1987 Inverness

Sat 1987-06-06 {12108}

Up at 0530 to leave at 0615 - 800km to Inverness in elapsed time of 10.75hrs, including a stop for lunch just before Edinburgh on A701. Route M1 - M6 - A74 - A701 - M90 - A9. It rained all the way. Excellent roads all the way, A9 is only 2 lanes & 1 carriageway in most places, but is aligned like a motorway for speeds and gradient. 2 lots of fuel, 6.2 & 5.5 l/100km, car going really well with its extra throttle travel. Scenery pretty spectacular when it could be seen thro' the mist and rain. Very rugged moorland, mountains, mountain streams etc. Parallel railway most of the way into the highlands, + Beatock & Shap summits. Excellent meal even on the Table d'Hote, wine list extensive. Bed early & sleep well, knackered.

Sun 1987-06-07 {12109}

Breakfast: fruit juice, coffee, toast, bacon, sausage, egg and tomato. I shall be 70kg by the time we get home. It's still raining solidly. Drive around Loch Ness, anticlockwise, stopping at Fort Augustus to see the stair-case locks being operated (hydraulic). It stopped raining (just for a few minutes). The S side road is pretty, going over a summit, narrow and winding. Go beyond to Avoch to look at the sea & the rain. Back to hotel, then go for a walk around the town in a longer break from rain. Lots of high-street shops open on Sunday around here, and plenty of tourists from all over, Yank, Swiss, German, etc. Cocktail bar before dinner. Another excellent dinner, drinks afterwards & to bed early.

Mon 1987-06-08 {12110}

Via Caledonian Canal sea-lock 1st thing and Nairn & Elgin to Glen Grant Distillery at Rothes, look around and buy some. Lunch in Elgin. Ship coming through lock, but everything on this canal seems so slow, so don't wait for the railway swing-bridge to be swung. The locks take ages to fill. Lock is right out in the estuary on the end of an artificial spit. Distillery very swish, quick tour of preparation of mash & fermentation & distillation (malting performed elsewhere). Look into fermentation vessels & see 90 000l of stuff bubbling away, at various stages. Usual copper pot stills. Buy bottle of the stuff. Shop discreet, you don't end the tour in the shop - I had to ask where it was. On the way back visit Elgin, Forres (local Citroen dealer), Nairn and Inverness shops, including the new, super, and by MK standards, minute indoor shopping mall. Buy a Philips FM VHF/MF/LF radio to get real Radio 4 200kHz, and not Highland Radio. Bloke is thoroughly incompetent, but manages to sell me the radio + 2 sets of Duracells + a spare earphone for the price of the radio. Alcoholic dinner & post-prandial "Glen Mohr" malt with the diary writing!

Tue 1987-06-09 {12111}

1st thing round Inverness Museum (& Art Gallery - closed) - about average local museum. Useless exhibits such as a modern BP petrol pump with covers on & no explanation. Interesting original Telford map of the Caledonian Canal. Then drive out to Loch Ness monster exhibition near Urquhart castle on Ft William rd. Reasonable show for 1.65L. Followed by a drive along a minor road thro' the hills into an adjacent valley past a hydroplant & back into Inverness via the road alongside Beauly Firth. Buy sarnies in M&S + books & spend latter part of afternoon reading. Post postcards. Less rain today, only a few showers, and the sun came out for several seconds at a time.

Wed 1987-06-10 {12112}

Out to the railway station by 0910 and book for excursion to Portree, total 38L for two. Buy more M&S sarnies &. Train leaves at 1015, outward in the "observation car", a converted driving trailer with loose seating on carpet + a very squeaky PA system for rather amateurish commentary. Thro' pretty rugged country in the middle, & pretty scenery along the sea from Stromeferry to Kyle of Lochalsh. Then over to Skye on the ferry & coach across to Portree, arr 1505. Dep again 1540! & retrace steps to Inverness by 1955. Dirty class 37 & 39s running the line - single track with radio tokens. They use road-type speed limit signs. So much scenery, it's difficult to take it all in. Late dinner & into the cocktail bar again. Sunshine on Skye - and warm. Scotrail seems to have it well organised - the travel centre sells excursion tickets that work on the ferry & buses as well (all different companies) with no fuss & they take credit cards.

Thu 1987-06-11 {12113}

Election day. The sun shone today, at least part of the time, but it's not warm. Car tour around the mountains around L Ness, Oich, Garry, etc. Lunch at Ft Augustus. Lots of photos of scenery on my camera.

Fri 1987-06-12 {12114}

She's in again, but with a slightly smaller majority. Alliance reduced. Sunny/showery day again. Campbeltown/Ft George after gift shopping in Inverness. Got wire thro' tyre - have it patched in Inv for 4L. Fortunately the sun shone for the performance of finding the jack etc. Then lunch in pub & drive around mountains & lochs in the afternoon. Quite warm when the sun shines. Visit another distillery (by Muir of Ord) & buy a bottle - this one was laid-off for maintenance & malting and casking weren't shown, so we actually saw less than at the other one, except we saw the germinating barley with sprouts (dried). Pics of hotel room, Cawdor Castle, Stuart Castle, viaduct on main S-bound rly near Culloden.

Sat 1987-06-13 {12115}

Last breakfast, settle bill & leave 0915 for 640km to Goole.