Autumn in the Highlands

 

For some unknown and very lucky reason, my husband happened to look up how much a few days at The Moorings in Banavie - near Fort William, would cost because it is usually way out of our budget.  And lo and behold, it wasn't....so he booked 3 nights!  And the rooms are dog friendly!  So Skye is also travelling with us!

Today is the first day of COP26 too and it was mind boggling to see so many police all over where we drove.  There has been a big police presence at the beach in my town, 40 miles away from Glasgow - where COP26 is being held.  And this presence was obvious through Glasgow and beyond, even on the Erskine Bridge.  At least traffic was not bad getting through Glasgow on our way up north.

On the way out of town, we got our meal deal for lunch at the M&S. Since we had no idea where we would end up when it was lunchtime, it made life easier to have this.  

The drive along Loch Lomond was unexpectedly beautiful. For the first day of November, we certainly did not expect to be treated to such spectacular Autumn colour. We stopped here to give Skye a little walk.  

    

Our next stop was Rannoch Moor.  We have driven through Rannoch Moor many times, it is a soggy looking place that precedes the entrance to Glen Coe. I have always enjoyed looking at it but never gave it much thought until I read a book with my book group called Corrag.  This is a story about a person who may or may not have actually existed and centres one the Glen Coe Massacre.  Corrag is a young female who travels on her own to Glen Coe and becomes part of the community there, before the massacre.  The book was super and I can't describe the massacre that happened in the 1600s, but have a look, or read the book, it was mesmerising.  And one reason I really wanted to return to this area - to look at it with different eyes. 

We stopped a few times to take photos of the Moor, and trying to catch the sun!  At times it looked like storms were going to hit us and then the sun would appear.  It was lovely. The title picture is Rannoch Moor and this rainbow was what was behind me when I took that photo.

The weather was not clear but this is the sort of atmosphere that works best for Glen Coe. It is always a pleasure to drive through this beautiful valley. We also take the side roads on occasion and Alan did this today.  He went on Glen Etive road, a single track road, to try to take a photo he has tried to take many times.  If we had gone further up the road, we would have arrived at the iconic scene from Skyfall, one of the James Bond movies.  It was vey muddy and treacherous walking there, so Skye and I waited in the car, at the foot of the Buachaille.  I could not get a good photo, but have attached a link to give more information about it.

We then drove slowly through Glen Coe, passed the fabulous waterfall we have enjoyed seeing since we first drove past it in 1985.  Then the requisite stop at the Three Sisters for photos.  

 

It is also nice to stop at the visitor centre.  The shop and cafe are good, but the view from the rear of the building is fantastic.  They are now building a cottage reminiscent of what the people might have lived in at the time of the massacre. The pandemic has held up construction but I can't wait to go back and see what it will be like when it is finished.

View from the visitor centre.
The dark shape in the right centre is the 
new cottage they are building.

We arrived at The Moorings around 5, and time for a walk along Neptune's Staircase. At this time it was to dark to take any photos, but we will be here another 3 days so there will be plenty of time to do that.  Our room faces the canal and looks over the locks too. But there are tress on either side and they interfere with our view!