This morning, most of the divers had a not particularly early start. The RHIB was going to pick them up from the beach, so that they could load the bulk of the luggage, and leave it in Susie's van in Mallaig.
I helped them carry bags down to the beach, and ran back to the Lodge's 4WD when Ben realised he'd left an empty bag in it. It was a completely still but grey morning, and the water of the loch was glassy.
I watched the overloaded RHIB motor away from the beach, and then walked back into the Lodge. I had a chat with Cori, and passed on a message from Ben to remind her to book a ferry. I left my packed bags in the living room so the bedrooms could be cleaned for the next cohort, made a sandwich for my day out, and set off walking to Doune.
My route was via a sealed road, so it wasn't hard going, but there were enough hills that I had to work for it. After the flatness of Inverie, the road climbed, past a small loch, and then it was up and down, and winding round, for nearly three miles. I finally saw the sign down to Doune ('Doune here'), and set off down the steep and muddy path.
Doune was very small, but very charming. There were no signposted buildings at all, but apparently there is a restaurant and a bunkhouse there too. I sat at a picnic bench and ate my sandwiches, watching the birds.
My feet and legs were quite sore, but I climbed back to the sealed road, and made good time back to Inverie, stopping at the facilities on the wharf. I kept on to the Lodge, had a bit of a sit-down, collected my bags, and walked back to the wharf to catch my ferry. I ended up cutting the time a little fine, but the boat was arriving as I walked towards it.
A lot of people got off the ferry, and a lot of cars parked on the wharf to meet them, but the boat going back to Mallaig was almost empty. I had a chat to one of the skippers, and then we set off.
The journey was once again pleasant, and we arrived in Mallaig, having to step over another ferry that was loading up. Christian wasn't there yet, so I walked to the road, and he drove past me and went into the ferry terminal. He changed, I got in the car, and we set off on the journey south.
The drive to Fort William was nice enough. The traffic in Fort William was again weirdly busy, and I was particularly impressed by the mountains ringing the town. One of them is Ben Nevis. Just huge.
We drove further south alongside Loch Eil for a long time, and then over the bridge at Ballachulish, through Crianlarich, and then alongside the neverending Loch Lomond.
We stopped for dinner at the Loch Lomond Arms in Luss. There was a wedding going on, but the restaurant was open to the public. We had some very tasty haggis, neeps, and tatties (which took a little longer than we intended), but got back on the road, had a bit of a detour through Glasgow, and then onto the M74.
It wasn't long before we exited towards Dumfries to stop for the night. It seemed to take ages. It was late and dark and wet, and even when we found civilisation, we seemed to drive for ages to the Holiday Inn in the south of the city.
It was so full that there were no legitimate places to park the car, but we improvised. Still, it was warm and dry, and Christian had used his points to get an executive room on the ground floor. It was nice, but a bit tired.
We had showers, and went to bed at about 11pm.
I watched the overloaded RHIB motor away from the beach, and then walked back into the Lodge. I had a chat with Cori, and passed on a message from Ben to remind her to book a ferry. I left my packed bags in the living room so the bedrooms could be cleaned for the next cohort, made a sandwich for my day out, and set off walking to Doune.
Doune was very small, but very charming. There were no signposted buildings at all, but apparently there is a restaurant and a bunkhouse there too. I sat at a picnic bench and ate my sandwiches, watching the birds.
A lot of people got off the ferry, and a lot of cars parked on the wharf to meet them, but the boat going back to Mallaig was almost empty. I had a chat to one of the skippers, and then we set off.
The journey was once again pleasant, and we arrived in Mallaig, having to step over another ferry that was loading up. Christian wasn't there yet, so I walked to the road, and he drove past me and went into the ferry terminal. He changed, I got in the car, and we set off on the journey south.
The drive to Fort William was nice enough. The traffic in Fort William was again weirdly busy, and I was particularly impressed by the mountains ringing the town. One of them is Ben Nevis. Just huge.
We drove further south alongside Loch Eil for a long time, and then over the bridge at Ballachulish, through Crianlarich, and then alongside the neverending Loch Lomond.
We stopped for dinner at the Loch Lomond Arms in Luss. There was a wedding going on, but the restaurant was open to the public. We had some very tasty haggis, neeps, and tatties (which took a little longer than we intended), but got back on the road, had a bit of a detour through Glasgow, and then onto the M74.
It wasn't long before we exited towards Dumfries to stop for the night. It seemed to take ages. It was late and dark and wet, and even when we found civilisation, we seemed to drive for ages to the Holiday Inn in the south of the city.
It was so full that there were no legitimate places to park the car, but we improvised. Still, it was warm and dry, and Christian had used his points to get an executive room on the ground floor. It was nice, but a bit tired.
We had showers, and went to bed at about 11pm.
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