2013-06-19 From Skye to Stirling

June 19, 2013 - Wednesday

Last night, we had decided to have an early breakfast at 8:00 am.  Irene was anxious that we not miss the ferry, for which we had booked tickets.  It was scheduled to leave Armadale at 11:40 an.  I reckoned that it would take us less than half an hour to get to the ferry docks but there was no reason we could not set out earlier.  After our hearty breakfast, we packed the car and drove south on the A87 to Armadale.  Just outside of Portree, we squeezed by what looked like a recent collision between a car and a cube van.  We pulled into the ferry docks just as the ferry before the one we were booked on left.  There were 2 cars waiting in line already.  We were directed to park our car at the front of the first lane, beside the other 2 cars in lane 2.  Irene and I went into the ticket office to get our tickets. That took almost no time at all as we had booked online and they had our tickets printed and waiting for us.  We were so early that we had about an hour to kill. 

 We were expected to check in 20 minutes before boarding the ferry, which was scheduled to leave at 11:40 am.  We walked on the dock to check out a couple of stores but one was not opened (though the front door was ajar, with a workman doing some repairs around the area) and the other did not look that interesting.  So we walked back to a little café where we had coffees and hot chocolates.  It was a windy day and we watched a couple of birds that had stopped by to visit.  After finishing our hot drinks, we went into Ragamuffin, a clothing, knitwear and gift store by the pier. They had some lovely linen clothing but they all look way too big for us.  Also, they were rather expensive so we were not motivated to try anything on. After that, Irene and I went into grumpygeorge at skyelark, where I bought some jam made by local award winning cook and food writer, Claire Macdonald.  She is one of Scotland’s foremost exciting ambassadors for the revitalization of highland hospitality.  She runs Kinloch Lodge, a unique luxury hotel with her husband, Lord Macdonald, High Chief of Clan Donald.

While we were loitering around the pier waiting for the ferry to arrive, about a half dozen Aston Martins and a McLaren pulled up into the ferry line.  They were owned by a bunch of Germans who had come to Skye for a rally and were now heading back to the mainland.  The ferry dock man told us that the day before, a contingent of Dutch Aston Martin owners had taken the ferry over to Mallaig.  I can imagine that it must be fun to speed along the narrow, curvy, mountainside roads of Skye.

We then watched the incoming ferry dock at the pier.  We got into our car to wait until all the passengers and cars have disembarked, at which point, the ferry dock man told us to board the ferry in our car.  As he put it, we had the pole position.  We the first car on and will be the first car off the ferry. After parking the car in the designated spot, we got out of the car and went upstairs to the top deck.  We walked around and watched the cars boarding the ferry.  When all the passengers and cars were safely on-board, the ferry left for Mallaig.  A car alarm went off as the announcements were being made. We would soon discover that car alarms would be going off the whole trip, and that our car alarm went off too at one point, when we were not too far from Mallaig.  My guess is that the more expensive cars had more sensitive alarms.  We started on the top deck but soon found it was too windy and cold to stay there so we went to the rear where it was more sheltered and offered a view of the fast disappearing Armadale ferry dock.  Irene and I then wandered inside the ferry and checked out the on-board coffee shop and little gift store. It took about 30 minutes for the crossing.  We got back inside our car as the ferry docked at Mallaig.  We were first off the ferry and it was nice, not to have to wait to get out of the ferry.  Not far from Mallaig, we saw a nice sandy beach so we stopped for a little walk.  After that, we drove to Arisaig. 
Ferry-30 minutes  (Mallaig, Arisaig, Glenfinnan monument, Fort William, Glencoe, Three sisters mountains, Brig o’turk, glen finglas, loch katrine, stirling)
The village of Arisaig (the Safe Place) is centred on the sheltered shore of Loch nan Ceall (Loch of the Cells) and nestled at the base of rocky Creag Mhor, the Squrr an t’Sasunnaich (peak of the Englishman) and the Sgurr an Albanaich (peak of the Scotsman).  Tourism is the main industry in the Arisaig area because of the spectacular scenery and great beaches.  We parked by the water front with its view of the Inner Hebridian islands of Rhum and Eigg. There was a choice of places for lunch, and we decided on the Old Library Lodge & Restaurant for no particular reason that I can recall.  It was a good choice and we enjoyed our lunch of the daily specials, homemade fishcake with salad and chips, salt n’pepper prawn salad with chips and a crab and mayo sandwich with salad garnish, as well as a venison pate with oat cakes and a carrot (I think) soup.  After lunch, we walked along the waterfront and stopped at the war memorial for Czech and Slovak soldiers.  The memorial was built to honour the hundreds of Czech and Slovak soldiers who were trained at the Special Operations Executive’s school for missions in occupied Europe during the Second World War.  Many of the trainees were parachuted behind the enemy lines, or took part in the invasion and other war actions, with heavy casualties. The sculpture depicts a fallen parachute and was made in Czech granite by stonemasons near Prague.  Funds were raised by public subscription in Scotland and the Czech Republic.  It was reported that the sculptor of the memorial, Josef Vajce, died suddenly on the same day the last boulder was set on the memorial in September 2011.
On our drive to Fort William, we followed Loch Nan Uamh for a while, hugged the shore of Loch Eilt for its entire length before driving through a forest to get to the Glenfinnan monument at the head of Loch Shiel.  The monument, a tribute to Jacobite clansmen who fought and died in the cause of Prince Charles Edward Stuart, is set in beautiful highland scenery.  The memorial tower was designed by the Scottish architect, James Gillespie Graham and is surmounted by a statue of an anonymous Highlander in a kilt.  We were also able to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct, though not the Jacobie Steam Train which was transformed into the Hogwarts Express that was seen crossing the viaduct in the Harry Potter films.
 From Glenfinnan, we drove through Fort William, the second largest settlement in the highlands of Scotland (Inverness being the largest).  It lies near the head of Loch Linnhe, one of Scotland’s longest sea lochs, beside the mouth of the Nevis and Lochy rivers, which join in the intertidal zone to briefly become one river before discharging to the sea.  The town is surrounded by pictureaque mountains.  Just outside the town is a large Alcan aluminium plant, which accounts for the weird sculpture visible off the highway.  From Fort William, we drove beside Loch Linnhe before making our way to Inchree with the intention of seeing the spectacular Inchree Falls.  We parked at Glen Righ and changed our minds after realizing that it would take 40 minutes to walk the waterfall trail.  We looked for red squirrels, which are endangered native squirrels around the parking lot.  We continued to drive along Loch Linnhe before crossing the bridge from North Ballachulish to South Ballachulish.  After that, the road followed Loch Leven, another sea loch, until we got to Glencoe.  It was windy and drizzling in the Glencoe area.  We drove past waterfalls in the mountains, watched a Royal Navy helicopter hover over a man on the ground (we never did figure out if it was landing or taking off) and took photos of the Three Sisters, a mountain range.  There were many hikers around the area, even though it was misty, damp, windy and cold.  But the rugged beauty more than made up for those inconveniences.  We drove along the highway until we came to Black Mount Estate.  From the road, we could see a herd of deer grazing in the valley below. Black Mount Estate is owned by the Fleming family (including Ian of James Bond fame) and is known for skiing, climbing and picturesque walks.   We stopped at the church at Bridge of Orchy and admired the view from the parking lot.  The church is beside the Bridge of Orchy Hotel which overlooks the River Orchy and is overlooked by Beinn Dorain.

We drove through Crianlarich (again) and made a short stop at Lochearnhead (we were there during our visit to Loch Lomond earlier) before stopping at Glen Finglas.  We went for a short walk in the glen and admired the woodland and the little river that flowed under the bridge.  Glen Finglas sits at the heart of Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and was once part of a royal deer forest where kings, from the time of David and James II onwards, came to hunt.  In the early 19^th century, the glen was a conduit for cattle drovers and whisky smugglers.  Woodland historians believe that Glen Finglas is home to one of the largest collections of ancient trees in Scotland.

From Glen Finglas, we drove past the Tigh Mor Holiday Property Bond hotel which had been restored with the help of the Scottish Tourist Board.  It is one of 30 hotels in the UK and European locations that investors in the Holiday Property Bond could enjoy rent free for life.  We then drove by Ben A’an (which means Small Pointed Peak), a small mountain situated next to Loch Katrine and Loch Achray.  We made our way to Loch Katrine, where we stopped and walked along the pier to look at the boats and to take in the scenery.  Loch Katrine inspired Sir Walter Scott to write “The Lady of the Lake” and the lake’s beauty can be experienced, during the summer months, from the deck of the steamer, the Sir Walter Scott.  We did not stay very long as the place appeared to be closing up for the day. We were quite high up in the mountains and we had excellent views of forests and lochs along our drive.  We drove by the Port of Monteith on our way to Stirling.  We could see Stirling Castle on our way to Firgrove, our Stirling bed and breakfast for the night.

At Firgrove, we were greeted by Tim and his dog, Pip.  Tim was very friendly and a font of information about Stirling.  He showed us to our rooms, which were quite spacious and then gave us recommendations for dinner.  We decided to try Indian food as we had seen lots of Indian restaurants during our tour but had not sampled any yet.  We walked into the city and found the Kama Sutra.  Dinner was quite delicious and after all that food, we needed a walk, so we set off for Stirling Castle.  It was an uphill walk with lots of old and interesting buildings, such as the Tollbooth (once Stirling’s town hall, but now a popular venue for live music and the arts) and the Church of the Holy Rude (a historic medieval church) along the way.  Once at the castle, we wandered around the esplanade which overlooks the Old Town graveyard and offered excellent views of Stirling and the surrounding area.  We could see the River Forth and the National Wallace Monument in the distance.  The National Wallace Monument is a tower standing on the summit of Abbey Craig. It was built to commemorate William Wallace, a 13^th century Scottish hero.  The monument is a 67m (220 ft) sandstone tower built in the Victorian Gothic style. There are 246 steps to the top of the monument.

We wandered around the castle esplanade, looking at the various statues, including one of Robert the Bruce.  There was also a memorial for the soldiers who died in the South African War from October 1899 to May 1902.  The castle was closed to visitors so we could not tour the inside.  We headed back to the town through the cemetery and passed by the Church of the Holy Rude again, the Old Town Jail, the Erskine Church and then onto the more modern part of the town with its shopping centre and other stores.  It was a lovely evening, and we enjoyed our stroll back to the b&b.

Black Mount Estate-deer; White house, called Lagangarbh, is a refuge for mountain climbers – at foot of Stob Dearg just east of Glen Coe; church at bridge of Orchy-stop; then Lochearnhead (think we stopped there before, on our way to Loch Lomond); then Glen Finglas; Holiday Property Bond-big turreted building An Tigh Mor Trossachs, Highland home of the Holiday Property Bond then Loch Katrine; Port of Menteith; Stirling; Pip and Tim; Kama Sutra dinner; walk around Stirling;

Where we stayed:   Firgrove, 13 Clifford Rd, Stirling, FK8 2AQ; 44 1786 475805; Tim & Pip