Woke up early again. Tried to catch the earliest local bus to Glen Nevis but to my dismay, the bus never arrived. Wasted solid 15-20min waiting for it. It was very very cold hence I would rather go by bus. But no choice, have to take bus no 11(by foot). Went to toilet in the train station but had to pay 20p (the only place in Scotland that I had to pay for toilet but probably because it provides shower for the traveler). The walk to the foot of Ben Nevis took about 45min. The view was so fresh and so pleasing to the eyes that one would not mind walking for 2 hours! (1st photo) Upon reaching the foot of Ben Nevis (2nd ,3rd photo), I met a guy who was waiting for 3 guys who were at the top of Ben Nevis. They were trying to conquer 3 mountains within 24hour to raise fund for charity. Hat's off for this trio. This guy actually drove all the way from Newcastle to Fort William and would continue to be the chauffer for a day till the feat is completed. Anyway, I was told that one needs an hour to climb and cross the gorge to see Stealth Falls and Lower Falls and weather forecast did mention there would be rain at the west side of the mountain. Though I really wanted to see the Falls, I was not prepared for the journey. I did not have water proof boots nor 2 hours to spare because I needed to check out by 1030 and the bus to Eilean Donan castle was also around that time. It was hard to let go but I had to walk back to the town again. Dropped by into Ben Nevis Highland Centre for window shopping but resisted the temptation to buy anything which I regretted later because the woolen tartan scarves here are the cheapest, 2 for GBP15.
Returned back to hostel to check out and meet up with Veronica. Together, we walked to bus station to board a bus to Dornie, home to infamous Eilean Donan Castle, where the movie Highlander (and even Kuch Kuch Hota Hai!) was shot. While waiting for the bus we saw the Jacobite train (a.k.a Hogwart Express) in action, puffing out a cloud of steam! (4th photo) The journey to the castle has very fabulous view but I fell sleep a lot of times. Almost always, the moment I jerked awake, I was greeted with a jaw dropping view. Also, I was hungry and too busy eating my lunch than clicking my camera. Will try to get photos from Veronica who stayed awake for the view.
Eilean Donan Castle(5th photo) is a 13th century Medieval Castle which had seen a lot of wars. Demolished to prevent Jacobite uprising but later restored by Lt Colonel MacRae. From the outside, it was not very impressive but inside the castle (photography prohibited) is quite a sight to behold. There are many historical relics, ancient kitchen, dining hall, guest rooms, main bedrooms etc.
Later, we caught a bus to Kyle of Lochalsh. Kyle used to be a mainport where boats depart to Isle of Skye. But after the Skye bridge (7th photo) was built, transportation became much easier. This is also the place that I seen many rainbows in a day. About four rainbows! But this is also the place I was trapped in rain and harsh wind while waiting for the last bus to Inverness.
At Kyle, we hopped into a bus to Kyleakin, Isle of Skye . We really should have waited another 5min for another bus to Portree, the most famous place in Isle of Skye. I did not do any survey at all on Skye because I thought I would not have time to go there. Eilean Donan and Skye were not in my initial plan of sightseeing. Kyleakin is a very small and quiet town. It has got its own quiet charm but nothing much happening there. We hiked to see the Castle Maol ruins (6th photo) and walked around town to find the Obbe village but later running out of things to do. The option of finding a seaside otter was not very appealing to us. Veronica was waiting for a bus to go back to Fort William and my bus to Inverness was at least 2 hours later. I wanted to get a bus to Portree but the bus either later or never turn up. We went into the tourist shop instead to kill time. Then we boarded the same bus where I would dropped off at Kyle of Lochalsh. Along the Skye bridge , there was rainbow at bow sides. Back in Kyle, I wanted to eat nice seafood dinner but eatery only open at 630 pm and my bus was at 745pm (initially I thought was 720pm but winter schedule is different from the time depicted at the bus stop). So I climbed up steep staircase to Cooperative for simple food and also for shelter from the cold wind and rain. Another perfect rainbow there (8th photo) while waiting for the rain to stop. It was actually a double rainbow. While waiting in the bus stop at Kyle, met a hairdresser that was waiting for a bus to Portree. She looked kinda familiar. I realized she was trying to emulate Paris Hilton look. Platinum blond hair with curled eyelashes. A pretty girl, nice to talk to while waiting for a bus.
The bus did turn up on time. Was so glad to hop into a warm confined space. But Paris lookalike still waiting in the bus stop alone. It was a scary feeling ...trapped in rain and harsh wind. Another time that I wished I had a car...On the way to Inverness, saw Eilean Donan again during sunset. It was in a different lighting...so maybe all the waiting for bus was worth it after all.
Walking towards Ben Nevis base
At the foot of Ben Nevis.
River Nevis
Jacobite Steam Train
Eilean Donan Castle
Kyleakin, Isle of Skye
Skye bridge
A perfect rainbow in Kyle of Lochalsh after heavy rain
Arrived at Inverness near 9pm. The Inverness Tourist hostel for tonight is the cheapest among the 4 hostels and also the nearest. Less than a minute walk from the bus station! But is also quite scary to walk there at night as it was next to a car park and the entrance door is at the side. The staffs and people are friendly. A lot of school kids came after 10pm and the toilets became quite messy after that but I had good sleep as the room was quiet. Milk, tea and coffee are free too :)
