Corpach Shipwreck and Glenfinnan Viaduct 15th Dec 2019

I was awake from 2.30am but had to wait until 8.00am to enjoy a Full Scottish Breakfast at our hotel, The Muthu Fort William, and the waitress convinced us to try the Black Pudding again - but it was still not to our linking. The staff are all so friendly in Scottish hotels and pubs.

As we set out for our day’s adventure we saw the moon above the hills directly across from our hotel - it was fleeting but beautiful!

We headed out past Ben Nevis and Inverlochy to the little town of Corpach.

Near the far end of the Caledonian Canal on the Loch Linnhe beach at Corpach is a large abandoned ship that has become known as the Corpach Shipwreck, however, her original name was MV Dayspring. She was built in 1975 and in her prime was said to be an excellent fishing vessel catching mostly mackerel and herring. She was renamed Golden Harvest by some new owners and made her last voyage under her own power in 2001 before being moored at Kinlochleven. During a heavy storm a raiser chain failed and she ran aground near the Corpach Sea Loch on the 8th December 2011 and has lain there ever since. This little Robin Redbreast was having some fun darting in and out of the wreck.

A beautiful piece of engineering quality and ship design, she had become a “photographic model” of the Highlands and a magnet for tourists from nearby Fort William and Glenfinnan. Vince captured a pic of me trying to capture a pic of the Corpach Wreck (below). It rained off and on but we did see a little bit of blue sky and sun occasionally. On the journey back up from the beach we met Peter and his white Scottish Terrier, Mitsey who told us about the Glen Coe Massacre and then ran into Jean and her roan Cocker Spaniel, Sam who shared that a grandchild was living in Melbourne. People are all so friendly and welcoming here in the Highlands. As I crossed the bridge back to the carpark we could see Ben Nevis in the background.

Being huge Harry Potter fans we also went to The Glenfinnan Viaduct which is a railway viaduct on the West Highland Line in Glenfinnan, Inverness-shire, Scotland. Located at the top of Loch Shiel in the West Highlands of Scotland, the viaduct overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument and the waters of Loch Shiel. The Jacobite Stream train runs from April to October and gives twice daily opportunities (10.55am and 3.00pm) to photograph the “Hogwart’s Express” but unfortunately as it is not running at this time of year - we were out of luck on that one! We did however take a few pictures and enjoyed a homemade butternut pumpkin and sweet potato soup with a roll for just under 5 pounds from Alin, a Romanian working there. With the help of the lovely Lizzy from the National Trust of Scotland Vince became a member for 28 pounds which gives us a 3 day pass for parking and entry into their sites. It rained and eventually turned to snow whilst we were there.

On our return journey we passed the Ben Nevis Distillery, but didn’t stop in as the day was moving on and we didn’t have much daylight left. We did stop off at the ruins of Inverlochy Castle, built in 1280 by John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch. The castle commanded the strategic southern entrance to the Great Glen, with Urquart Castle, another Cromyn Castle at Loch Ness controlling the other end of the Great Glen.3 Battles were fought here, and in 1307 it was taken into Royal hands by Robert Bruce and then left abandoned. Suprisingly a lot of the castle still remains.

We made our way home and then went to do a little bit of shopping for a surprise gift for Moira and her dog, Archie, whom we met on a previous trip to Inverness in 2015 when we stayed at her B&B. We have booked two nights with her from tomorrow. Vince also treat me to a Dunoon china cup with some Highland Cows on, for my morning cup of tea he makes for me - so sweet!

We stopped in at the Volunteer Arms - historically related to the local Queens Highland Regiment and had a drink before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before a roast beef dinner and a tipple or two at the Ben Nevis Hotel - yum!