Took the long way round.

 Tuesday 20th
What a difference 12 hours make. This morning the sky was blue with the occasional wispy cloud and the mountains bathed in sunlight. The Loch was almost flat calm and the queues for the ferry was back to normal. But of course, all idyllic places has a downside. The ferry started running from 6 am and every time it came into the dock the 'beware' alarm sounded and the onboard tannoy sprung into life. It got us out of bed early to enjoy the beautiful surroundings and gave us time to have a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs. It was well after 10am when we got underway.

This was taken last night. The rain had stopped but the Police presence was all to do with the accident. They were directing the traffic

This morning and hardly a ripple on the water.

Last nights stopover. The traffic queues had all gone.

A lot of driving today. We all decided to take the scenic route instead of going back across Loch Linnhe and paying another £8.50 for the ferry. In hindsight, it would have been cheaper to take the boat crossing because the scenic route was a 35-mile drive to get to our first destination Fort William. It would have been only 10 miles if we had gone the other way! Think of all that diesel used by taking that route but it was ever so picturesque. The road was a bit challenging. Single track road with passing places but fun to do and well worth the extra drive.

 Anyway, rain started again once we reached Fort William and we wondered if parking would be an issue. It wasn't though, as this was the first place we had been to that catered for the touring public. Huge car park designed for coaches, caravans and motorhomes and only £3 for a stay of 4 hours. Dodging the showers we took a walk to the town centre and found a great fish and chips restaurant for lunch. But dogs were not allowed in and as Harvey, Kev's staffie, was with us the meal was eaten in the rain!

On route to Loch Ness, we spied the first glimpse of Ben Nevis. Stopping at Commandos Memorial at Spean Bridge we got to see the mountain but totally obscured by cloud.

The centre line shows the direction of Ben Navis.

 The Commandos memorial garden, wow what a lovely place to be. It commemorates the sacrifice of those Commandos that lost their lives during the Second World War.

We headed off for the Falls of Foyer along more single track roads with passing places. Once more the scenery was spectacular and we even had the occasional glimpse of Loch Ness.

The weather, well fickle is an understatement. One minute bathed in sunshine and the next your caught in a deluge. On arrival at the Falls carpark this was the case so on with waterproofs to brave the elements. No sooner had we set off than the sun came out and left us sweltering. All those steps down and up and when we eventually arrived back at the Beast we were soaked with sweat rather than rain! It was worth it though as the amount of rain made the falls a sight to see.

And seen by the cafe on our return

And wildlife

Juvenile Robin