Sun 10 Sept 12° Glencoe to Arisaig near Mallaig

Here comes the rain again! We got ready for the off and headed for Fort William, called into Lidl, Pat and Les stocked up as well, had morning coffee. Past Ben Nevis, shrouded in the misty rain.

Stopped at BP for diesel £1.21 ltr £40 for 34ltrs. So many motorhomes on the road passing us going south, the most we have seen. The sun came out briefly but the low lying mist clung to the slopes of the hills beside loch Eil. Lots of fishing pots in the water so plenty of fish around.

The misty drizzle turned to  black skies and heavy rain, ugly. The Princes chain, small run  of islands just off shore in the Loch.

The ferns turning autumnal oranges and the purple heather, turning brown.

Drove past our campsite, coordinates out by about 50 yards to the camp next door, turned round and down a very waterlogged, pot holed driveway. Invercaimbe campsite near Mallaig for ferry tomorrow to Skye. Right on the beach though and Joyce the owner very friendly and welcoming, £17.50 including Ehu. It stayed dry while we hooked up and got sorted, I went back to pay but it was cash only, she saw the next rain dump coming and said to come back later or I would get wet, I made it back to Bessie just as the cloud broke and the heavens opened.

We saw the steam train go by...well the steam not the actual train, so hope Pat got to see it, she would be very happy.

When they arrived, she was very dissapointed ,  they waited till 3pm and had just moved off about 200 yards and it came.....so she missed It behind the trees!  😔

Ruby was too heavy for the grass pitch in the wet at 4 ton so we swapped and we went on another gravel pitch so all good and both settled.

When I went to pay Joyce had just made a carrot and walnut loaf.......well....be rude not to... £1 a slice, I waited while she iced it and also bought a slice of lemon drizzle....cut each into 4 and Pat and Les came over for coffee and cake....yummy.

They went back to cook their dinner, Tony had the black, white and sweet brown pudding and haggis that they had bought for us...I had a chicken fillet both with veges.

The rain  was very heavy again, Pat said the ferry had issued disruptions due to the wind, may be cancelled,  will ring in the morning  to check.

Sat 9 Sept 13° Glencoe

Rain stopped and a beautiful day dawned, dry and sunny, magical scenery now clear of rain and mist.
Followed the rugby test, ABS vs Argentina we won...yeah....while Pat and Les took dogs for a long walk. We caught up with them later at the pub, inland about 15mins. Stunning scenery change in colours with the sun and shade, colours of autumn mixed with purple heather ,Piers was right, he said the hills would be purple with the heather in bloom. As the wind slowly blew the clouds along in the blue sky, the shadow cast, created an ever changing pallet of colour. No wonder the photographers were out in  force today taking advantage of the break in the weather which is due to close in again tomorrow.

 

Drone over the water

Great Pub With 10 different real ales and almost that of lagers Les and Pat were in their element, to top it off they had haggis, neeps and tatties as lite bites. We sat outside in  the garden enjoying the warmth of the sun, still wrapped up against the midges, except Les, who having seen the sun, was in compulsory shorts and Tee shirt....he took the midges bites for all of us....brave man.

We went in for 2nd pint and the 2 guys ordered the haggis, neeps and tatties at £4.95 be rude not to....Pat had the venison and brie cheese with oat biscuits and I not being a fan of the above I had the thick tomato and chilly soup.

Long stroll back to motorhomes, still people coming to take photos, a male model shoot complete with drone and a couple taking pics of paddle boards as they have just bought some from China and were going to advertise them for sale...Tony's said they should try NZ as they are very popular there. The changing light, colours and hues on the mountain were amazing and the late sun on the water a stunning blue with the reflection of the blue sky above. Definately one of our best places so far.

Pat came over for chat and we planned next couple of days and booked ferry to Skye on Monday.

Lite  tea, pork pie and sausages,  relaxing evening, finished my book, thanks Pat for a very good read, David Baldacci very good author of detective murder mysteries.

Fri 8 Sept 12° Glencoe

Heavy rain all night but quiet otherwise, my imagination took hold thinking the rain would flood the fast flowing river and take us along with it eeekkkk....my worst nightmare....so I was up 2 or 3 times looking at the car park to make sure it wasn't under water, but so dark and even with the torch it just was a big black nothing, and still the rain pelted down.

So not a good night for me but in the morning we were still parked securely and the river was still within its banks. There was a traffic incident on the road, when I opened the blinds there were flashing lights of emergency vehicles,  apparently an articulated truck had jack knifed and was sprawled across both lanes. Queues of  traffic both ways, Tony said he heard sirens about 8am but didn't here a bang or anything.

Rained most of the day but that didn't stop the hardy kayakers  preparing to go into the fast flowing river. In the kayak, sliding down the bank and into the river.

The sun came out and sparkled on the water like diamonds, lovely. The crash traffic cleared and Pat and Les arrived about 4pm, they did manage to park in Oban and get the fresh seafood,  bought us a salmon sandwich ,black, white ,brown pudding and a slice of haggis. We had a drink together in  Ruby, then back to Bessie to cook dinner, we enjoyed the salmon for starters it was thick and moist, delicious. Thanks guys 😊

We had pork chops and veges for dinner, quiet night....no rain pelting down and no more imaginings.

Prue flew back yesterday, so pleased we were able to have that time together in London .

Thurs 7 Sept 13° Ardfern - Oban - Glencoe

Wet night and morning making the ground very boggy. Waited for it to ease then did the domestics and un hooked the electric cable.  Les moved his motorhome nearer to the wifi antennae got a good signal so they decided to stay to get the work done to download the info from Spain.

We drove on and arranged to meet next day not far up the road to Oban the seafood capital of the West.

It poured down again, so the stunning view and look outs were very misty which was a shame but to get the green you need the rain.

At Oban we found d the car park with 4 dedicated motorhome parks where we were going to wait but it was £10 with no services and a very busy car park opposite Tesco,  Pat told us that Tesco were now allowing motorhomes to park for free and overnight so drove around to their car park, very busy and nowhere really to park, back to ther car park and of course lost our spot, it was now full, so pulled into a coach bay just to pop into Tesco for milk and got some hot cod bites for lunch. A very friendly coach driver came wanting  to park where we were and told us Tesco allow motorhomes over 2 bays for free, so again round the block, but not happy to leave it there, so sadly won't get to do much in this seaside seafood town.

Drove on along the coastal fishing port, very pretty town with lots of seafood cafes and restaurants but nowhere for us to park. Hopefully we will get some where further up the coast.

Good road surface but misty rain prevented good viewing the scenery. Very well kept gardens and immaculate lawns in the front of the house along the way by Loch Linnhe and Loch Creran photo from viewing spot.

Craggy rocks jutting out from hillsides and very rocky, stoney shores of the Loch with large homes made of grey stone.

Arrived at our very picturesque free stop for tonight right on edge of the Loch and at the foot of Glencoe.

Lots of tourists and walkers coming and going, admiring the view....our view haha...taking photos, even a huge bus full of people, but the rain was so heavy no one wanted to get out haha. The road we came off runs behind and above the car park so hoping it won't be too noisy overnight.

Aged aberdeen angus steak from farm stay in Melton Mowbray onions, mushrooms kumera chips for dinner a la skipper.