Portree to Inverness

Last night the Scottish Fiddle and Accordion had their annual how down booze up in the hotel where we were staying. Must have a good night, everyone seemed pretty quiet this morning. The sky gets light round 4.30, and the brightness woke me up so I creaked around the squeekey floor as quietly as I could, made a cup of tea, and sat at the window watching the fishing boats coming and going and the sun light up the cliffs across the Sound.

A beautiful morning in Scotland. We caught the bus back down to Portland, then across the bridge to Kyle of Lochalsh. It was nice to see that end of Skye in bright sunshine - when we came in it was largely obscured by mist and drizzle.

The train was sort of what we've come to expect from Scotrail - the Aircon in the carriage where our reserved seats were located was on the blink and the carriage was like an oven. The train made a show of starting precisely on time, but came to a halt a few hundred metres down the track, where it sat in the sun for an unexplained period of time, before finally trundling off.

The  scenery was spectacular though. Rugged mountain ranges looming over clear sparkly lochs, with little islands and rustic stone lodges that seemed to be only accessible by water. A variety of different landscapes but again, a really great train journey.

We were a little hot and frazzled by the time we got to Inverness. Anne left her dark glasses on the table in the train, but a kindly Scottish lady tracked us down on the platform and returned them to her.

After checking into our hotel, which is a bit more utilitarian than the last few nights, and which has a great view of the back off a few souless slabs of concrete, we set out for a walk down along the banks of the River Ness, to rehydrate and unwind from the trip. We found a nice hotel with tables in a leafy garden, plenty of shade, and a view of the river rippling by and of the passing promenade of slightly sunburned Scottish people all giving their summer outfits a first workout for the season. We met an English couple we had bumped into on the ferry to Skye a few days ago.  We sared a few reviving ales and had a good old natter anout a wide range of topics,brexit, steam trains, children, books, film's,  the meaning of life ... That was after the third drink.

After they left we stayed on for dinner (very nice, the Waterfront gets a good recommendation) then wandered back along the river bank, last groups of young people having a nice time hanging out in the grass on the river bank.

We are feeling a bit tired today so our exploration of Inverness has been pretty cursory I am afraid. Certainly a pretty place along the river.