I don't think I mentioned that on arrival Luke the manager kindly changed our room and gave us one upstairs which had a fabulous view over the loch. I first awoke quite early (0355) and took this quick snap before going back to sleep for a couple more hours. A little bit fuzzy but it was taken through not terribly clean glass.
I was then fully awake, showered and dressed before 0630, so I left Ian in bed with a cup of coffee to contemplate the day whilst I went for a walk along the shoreline.
The lighthouse
A bit of arty-farty long exposure.
The number of different sea weeds never fails to amaze me; some are quite hideous but others are rather pretty.
The first ferry crossing of the day; unfortunately it is quite noisy, not so much the engines but the warning sirens. You get quite attuned to it very quickly.
It was a very grey and damp start to the day.
The choice of food at breakfast was HUGE and as well as Haggis and Black Pudding, the cooked choices also included Lorne and Link Sausages. We asked what the difference was and Luke (manager and sole breakfast waiter) explained the former was square and made of beef. We then remembered ordering sausage baps when we went up to St Andrews to watch Millie play golf and how revolting these square patty lumps were - so Link Sausages x2. Plus "if the chef can separate eggs, may I please have fried yolks only as I don't eat egg white" to which the reply came back "of course I (expletives deleted) can, how do you think I made Hollandaise Sauce" I suppose the correct phrasing should have been "will" not "can" but apparently the chef was quite happy to oblige and my request was a first for him.
After breakfast we headed off to get the ferry back across Lock Linnhe and the weather was looking decidedly more promising.
Although it was only 08:00 the ferry we caught was full and there was already a queue building for the next one. I got permission to get out of the car for a short while.
The vague plan for the day as to visit Glencoe first, then drive back up through Fort William and on to Glenfinnan to see the afternoon 'Jacobite' steam train cross the famous viaduct.
En route we passed this lovely church and cemetery; a bloke on a bike was just going through the gate as we parked but he locked it after him so I had to stand on a wall, with Ian holding my legs as the wind was so strong, to get these pictures.
When we got to Glencoe, the weather had unfortunately closed in and it was very damp and misty so I never did get the classic shot. In fact the weather was so awful we decided to drive straight through without stopping and on to Loch Tulla in the hope the weather would improve for the return journey - it didn't, but here are a few snaps along the way.
Another attempt at a long exposure but I should have used a tripod as even the rocks aren't in focus but the wind was so strong it would have blown over!
Point the camera in a certain direction and all you get is rain spots on the lens.
Certainly not the wonderful views I've seen on the internet, but then again due to the miserable weather and my bone idleness I never ventured more than a couple of yards from the car so I can't really expect much.