Fort William and the Neptune Staircase

 

                                 

June 5, 2025 - Yesterday in Fort William we went to the visitors center and asked what we should do in town.  The guy we talked to mapped out a walk with some sights, so we're going to hit those today.  We started with a continental breakfast at our B&B which wasn't as good as what Richard provided us in Invernvess, but it was pretty good for a continental.  We then went to the train station to see the Jacobite steam engine train, which was used in the Harry Potter movies as the Hogwarts Express.  It does a 2 hr trip for $70.  The information guy said if you want to ride it for cheaper take the local train for $17 because it is the exact same trip (just not on the steam train).  We decided to just check out the train at the station instead of riding on a train for 4 hours.  Next we walked the Glen Way Trail to the Old Inverlochy Castle.  We walked back to get the car and then drove to the Neptune staircase, which is 8 locks that lift boats 64 feet.  We walked to town from our B&B and had dinner at Ben Nevis Bar.  We did a lot of walking today 8.5 miles! 

Fort William train station

The Jacobite steam train will go to Mallaig and back

A few questions for the train engineer

We're hiking the Great Glen Way

the trail goes along the River Lochy

We made it to the Old Inverlochy Castle

the castle is being renovated

but the gate to the castle isn't under construction

Next we drove to the Neptune staircase.  The lock tenders were busy with a broken railroad bridge and 2 boats that were waiting in the last lock.  This is the mechanism that works the lock gates

This view was from the lock gate, looking down at the two boats waiting in the final lock

then we walked to the top of the locks and this was the view down the stairs

We're getting excited for our canal boat adventure next week.  We're hopefully not going to see anything this complicated.  

We took a walk down the canal and got this good view of the steps from afar.  The white bridge at the front is the stuck railroad bridge.

The guy at the information center told us to walk along the canal for the best view of Ben Nevis (the largest peak in the UK).  We're not sure which peak it is.  We asked a woman walking by and she said it was here somewhere and we should ask someone with a dog, they would know.

Fort William across the water

There is snow on the peak to the left

and we never did see the top of the peak to the right because of the clouds

When we got back to the locks they were getting ready to move the boats through the last lock

they opened the gate

both the white railroad bridge (that had been causing all the problems) and the green car bridge were swung to the side.

and the boat passed through

on it's way!

We had dinner at Ben Ness Bar (which 2 different people had recommended).  We split the seafood platter appetizer with mussels, smoked haddock pate and haddock strips.  Kev and I split tatties and haggis a small plate of fish and chips.  It was a great spot for dinner!

It was a rainy walk back to the B&B but pretty views of the mountains through the clouds.  I also like these crazy lines on the road before a pedestrian crossing

the street entrance to our B&B, Ashburn house

sun and clouds all at once

my glasses after our rainy walk from town

Dunvegan Castle & Fort William

 

                                

June 3, 2025 - Today started out as a rainy day.  It looked like the weather was going to get better later in the morning so we dawdled over breakfast and put together some laundry for the laundry service.  It was cozy on the sun porch with all the rain coming down.  We headed out for our drive first to the Fairy Pools and then we were headed north to the Dunvegan Castle.  The road to the Fairy Pools was like we saw yesterday, single lane with "passing places" every so often and as we were getting close to the parking area for the hike we got passed by many emergency vehicles.  As we got to the parking we found that the emergency vehicles had taken over the parking lot and there was a giant traffic jam, because most of the road is single lane.  So instead of hiking the Fairy pools we had to keep heading south to Glenbrittle (the end of the road) where there was a campground and a coffee shop.  We passed some time there, hoping the emergency would be over by the time we drove back by the hiking parking lot.  We got there about 1:30 and it was all cleared out, but when we started our hike (which was going to take an hour or so, depending on hour far we wanted to walk) the skies let loose and it poured sheets of rain on us.  So we decided the fairies were against us and went to Dunvegan Castle instead!  We ate dinner at 1820 Limited which is in a converted church.  It had a minimal menu, but they don't take reservations and they had a table available, our kind of place.

The Cuillin Mountains in the background

The Sligachan Old Bridge

I think I know them!

The Sligachan River flows under the old bridge.  There is a legend that if you stick your face in the river at the bridge you will have eternal beauty.

We decided beauty is over-rated and it was way too cold (only in the 40's today...brrr!)

After we left the bridge it cleared up

and then was overcast again.  It was an up and down day today, weather-wise

This was the gigantic traffic jam due to emergency vehicles at the Fairy Pools.  It was a big puzzle to figure out how to move the cars so the trucks could get through

We found a nice waterfall (Kev called it a glorified drainage ditch after some of the falls we’ve seen) across from the Glenbrittle Youth Hostel

This sheep just stared at us and wouldn't move

then there was cattle crossing the road.  It was just that kind of a day

Coffee at the Glenbrittle cafe helped pass a little time while we waited to go back to the Fairy Pools for our hike

The clouds are back

In the distance is the Fairy Pools Trail (with a big cloud coming over the mountain)

It started to rain just as we started the hike (it wasn't just rain it was sheets of rain!)

after leaving our hike it of course got nice and sunny

We made it to Dunvegan Castle (sunny but still quite cold)

pretty purple flowers growing on the castle walls

views from the castle of Loch Dunvegan

Love the bouquet of fresh flowers

another view from the castle

we liked this game table that had hinges so the table could have the backgammon/chess board or a felt card table top or a wooden top.  The table could also be half sized when all were on one side and the leg slid underneath

I’m off to the dungeon

more purple wall flowers

Since the weather was so nice we also walked through the wonderful gardens at Dunvegan

You can see the castle tower above the gardens

lots of water droplets (because it's rained A LOT today!)

pretty greenhouse plants

a courting bench

an angled bench

pretty view of the castle from the gardens

we have enjoyed the views of Loch Portree from bed

 June 4, 2025 - We are headed to Fort William today, about a 2.5 hour drive.  The weather is still off and on rain, so we will continue to dodge the rain as best we can.  We stopped at Eilean Donan Castle for a few pics and a coffee break and then went to the Nevis Range Mountain Resort to see if we could ride to the top for a view of the area.  The gondola wasn't running because of high winds, so we ate lunch and headed into the town of Fort William.  The West Highland Museum fit the bill of passing some time out of the rain and I actually really enjoyed it.  They had all sorts of crazy items that were fun to learn about.  We checked into our B&B (where we will be staying for the next 2 nights) and then went back downtown for dinner at the Grog & Gruel.

Another rainy day in Scotland

but pretty, even in the rain

rainy view of Portree

we're packed up and ready to go

Pretty Eilean Donan Castle

nice stone walkway out to a bridge to get to the castle

an interesting bench in downtown Fort William

These knives were created for warfare and what I found really interesting about them was...

this chart that told where to strike with the knives and how deep to stab, the time to loss of consciousness in seconds and how long until death

this is a coffin guard designed to prevent body snatchers from stealing corpses. There was a steel lid for the top.   In the early 18th century medical schools needed bodies for dissections as their only source was executed prisoners.

The original lock to the Old Inverlochy Castle here in Fort William.  That's quite a big lock, would love to see that huge key that goes with it

This is a birching table and was last used in Fort William in 1948.  Birching was a punishment handed down by the courts.  The convicted person was placed face down on the table with their arms through the holes and wrists tied underneath and then beat on the back with the birch stick.

big old bench (with a really high back)

ladies leather climbing boots from the 1920's

Prince Charles Edward Stuart's Trews (aren't they crazy looking?   I guess they keep your legs warm when a kilt doesn't)

The main street of Fort William is mostly a pedestrian street, with an occasional car

views from our new B&B

it's sunny now, but as you can see on the window I'm sure it had rained in the last 10 minutes

We finally got to try haggis (calf's entrails and internal organs mixed with suet and oatmeal and boiled in a bag).  We've been afraid to try it but it was really good

I got a veggie pizza, yum

after dinner it was in between rains and I thought the hills across the river were pretty in the fog

We spent the evening in the living room figuring out what we're doing for the next few days and Kevin found a really big map to plan from (that didn't help at all)