Sat, 05 Oct 2002

author Tim	location Loch Lochy, South Laggan, Spean Bridge, Scotland
posted 19:32 BST	section Europe2002/Europe/UK/Scotland/Scotland 1 ( all photos )

A day of Lochs and Locks ( No photos )
Yesterday we eventually got checked in, and found ourselves not in our own room for the first time. This weekend they are runing a promotion for the Year of The Mountains, so the hostels are packed out. This was most evident in that none of us got any sleep (snoring, creaky bunks, lots of people slamming doors, talking, etc.), and are ready to retire early tonight (again in shared dorms).
After checking in, we went for a walk back to the aforementioned one store in the village - the girls' excuse was to get a drink. The twenty minute round-trip saw us get sopping wet - little wonder these mountain youth hostels have drying rooms!
The night was tied up with a puzzle, writing postcards, cooking dinner and then attempting sleep. Which didn't happen.
So today, we woke (not that we were really asleep) to the sound of a large group of boy scouts or similar running a breakfast. Joy was us as we dragged ourselves through beds, showers, etc., and then to leave the rooms by a ridiculous 9:30am. Such is the pain of cheap rooms in the mountains.
We then drove about 150 miles directly to our next location - Loch Lochy. This took us through some more amazing scenery - Ben Nevis (not that we could see the top, of course), the "Five Sisters", and of course endless sheep, waterfalls, rivers and rolling hills.
A trip this afternoon while awaiting check-in took us to Fort William - the nearest "big" town for miles. It actually has a pedestrian-only area in it!! Here we found me a nice warm jacket which has been long needed to replace my aging one, the girls of course found lolly/chocolate/nibbly shops, and Percy found some cheap fuel.
We came back, checked-in, and checked out the kitchen (necessary because some of them don't have working ovens, etc.). We took a walk down to Loch Lochy itself, and observed a lock lift the boat of some touristy types' boat up into a higher section of the river. Interesting, but not as fan-dangled as the Falkirk Wheel of a few days ago.
Next we decided to drive to nearby town Spean Bridge to procure necessary dinner ingredients. However, the entire town seemed to have lost electricity supply, so it was another trip back to Fort William to find a supermarket.
Dinner consumed, we are now occupying ourselves with journals and books, and it will probably be quite an early night to make up for lack of sleep.

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