Day 45: Monday 23rd May 2022

Day 45: Monday 23rd May 2022

We got up early and managed to leave by 7.20am as we knew it was a long drive ahead of us. Portree had a couple of tricky roads when travelling to the campsite, so we made sure to get past those as early as we could before there was too much traffic. The route through Skye was again scenic, although still very rainy and misty! 

We crossed the bridge and then followed the signs for Fort William. We particularly liked the Glen Shiel area - the mountainous area was so beautiful and so many different colours in the valleys.

The weather got worse, but as we were early, we did decide to take a little detour to see Loch Ness, having realised that we were not far and this was something we hadn’t managed to see before. Surprisingly, despite the awful weather we had had close by, the roads near Loch Ness had not had any rain! It was very calming to be by the loch, though we didn’t stay long. No sign of Nessie! (Although the waves were moving in a peculiar way - perhaps if we had just stayed a minute or two longer…??) 

Back on our route, and we arrived at the campsite in Fort William around 11.45. Luckily our pitch was free, so we could go straight there to settle in. Once set up, we wandered to the campsite shop and then to the Ben Nevis Visitor Centre. We have been planning to walk up Ben Nevis, and tomorrow looks the best day for it weather wise, so we wanted to buy a map and ask the staff a few questions to ensure we are fully prepared. Very exciting!!!! 

After heading along the river side, we found the right paths so we know where we are heading tomorrow. It was lovely along the river - lots of bluebells lining the riverbank. 

We relaxed this afternoon, as we are trying not to tire ourselves out by doing too many steps. Dinner was nice, although I accidentally cooked couscous instead of bulgar wheat so an unexpected dinner. Whoops! Nearly packed, ready for tomorrow. Can’t wait!! Feeling in high spirits and really excited :)