I was going to get up at the crack of dawn and get the train to Mallaig, however when I woke up at 6:30 I decide to turn over and go back to sleep. To make it worth my while I needed to get the 8:15 train but I needed sleep and so I drove there instead.

It’s a great road which is constantly ruined by these Fucking motor homes. Most of them are unable to navigate the Scottish roads and so they spoil it for everyone else. 30mph for mile after mile and when a vehicle came the other way they panic and hit the brakes. They are a bloody hazard. All they do is cause frustration and they don’t have the decency to pull into a layby to let the huge line of cars and tourist buses through. Most of them are not competent to drive anything bigger than a mini.

Anyway, I decided to blast out some Black Sabbath to calm down and also to pay homage to Ozzy Osborne who was buried today.

And on a side note, best coffee so far at the tea cafe near the pier in Mallaig. 10 out of 10.

Oh and I saw the Steam Train again.

Another amazing industrial revolution engineering masterpiece which was designed by Thomas Telford and built between 1803 to 1822 and it was built by hand. There were no machines, it was mainly Scottish Highlanders and Irish Navvies.

Neptune’s Staircase is the longest staircase lock in Britain. It consists of eight locks that lift boats a total of 19.5 metres (64 feet) over a distance of about 500 metres (1⁄3 mile).

Where is it?

Banavie, near Fort William, Highland, Scotland

On the Caledonian Canal, which connects the east and west coasts of Scotland through the Great Glen (from Inverness to Corpach).

The only real change that’s been made to the staircase is that the gates have been automated and it takes a lock keeper to operate when you traverse.

The water used to raise and lower the lock levels is recycled and prevents loss from the canal.

It costs £26 a metre of vessel length to use the locks but it’s also a lot quicker, cheaper and safer than going around the top of Scotland.

At Fort Augustus there are a series of similar locks that lead you into Loch Ness.

I got here at 9:30 and the main car park was already full. Thankfully there was another one and I got a park. So many people. I knew it would be busy but not this busy. Most folk came to see the Steam Train and a few actually took time to look at the viaduct, which was built by Robert McAlpine & Sons, with Simpson & Wilson as the engineers, and it cost £18,904. This equates to roughly £2 million in today’s money.

It’s A beautiful piece of Victorian engineering which opened in 1901 taking less than 10 years to build. It’s absolutely marvelous and stunning to look at and it looks even better when the stream train thunders down the track.

There were hundreds of people crammed into the hillside waiting to get a glimpse of the “Harry Potter Train” including an Indian family that lived in America….. How do I know this? Well the runt of a child would not shut up or stand still. It began to throw small stones and all the while in this fucking American drawl asking for water or anything else that came to mind. Eventually I turned to him and said, “Hey wee man, you are a pain in the arse… Can you just shut up?”

The mother was horrified and the father grabbed his son and told him to behave. Hundreds of folk on the hill and this wee prick was noisier than them all.

Anyway I got a few good shots and took some video on my camera which I will chuck out later. I continued on the path and did the circuit which led you to stunning views across the Loch.

I woke up at 5am, wide awake and the sky was getting light. I got up and had breakfast and then went back to bed for two hours. No need to leave too early.

I eventually left the back of nine and headed for Luss, every man and their dog was there. Tourists from every corner of the globe and the most annoying ones, four women who smoked near the takeaway hatch. So Fucking inconsiderate to everyone. They were Eastern European that’s all I can say, sounded like Russian. Two of them chain smoked as I stood up wind from them and even then the smoke came my way. Not one of the staff said a thing. I only stopped here because the old dear that was sitting beside me on the bus the other day recommended it, however I should have known not to trust her because she was from the Edinburgh and they don’t like Glaswegians🤔

The traffic was slow, mainly due to getting caught behind large lorries. Quite a skill to navigate an artic up the Lomond side. But it was a good drive nonetheless.

I stopped in Oban for an hour and wandered about, it was hoachin’. Then continued onto Fort William pausing briefly at Ballachulish. Used to go oot way a lassie from here back in about 1985 I think and there are a few stories to tell from that time in life. She used to be a nurse at the Southern and I use to sneak in to the nurse’s quarters 😁 Nearly got caught by the Matron on more than one occasion.

Arrived in Fort William and checked into my Airbnb, it’s up on a hill about a mile from the main street and it’s quite the workout heading back. So I’m not sure that climbing the Ben is going to happen because I don’t think I’m fit enough 🙄

I went for a wander in to Paisley and took a few pics..

I asked ChatGPT where could I go on this driech morning. I was hoping to pinch Ken’s bike and go for a run along the bike path but I’ll have to leave that for another day.

It’s only 20 miles so off I went. I’d forgotten just how narrow some of these roads are and also how slow 30mph is. The car is a 6 speed manual, which I’m still getting used to, and you need to stay in 3rd to keep a steady speed.

Once you wind it up it goes pretty good. So the Maritime Museum was quiet and I found it very interesting looking at the old machines that were being used for well over 150 years.

The size of these machines. The gear mechanisms that work in perfect harmony with each other. Who were the engineers that designed them? And who were the ones that made it possible? The ingenuity involved boggles the mind, well mine at least.

Victorian engineering is a marvellous analog adventure.

As soon as it was safe to cross the Dhorlin, Ned took me back to the mainland where Ann was waiting to pick me up. I had a great time staying on Davaar and it was something that I’d wanted to do for sometime. When the tide turns almost everybody leaves and the island falls silent apart from the sheep and three highland coos.

So back on the mainland and I walked back from town as I wanted to explore while the sun was shining and I do believe that I got colour in me cheeks from the sun or it could be wind burn 😁

The sky looked amazing and added a great backdrop to some beautiful Campbeltown buildings and tropical plants of course. This has been the best weather by far that I’ve had here in many many years and it makes such a difference to see the place shine.

Another first, climbing up to the Trig Point. There is a well worn path up through the heather and bracken. It was a a bit slippy underfoot and fairly steep and it gave the old heart and legs quite the workout. Not sure if I’ll be fit enough to climb Ben Nevis when the time comes.

Great view from the top, although the wind was strong, nearly blew me away 😁 Made it back in one piece and came back and had a Siesta before I had lunch.

After which I walked up to the Stevenson built lighthouse, although you are unable to get a look inside these days.

Came back down the track and headed to the middle of the Dhorlin to where the very large bhoy sits. Wandered about in the fierce wind which was not so cold, I guess I’m getting aclimitised.

I’m on the island of Davaar, I’ve been coming here for sixty years I think. Not 100% sure about that, but it’s been a long time.

To get here you can either come by boat of course, however most people will walk across the Dhorlin, which is the sand bar that gets exposed at low tide. For the first time I got driven across in a four wheel drive by Ned, one of the caretakers of the island. There are three options for accommodation here and I am in the Barnacle-pod, I’ll leave the link for the website below.

Home

The main reason tourists come here is to see the cave painting of the crucifixion which was painted in 1887 by Archibald Mckinnon.

To get to it can be a bit of a hike from the mainland, of course you need to check the tide times before setting off. For me I really didn’t need to know because I was staying here for two days. It’s my 65 birthday and so I thought that this would be a great place to come.

After I visited the cave I then embarked on circumnavigating Davaar. This can only be done at low tide. Now if you think getting to the cave is challenging you’ll be in for quite the surprise as you continue on passed. It’s really quite treacherous at times, but I found that if you can rock hop using the larger ones you would be fairly safe. Traversing over the debris from the cliff falls was quite tricky, many of the stones shifted as you put weight on them. I was lucky really because only a handful of times did it get a bit wobbly and scary.

I clung to the rock face for a lot of the time, mainly because the ground was dry but I really just tried to use the larger rocks when I could because they were more stable. I got round safety which I’m glad to say and I must put that down partly to my wonderful walking boots.

21 years ago I came here with my two sisters and the ashes of my Mother. We came in a small red boat and disembarked at the small jetty just down from my pod. I remember walking up to the lighthouse trying to find a suitable spot to say farewell to Mum. The pods were not here then.

We stood on the grass somewhere where there was a drop to the shingle beach below, I think we faced Campbeltown, and then we opened the urn and let my Mother fly. The wind was so strong that she came back to all of us to say cheerio 😁

So Davaar for me is not just a memory of childhood, it’s a pilgrimage that I make anytime I can to say hello to me Ma.

Last night I caught up with Norma and David at Shimla Pinks and had a lovely meal. The madras was only medium but it was lethal, so bloody hot and my mouth was on fire and David had to mop up.

As usual this Naan breads were the size of snow shoes and the Peshwari was just marvelous. All in all a great meal and great company and hopefully I’ll have time to do it all again before I go.

Houston Square in Johnstone was looking great as the sun was setting 🤗