Do You Want to Build a Snowman? 14th Dec 2019

We woke to a rainy, dreary morning, nothing like yesterday. After our included Full Scottish Breakfast (minus the Black Pudding!) we began packing to leave for the Highlands. Due to the high popularity of the Watermill we decided to make a tentative booking for our return trip back to Paisley in early April 2020.

The friendly staff from Clarksons of Glasgow delivered our amazing Peugout 2008 SUV early at around 8.30 (we weren't expecting them until around 11.30am) so it gave us an opportunity to hit the road early! We had planned another walk into Paisley but given the weather and that the car had come ahead of time we decided just to set out on our Highland Adventures. Vince said the car felt like the cockpit of the space shuttle - a far cry from our "vintage" cars back home (and ageing 2002 Nissan Pulsar and little Hyundi Getz).

The forecast before we left Australia for an Arctic Blast and -10 degrees for 40 days had us rethinking our wanderlust highland meandering plans, and maybe just gun it for Skye directly, but the good weather of yesterday had convinced us to push on. Being a Saturday the traffic out of Paisley was pretty good and we soon found ourselves crossing the Erskine Bridge, up past Loch Lomond and the Trossacs and this is where we got our first glimpse of snow on the mountains.

Before long we were in the thick of it as we headed for Glen Coe and the Great Glen was a winter wonderland paradise with the rain quickly turning to snowfall - just magical. However, it was not without it perils and the dangerous black ice claimed at least three cars we saw in serious crashes (the last one was a roll over and looked like a fatality). Morag refused to come out of the car until we arrived at our Hotel in Fort William. Vince was amazing in his care and discipline on the road managing to get us to Fort William unscathed, even if it did take us 4 hours rather than the Google indicated 2. I did get a few brief photographs along the way but a moving vehicle through glass in a snow storm is not ideal - so you get what you get! We did pullover in a by lane and try but it was so freezing cold that my fingers didn't work and I wasn't keen to stray far from the car due to the ice conditions - the last thing I need in my recovery from my broken leg in Bali it to slip and break something else.

The Muthu Hotel in Fort William is a "Grand Old Lady" who has seen better days, very dated and basic (although the shower is amazingly hot and strong!) but at just 40 GBP a night you can't complain (it was 68 GBP a night at the Watermill). It is currently under refurbishment but we found it quite cold (the Watermill central heating was sometimes so hot we opened the window). The small radiator doesn't do a lot even though it's a tiny room, so we have had to run the bathroom air heater as much as we can.

The location is great though and within easy walking distance of the Main Street. We took a walk and made a couple of purchases - a Christmas gift for two friends joining us for Christmas and a Traditional Porridge Spurtle!!! I was excited and at just 4 pounds a bargain! Shops were closing at 3.30pm and it was dark by 4.00pm but too early to eat so we went back to the hotel and had a tipple of the Macallan Gold Single Malt Whiskey we had been gifted from my Greenock relatives the night before.

We had dinner at a local restaurant chain around 5.30pm, Witherspoons, and we both had the turkey special with an alcoholic drink for under 10 pounds. I had the Grouse and Ginger Ale and Vince had a pint. Back at the hotel we were in bed by 6.00pm. It's hard for our bodies to adjust to not only the time difference between Australia and here, but the fact that there is so little daylight. So we find ourselves waking frequently during the night (10.30pm, 2.20am etc) so that is why I am writing this in the wee small hours of 15th Dec as I can't sleep.

My cough is much worse and now Vince is coughing so we are quite the pair wheezing and coughing - ah the joys of travel!