Saturday 13 July 2024 - Another free day in Edinburgh

I think my early night last night was a great help.  My light went out around 8:30 I think and I first woke up just after 4am.  Went back to sleep and surfaced again around 7am.  I'm certainly not coughing as much as I was yesterday.

It's a 'drizzly' day here today.  I went down to breakfast and just had orange juice, cheese, ham and toast.  Because its drizzly, I decided to visit the National Museum of Scotland, as it's all of about a 4 minute walk from the hotel and its indoors. I took a few photos while there and will post on Flickr.  The Museum is  open from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Fabulous museum. Actually it's just down the road from GreyFriars Bobby & GreyFriars Kirk, which I visited when I was here last week.

I came back to the hotel around 11:30 and will go walking again soon, once I update this blog.

I decided to go for a walk to Dean Village.  The reports I have read about it say that is pretty etc etc etc, and supposedly it's only a 15 minute walk from here.  I think it was a bit further than that, but that's okay. I certainly added the steps to the pedometer.  I'd only done around 5,000 before I went to the Village and by the time I got back to the hotel it was around 14,000.

That's it for today.  I've added some photo's on Flickr but they are pretty crappy. :)

I'm having another early night or should I say, an indoors night.  It's only just after 4:30pm but I'm not planning on going out again.  I'll have a TV night and catch up on what has been happening around the world.

Friday 12th July 2024 - Free day in Edinburgh

 I had a crappy night last night. Kept waking up every couple of hours. Thankfully got back to sleep almost straight away.

Finally got up and went down for some breakfast. Just had some OJ, and eggs on toast. Not particularly hungry. When I went up to reception, Lois was just about to leave. Said goodbye to her.

Check out time here is midday.

Last night when I bought a drink before dinner the barman told me that they don’t take cash, so I put it on my room, hoping I could pay cash when I check out. Spoke to the concierge this morning and it’s a “cashless” hotel. Radisson Blu on the Royal Mile. I was hoping to avoid any exchange fees & bank charges.😁😁

Caught up with Richard shortly after 8:30. He lives in Lincoln and my next tour goes there, so he happily gave me a few suggestions on where to eat or places to visit during my free time there.

I finally checked out after 10:40 and received a very nice surprise. I told the girl on the desk that there should be a charge for a glass of wine from last night. She said that it isn’t showing up, so there is nothing for me to pay, so no credit card charge. I walked around the corner and up the road to the Ibis Southbridge and they are holding my luggage until I check in properly. That was before 11am.

Went for another walk up the Royal Mile and then walked down again. Along the way up, there was a memorial service being held by the Scottish Fire & Rescue Servise, to remember Ewan Williamson, who died fighting a pub blaze, 15 years ago.

11:30 and I’m currently sitting in a pub “Deacon Brodie’s Tavern” having a small glass of wine and will order some food shortly.

Another small glass of wine and some Haggis, Neeps & Tatties to eat. I enjoyed what I had last night so I hope this is similar.

It was and again very tasty. It was a starter and I did finish it all. 

Once I finish my drink I’ll go walking again & take a few photos. The crowds here are humongous.

Wine glass measures here in Scotland are, small 125ml, medium 175 ml and large 250ml and the  wine is poured into the appropriate size metal container/cup and then from there, poured into the glass. In case you all didn’t know that. 😀

After lunch I came back to the hotel but they didn’t have a room ready, so I spent some time sitting in the bar watching TV.

I got Into a room shortly after 3 and when I was checking the ticket for my visit to the Palace of Holyrood for tomorrow, I realised that it was for today & not tomorrow. Duh. Grabbed my handbag and started walking and 15 minutes later at 3:30, I was there.

It was interesting hearing how it all came to be and how it was enlarged over the years. 

After finishing that tour I then went to the Kings Gallery to see the “Dressing the Georgians” exhibition.

Walk back up the Royal Mile and was back at the hotel by about 5:30. 

I’m having an early night tonight. I’ve been coughing for the past 2 days. A dry cough, so once I upload this AND the photos, I’m heading for bed and an early night. 

EDITED: 12,587 steps today.

Thursday 11th July - A traditional Scottish Evening

 I was woken around 2:30 this morning, by a text message saying “Hi mum, I’ve broken my phone and have a new one. Will you call me on it?”

I blocked that number and deleted the message. I  haven’t received that one for a few years. 

I eventually got up around 6, showered and washed my hair and then packed the main luggage, as that had to be outside the room by 7:15, so it can be picked up and transferred to our Edinburgh hotel via coach.

Down to breakfast around 7 and after that I went for a walk along side the River Ness. Richard had mentioned that there was  nice walk and to take the 2nd bridge, to walk back on the other side. I don’t know the distance but I walked 5,480 steps and it took about 45 minutes.

Had a chat with Maama and Perry who were in reception when I returned. Then went to my room to collect my backpack and then went back downstairs to check out and then started to update this while people watching, until we leave here just after 10, to walk to the train station. 

Richard informed us that Scott Rail have cancelled the booked seat allocations, so it will be a free for all once we are on the platform. 

I thing we all managed to get on the same carriage and find seat and the train departed on time at 10:50.

First stop Aviemore. Arrived at 11:25 and departed there at 11:36.

Next stop is Kingussie. Arrived at 11:47 but only stopped for about 2 minutes. Off again at 11:49.

Scenery is green and rolling hills. Scottish black faced sheet and all white sheep in some of the paddocks.

Next stop is Blair Atholl. Arrived at 12:21 and departed at 12:22.

Pitlochry. Arrived at 12:31 and departed at 12:32.

Then there was Dunkeld + Birnam. 12:44 & 12:45.

Next stop is Perth. Arrive 1:00 and depart 1:05.

Stirling is next. Arrive 1:33 and depart 1:38

Haymarket 2:14 & 2:20. and then Edinburgh Waverley

We were at the hotel around 3pm by the time we sorted ourselves out at the station and walked to the hotel. 

I’m in room 437. No particular view but I don’t plan on spending time in the room looking at a view.

We are meeting in the bar at 7:15 before being piped into dinner at 7:30.

I haven't been able to upload photos from today.  The internet connection is horrendous.  Will try again sometime tomorrow. 

EDITED: 10,863 steps today.

Wednesday 10 July 2024

I woke up with the alarm today and went down to breakfast just before 7:30. After breakfast I went for a short walk. Took a couple of photos of Inverness Cathedral and then went to the local Tesco’s to buy some food for lunch today. The weather was overcast.

We departed shortly after 9am and this time we are on a 20 seater bus, which is very cosy for the numbers we are. It is now raining and I think it’s set in for the day. Raincoat & brolly onboard.

We had a stop at 10:20 at the Landour Bakehouse, Cluanie, for coffee or comfort and were back on the road by 10:45. Not raining there.

Kyle means narrows

We crossed over the Skye bridge onto Skye and had a short photo stop around 11;15ish

We were on our way again around 11:40, heading back to Eilean Donan Castle where we arrived shortly after 12 noon. 

We were supposed to have a guided tour but instead we are doing a self guided tour. Meeting again at 2:15 or before, if we have seen all we want to see. I had seen all I needed to see by about 1:30 and I had left my fruit salad lunch on the bus, so couldn’t  eat that. I’ll have it for a snack later this evening. 

We all started heading to the bus about 1:45 and it was then decided to do a group photo. Then Alan our driver offered to take a photo using all our camera’s/phones. 15 minutes later we were on the bus and heading back to Inverness where we have been told that it has rained all day. 

We have been blessed with a dry day, once we were out of Inverness this morning.

I didn’t make a note of the time we were back at the hotel but I think it was around 4:30ish

We are all meeting in the lounge shortly before 6:15 and then heading into dinner. Main luggage has to be out early tomorrow morning, so It can be bussed to Edinburgh and we will just take hand luggage on the train and then walk from Waverley station to Radisson Blu. It’s about a 10/15 minute walk from memory.

Dinner was quite good. I had a potato & something soup. I think there was more of the something but it was very flavoursome. I had a fish meal for the main and a brownie & ice cream for dessert. Very yummy.

We then went to another room where there was a talk given by ??? about the history of the Loch Ness story. A great presentation. I’ll try to get the name of the presenter from Richard, our TD. He did tell us but I didn’t pay attention Or more likely, I can’t remember.

After that finished, I headed back to my room to pack up, ready for our train trip back to Edinburgh tomorrow. 

Night all.

Hoping to get some photos on Flickr before I head for bed. :)

EDITED: 5,325 steps today.

Tuesday 9th July 2024 - Urquhart Castle on legendary Loch Ness & cultural Inverness

A lazy start this morning.  I didn't go down to breakfast until after 7:30.  Just had toast and coffee.

When I went back to my room, I did a few days worth of hand washing. As I'm not having the room serviced daily, it gives me the opportunity to leave the washing hanging to dry for a couple of days.  After that I went for a short walk up the road past the Cathedral, which is only about 3 minutes from the hotel.

The group all met at 9:40, boarded the bus and were on our way to Clansman Harbour, where we were departing from on our Loch Ness cruise to Urquhart Castle.

The cruise departed at 11:00 and we arrived at the ruins about 20 minutes later.  It was obviously huge before it was blown up, as there are substancial pieces of it, over a large area.

I grabbed a bite to eat and also watched a 15 minute film on the background of the Castle and it's demise. Quite interesting.

We were being picked up at 12:50 to be taken back to Inverness and then the rest of the day was at leisure.

I had planned on visiting Inverness Castle but it's closed for renovations, before being re-opened in 2025. Instead, I visited the Victoria Markets and the Eastgate Centre shopping mall.  The only thing I bought was a comb from Boots chemist.

Did you know that the Unicorn is Scotland's National Animal??

We were supposed to be taking the Kyle Line train trip to Kyle of Lochalsh tomorrow and then drive to Eileen Donna Castle BUT Richard (our TD) has just come around, to say that the train has been cancelled, we will be bussing to and from the Castle. :(

Thought I posted this yesterday.  Seems that I didn't.  :)

EDITED: 10,770 steps today.

  

Monday 8th July 2024 - Cruising relaxing Loch Linnhe

 Monday  8 July

Breakfast was from 0730 and our bags had to be out by 0800.

We departed the hotel at 0830 and were on our way to Fort William. A very cloudy/ misty start to the morning.

We arrived at the Neptunes Staircase around 0920 and departed at 0945

There were 5 or 6 yachts going through the locks when we arrived. Watched them pass through 1 lock and then back to the coach.    I took a couple of videos.

After that visit, we then went to Corpach, to catch another view of the Jacobite Steam Train passing through. Much closer than we were yesterday.

We were back on the coach by 1030ish and Angus is taking us up to an area where we can get a better view of Ben Nevis. About 2 minutes later, we came to a stop, as apparently the yachts that were coming down Neptunes Staircase earlier had reached the bottom, as the swing bridge was now open to let them pass through and the road traffic was stationary.

Traffic started moving again about 15 minutes later. Richard helped fill in the time by telling us about one of his “memorable” tours. Sounded very much like a Fawlty Towers episode.

1110 and we reached the Nevis Lower Falls, so we offloaded from the bus and walked up the road for a short way, to take photos of the falls. Small falls but impressive, none the same.

We were back on the coach by 1120 and heading back down the mountain.

We were dropped back in town to have some lunch and walk the main pedestrian street. I bought myself a souvenir tea towel that has a map of most of the places we have visited.

We all met up again at 1240 before boarding the boat Elsie, for our cruise on Loch Linnhe.  This is a saltwater loch and there is a seal island on the Loch.

We were back at the dock and on board the coach by 1615 and on our way to Inverness.

First up was a quick “comfort” stop and then we had a 10 minute break at the Commando Memorial at 4 pm. 

Shortly after that we came to a very short standstill because of roadworks, where one side of the road is closed for about 500 metres. We were quickly on our way again.

Angus is often pointing out little bits of interesting things along the way. 

1630 and it’s suddenly raining.

We are driving along side Loch Ness & tomorrow we are taking a cruise on it.

We arrived at the Palace Hotel & Spa and I was checked in and had received my bag well before 6 pm. 

Dinner was booked for 7:15pm & we all met together before heading into our own dining room. I was sitting with Janine & Joe from the USA, Kate & Adrian from NZ and Richard, our TD.

Another delicious meal. I didn’t take any photos of the dishes.

Back to my room by about 9pm and once I have uploaded this and downloaded some photos on Flickr, I’ll be heading for bed.

Night all

EDITED: 6,369 steps today.

Sunday 7th July 2024 - The enchanting Jacobite Steam Train

7 July 2024

Up at 5am and fixed up my duplicate photo problem. I hope.

Made it down to breakfast this morning. We all met up just after 8:40 and were on the bus and on the way by 8:45 to Fort William and the Jacobite steam train and Mallaig.

Arrived at the railway station at 9:30 but because the station was still closed, Angas, our driver took us on a short drive around, so we could see the mountain Ben Nevis.

Once offloaded  by Angus, some went and used the loo for 20p. Lois and I went for a walk to the front of the train to take a photo of the steam engine, which is due to depart at 11:15 and it did, right on time.

Stopped at Glenfinnan station for 15 minutes and were off again at 11:20.

Arrived in Mallaig at 12:25.  We have until 13:50 to have lunch and check out the town.

Lois & I both bought Calamari and chips and sat outside the cafe to eat them.  The chip serving was massive. There were a couple of teens there and one of the girls was swooped by a seagull and dropped her feed of fish and chips. As both Lois and I couldn't finish our meal, we donated the chips to the young girl and then after she had finished her meal another seagull flew over and dropped bird poo on her.  I had a packet of disinfectant wipes, so she used a few of them to clean the mess up.  She had a good attitude and thought it was a great story to tell her school friends.

We were all picked up by Angus and were then driven to the Glenfinnan visitor centre. Arrived there at 2:25pm. so we had plenty of time to walk to a view point and waited until the train came through at 3:15ish. Managed to get a video of it. We then walked back to the bus and departed for the hotel at 3:30ish.

We passed through Fort William around 4pm.  The Neptunes Staircase is less than 5 minutes away.  The weather today has again been lovely Brilliant sunshine most of the time.  Still a cool wind blowing but if you get out of the wind, with the sun shining, its perfect.

For the most part, the scenery is spectacular.  Unfortunately you can't see it as much as we would like, because the trees keep blocking the view from the road.

We made a quick stop at the Glencoe Visitors Centre, before continuing on back to the hotel, where we arrived at 5:20.

Dinner was at 7pm tonight and I didn't take any photos of it. :)

After dinner we had a Whisky tasting and my preference is the Highland Whisky from Kirkwall. :)

Will try and get some photos posted tonight before going to bed.  We depart here tomorrow, heading to Inverness.

EDITED: 6,518 steps today.