think before I try that again, we'll find a phone card to use where we know the rate ahead of time.
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