Brittany Canal Day 1

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may have noticed that there is no post for Sunday. That's because my carefully crafted timetable comes unstuck that day when our plane from Inverness to Amsterdam is 10 minutes late arriving, making us miss our connecting flight to Nantes, and there isn't another one that day. So instead of arriving in Redon on Sunday night, we arrive mid-afternoon today. The time in between is not worth recording.

We are still in plenty of time to pick up our canal boat from Les Canalous. Because we made a very early start this morning and we have caught a bus, a plane, (delayed half an hour - why couldn't that have happened yesterday?) another bus, a train and a taxi, we're not going to start our canal journey until tomorrow when we're rested and refreshed. 

Our new home

Skipper resting

As a step in the refreshment direction, I have just booked for dinner in a nearby restaurant to celebrate our arrival in France.

Sunset after dinner, just before we collapse into bed

Last day in Scotland: Sunshine, Scrabster and soccer fans

We walk out of our Thurso hotel in the morning into a blue, cloudless day. We walk to Scrabster, which is the port near Thurso that is the departure point for the ferry to Stromness in the Orkneys. We begin by following the very busy road out of Thurso, but eventually find our way to a clifftop walk with conveniently placed seats where we can look out on Pentland Firth, one of the wildest waterways in the world which today is flat calm, blue and benign.

Pentland Firth, Dunnet Head in the distance to the right

Scrabster Harbour has boats ranging in size from small wooden fishing dories to a big trawler. Looking for a coffee, we find a Tapas bar which has the usual Spanisg tapas offerings like patatas bravas, with a touch of haggis thrown in for local colour (haggis balls with cheese filling). They do know how to make proper coffee, and I enjoy the first decent long black I've had for days, along with bread, olives and aoli, and delicious eggplant fritters with nuts and honey. 

Scrabster Harbour

After a bit more pottering round Scrabster, we set off on the return journey, clifftop almost all the way. Peter and I have an argument about whether land we can see beyond Thurso is Dunnet Head (part of the mainland) or Hoy (the southernmost Orkney isle). We are equally certain (I think it's Dunnet, Peter thinks it's Hoy) and neither can convince the other. We appeal to a man mowing the lawn in front of his house which looks out over the Firth for an expert opinion. I win - you can just see Hoy in the hazy distance if you squint a bit.

We take advantage of the occasional seat on the walk to enjoy the view. We see dark shapes surfacing not far from the shore which we first think are seals, then as they come closer to shore we realise are divers in wetsuits. It's such a glorious day that everyone that greets us in passing comments on it. There are people with dogs on the beaches below the cliffs, and as the afternoon warms to 19 degrees they are sunbaking and one brave bloke goes into the water in swim shorts. Not very far, not quite waist deep before he returns to his family on the beach.

Beach day in Scotland

Strange rock formation

Everyone warned us about midges in Scotland, and when we arrived in Inverness I bought maximum strength insect repellent to take on the canal boat, but it never came out of the suitcase. Now we are enjoying our first really summery day, yes, there are clouds of midges, but no, I haven't thought to bring the repellent. We keep them at bay with constant arm-flapping. They're only bad for the last part of our walk and disappear as soon as we reach Thurso. We stop for a much-needed iced coffee, then head back to the hotel to collect our bags, with plenty of time to then walk to the railway station.

Consternation! Hotel is closed, not re-opening until 4pm. We will still have enough time to get to the station for our 4:32 train, provided the hotelkeepers do return at 4pm as the notice promises. We are still standing about in front of the hotel when a delivery van pulls up - the driver is equally put out to find the hotel closed. After a couple of attempts we finally raise the hotelkeepers on a mobile, and they give us the code for the door. We let ourselves and the delivery man in, collect our bags and then the delivery driver offers us a lift to the station. So it all works out perfectly, we are there in plenty of time and we don't have to drag our bags along the rough pavements of Thurso.

The return train trip is lovely all over again, even nicer in bright sunlight. The ticket collector warns us that we may have a noisy crowd of soccer fans join the train for the last half hour as Aberdeen are playing Ross County at Dingwall, which is two stations from Inverness. I figure that the behaviour of the fans may depend on the result, so I find a website that provides a live score. As we pull into Dingwall, the game is in the equivalent of "time on" (whatever that is in a soccer game) and the score is nil-all. So naturally the crowd is still in the stands and hardly anyone joins our carriage. Instead the worst we have to put up with is a bit of noise and singing in very doubtful taste from some rugby players who boarded a bit earlier.

We realise that we have a wait of over an hour when we get to Inverness before we catch our final train to Inverness Airport, where we are staying in an airport hotel. We use the time to dine in a very nice restaurant just outside Inverness station, then return in good time for this last trip. But then it all goes pear-shaped. First we find that there has been a person found on the tracks (no further details of the circumstances) and nothing will happen until the track is cleared. But after they announce that this has been done and things can return to normal we realise there is a more confronting issue: the train to Inverness Airport goes on to Aberdeen, the next train from Dingwall will arrive just before it leaves, and Aberdeen finally scored a winning goal in the last 60 seconds of the game. The train arrives from Dingwall and dozens of shouting and singing Aberdeen fans pour off and line up for the train we were planning to catch. The noise is deafening, and even though we would only be on the train for one stop, 10 minutes, it's more than we can stand. We retreat from the station and take a cab to the Marriott hotel. Thirty quid is a small price to pay to retain one's hearing and sanity, and we don't have to drag our bags from the Inverness Airport station to the hotel, which is welcome as we've already walked miles today.

We're now safely at the airport, ready to catch our plane to Nantes via Amsterdam tomorrow.

To Thurso by train

Getting ourselves off the Mull of Kintyre  is a bit of scramble, even though we've packed the night before. Having one hand splinted slows me down, and Peter spends a lot of time looking for his razor, which had slid off the shelf where he'd put it when we were rolling in Loch Ness. We also have to fill in incident reports for our respective accidents. We get our luggage off the boat not too long after the 8:30 deadline, then repair to Caley Cruisers lounge and Briefing Room to fill in the forms and in theory to have a coffee, but the machine there defeats us. We return the forms to the Office and they call us a cab to go to Inverness station.

It's another great train trip to Thurso. We board in plenty of time to secure seats on the right hand side of the train - this is another line that hugs the coast for most of the way. The scenery is so varied; lush green sheep-dotted meadows and yellow fields of recently harvested crops in the valleys and along the edges of the Firths, trees lining the tracks so closely that they brush the sides of the train, steep hillsides bare of trees, churches, castles, a huge cruise ship, beaches, both shingle and sand. It will be a pleasure to do it again tomorrow.

All the photos taken through the train windows, hence the slight reflections. 

Woodland

Fields

Sandy beach

Shingle beach

We pass through many small stations with names like Scotscalder, Brora, Gorgesmas, Dunrobin Castle. They all look like the station from my brothers' Hornby train set, except that most are stone. We stop at about half of them, the rest are request stops, mostly un-requested.

Dinky station with trompe l'oeil

On arrival in Thurso we trundle our suitcases to the Manor House Hotel and check in. Google has helped Peter to ascertain that there is a laundrette in in easy walking distance, so that's our next stop. While our washing is on we eat a sandwich lunch in a cafe, and we find our way to the sea while waiting for the dryer. In the distance we think we can see Hoy, the southwestern end of the Orkney Islands, which COVID stopped us from visiting on our last overseas trip in 2020.

Ancient ruined church in Thurso

Ruined castle in Thurso

Washing is returned to our room, we have a break, then do more exploring of Thurso until its time for an excellent dinner back at the hotel. Now ready to call it a day.

Looking downriver to the sea

Looking upriver

Caledonian Canal Day 7: Last day, Loch Ness again, back to the marina, patched up by NHS

 The boat is rocking gently when we wake, even in a very sheltered harbour, so our dreams of seeing Loch Ness calm will not eventuate. As we leave Urquhart Bay we are at right angles to the already sizeable waves, and we roll a lot until we can turn toward the end of the loch. Even with wind and waves behind us steering is challenging when a larger wave picks up the boat and we surf down again. I steer through the entrance channel at the end of the loch without incident, once in the canal and through tiny Loch Dochfour it's easy. We tie up briefly at Dochgarroch lock, scene of Peter's head injury which everyone on the locks seems to know about. The lock keeper there has a big barge coming so she asks us to go through as quick as we can and we do. After that there's a nice restful stretch of canal before we reach two bridges. We are just attempting to tie up to wait for the first one when we realise it is opening, so we head through, tie up again, wait very briefly for the second one to open for us. From there it's only a short section of canal before we reach Caley Cruisers and return the boat to its snug mooring in a corner, with a bit of help from one of the Caley people.

We explain that we're back a bit early so we can get my hand seen to. They suggest we ring 111 to make an appointment, but when we're told we may have to wait for up to an hour for anyone to answer the call, we decide to stick to our plan of going straight to A&E in the hospital. We are then offered a lift in their van with their maintenance man, instead of waiting for a taxi - so kind of them as it's quite a long drive to the hospital.

We find our way to the Minor Injuries section, where there are only a couple of people waiting. By the time Ive gone through the registration process for a visiting Australian, there are a lot more people waiting, but it's only about 30 minutes before someone calls my name. I am then dealt with most efficiently by a nurse practitioner who hears my story, then sends me for an X-ray. My diagnosis was half correct: I have broken my fifth metacarpal, but I've also broken the middle phalanx of my fourth finger. I need a splint for the former, and a buddy-tape for the latter break. These are fitted expertly by a nurse, who also removes all the bandaids I stuck on when things were bleeding, and put a new dressing on the one wound that still needed it. 

Thoroughly patched and braced, we take a taxi back to Inverness City Centre where we have some lunch, walk around for a bit, buy a couple of crime novels and a shirt in charity shops and then walk the 3km back to Caley Cruisers. Now we can have a quiet night eating our remaining food and packing up ready to leave for Thurso tomorrow.

My hand is much more comfortable in its splint, but I find I risk disturbing the metacarpal fracture if I try to touch type, so the rest of this blog will be typed one-handed. I may become less verbose! 

Thank you NHS!

Caldedonian Canal Day 6: Nice weather, helpful lock keepers, Loch Ness again

 We have decided that the pontoon near the Cullochy Lock is our favourite place in the canals. It's quiet and very pretty. We wake to sunshine and have a leisurely breakfast, enjoying the peace before boats start coming through the lock. Eventually we start up and continue down the canal to Kytra lock, tie up and then go through with a cruiser and a yacht, both with Germans aboard. 

We proceed gently on down the canal, slowing down as we pass a group of canoeists so as not to slosh them about with our wake. When we reach the Fort Augusta staircase we find that there are 3 batches of boats coming up, so we tie up and go ashore. This time the pharmacy is open, so we stock up on new dressings and consult with the pharmacist about getting my hand x-rayed when we get to Inverness - directions are to go to A&E in the hospital when we get there.

We plan another pub lunch at The Bothy, but it's packed, so we buy a roll and a baguette at a cafe, eat them sitting by the lock. As the last batch of boats are exiting the top lock, we talk to the lock keepers - they are going to lunch, then they'll load the locks in batches for the downward progression, starting with the two huge barges that are waiting. One of the last boats out is a monster with a crane called Holyhead Towing.

Holyhead Towing going past

By 2pm lunchtime is over and we watch fascinated as the two huge barges manoeuvre off the jetties where they are moored and into the first lock. Not too long after we are called in with three yachts and one other motor cruiser. Word has got around about my hand, so one of the lock keepers does the bow management and Peter does the stern pull this time. I stand about and make sure Peter is OK as we descend slowly through the five locks. We wait for some time in the last one before they open the gates, swing the bridge just beyond the locks and let us free into Loch Ness. Most of the boats who came down with us tie up beyond the bridge but we go on, because it isn't raining and it's relatively calm compared with our previous crossing. There is rain forecast which catches up with us about half way, but there is a light sky ahead most of the way and we enjoy the journey, even with a bit of rain, and some increasing wave action with it. As we are going with the waves and there isn't as much wind, it's a much more pleasant trip.

Loch Ness, calm and rain-free

Urquart Castle as we approach Urquart Bay
(with rain and more wave action)

Finally Urquart Castle is in view, and this time we get a good look at it as we turn into Urquart Bay and head to the harbour. Reverse berthing is always challenging, but after one attempt where I thought we were going to back into the Nessie Hunter, we slot ourselves in on the quieter side of the marina (further from the road) with some help from people on the boat next to us. Time to put the next ready meal in the oven and open the bottle of rosé we bought in Fort Augustus.

Postscript: Now we're tied up the sun has returned.

 

Lifeboat Station in Urquart Bay Harbour, in sunshine!

Caledonian Canal Day 5: Mixed weather and another injury

It started raining as forecast at 10pm on Monday and is still raining in the morning. It stops as we go up the canal, following a nice-looking yacht from Germany. It's almost sunny by the time we reach the Moy swing bridge, which is closed this time, with several boats already waiting. We and the yacht do 360s in the canal while we wait for the bridge as there is no room on the tiny jetty for more than a couple of boats. 

When the bridge opens we go straight through and on to wait for the bridge and lock at Gairlocky. Our attempt to tie up at the pontoon is a miss, and by the time Peter has turned around, avoided other approaching boats and turned around a second time there is no longer any room, so we raft up to one of the boats already moored (tie up to their side). We have to wait there a while, and when the bridge opens there are other boats waiting to come down the canal, including a huge barge. Finally it's our turn, and as we are rafted up we are the first boat to untie, pass through the bridge and into the lock. It's a very deep lock, and they drop lines down to you as you'd have no hope of getting a rope up to the top unless you were a caber-tosser. 

It's a FIFO system, so we are first out of the lock. One of the other hired cruisers passes us before we are even clear of the entrance channel, the others gradually pass us as we go through Loch Lochy at a leisurely speed, enjoying the scenery and dry weather, almost sunny!

Loch Lochy, rain behind us

Scottish green hillsides in Loch Lochy

At the other end we make our first mistake for the day. The boats who've passed us are now waiting for the Laggan Lock, and once again we do circuits while we are waiting, rather than tie up. As a result we don't get instructions from the lock keeper. I'm keen to hang back so we don't have to travel through Laggan Avenue in convoy, but Peter sees there is room for one more boat in the lock and heads in. Unfortunately there is only one lock keeper and he is still dealing with the third boat on the other side, so there is no one on our side to throw a line to. It's now blowing hard, so we drift across the lock, finish up almost diagonal. Lock keeper is not pleased. We were supposed to wait until told to come in. We do eventually get the boat back to the correct side of the lock and safely tied up, but the lock keeper has to do a huge amount of hauling to get the stern across. Definitely not pleased. We apologise profusely on our way out.

It's pleasantly calm in the shelter of the trees in Laggan Avenue. We're instructed to stay together with the other 3 boats in a pack so that we can go through the bridge at the end of Laggan Avenue together. After a while we catch up with another barge, so we proceed at a nice slow pace behind it and we all go through the Laggan Bridge together and into Loch Oich.

Laggan Avenue in convoy

A mini waterfall in Laggan Avenue

We have no wish to keep up with the other cruisers and potter through Loch Oich to find them all waiting at the pontoon at the other end, two moored and one rafted up. All that hurrying gets you nowhere. We do circuits - when we get close enough we shout for directions and are told that we have to wait for the tourist barge (now behind us) to go through the bridge and lock first, as they need the whole lock to themselves. So we go back into Loch Oich and poodle around in the vicinity of the barge, which isn't moving much.

Following the tourist barge into Loch Oich

Scenery

When the barge finally sets off for the end of the lock, we don't hurry after it as we understand we'll have to wait for a second bridge opening. However the other three cruisers do follow it through the bridge, so there's now plenty of room for us to tie up and wait for the next opening. It's now raining again and blowing hard, and in the process of putting a stern line on to the pontoon I jam my hand between line and cleat. I jammed three fingers, which are now cut and bruised, but my little finger, not jammed, is the one that really hurts - I think it got bent and it's either sprained or I've cracked a metacarpal. I can't type with that finger, having to use fourth finger on the A key.

The mangled hand

We have a longish wait for a workboat to arrive which will trigger the next bridge opening. Despite my injury, we untie successfully, pass through the bridge and into Cullochy Lock behind the workboat and another cruiser, this time not until the lock keeper is ready! Lines are successfully thrown and managed. As we leave we're told that the next lock is expecting the three of us, but we've had enough for the day and tie up to the pontoon where we spent Sunday night. And now the wind has dropped and the sun is actually out - need to take off another layer of clothes.

Caledonian Canal Day 4: Best day so far

 It's beautifully calm with no sign of rain when we start the day at Cullochy Lock.

Morning!

By the time we've had breakfast the lock is operating and the two women who run it call us in.

Cullochy Lock

 I've learned something from my throwing failures yesterday, and the lock keeper tells me that my bow line throw is the best throw she's had all week. Once through the lock we head toward a swing bridge and have to wait a bit mid-canal for it to open. Now we enter Loch Oich, the smallest of the three main lochs in the Great Glen, shallow, narrow in places but very pretty. For once we don't need the windscreen wipers going and we can take photos without having to stand in the rain.

Scenery, without rain

We are about to tie up on a pontoon as we approach Laggan Swing Bridge when we realise that it's opening and get a thumbs up from the bridge keeper. In the process of not-quite-tying-up we finish up at right angles to the canal, but Peter executes a neat 270 degree turn to bring us back in line with the bridge opening. We head through and find there is a big barge on the other side who should have had right of way (as the bridge opened towards us), but it's too late and no one seems to care.

Laggan Avenue

From here we go through one of the loveliest sections of our journey, Laggan Avenue. When this canal was dug, they had problems with the sides and trees were planted along the length to stabilise the banks. We have this green corridor all to ourselves, so we can go through at a leisurely pace. We have to wait for the locks at the other end, and we have time for a coffee ashore before we go on through tiny Ceann Lock and into Loch Lochy. This seems a strange name for a loch, rather like calling a boat Boaty MacBoatface. It's big enough for a bit of wave action, but not as rough as Loch Ness was - minimal spray on the windscreen. I love the colour of Scotland - the steep hillsides rising from the lochs are covered in a tapestry of muted greens, with occasional bright green fields at the water's edge.

The muted greens of Scottish hills

Kayakers on Loch Lochy, with sail up

At the other end of Loch Lochy is another lock and swing bridge. When we tie up we're told by the lock keeper that the swing bridge is stuck, and until an engineer comes to fix it, we can't go through. Several of the convoy of boats that got ahead of us yesterday when we missed a chance to go into Kytra lock are now in the Gairlochy lock, where they have been for some time. Once again, we're pleased we were too slow yesterday - we had Laggan Avenue to ourselves, and now we can tie up at a pontoon and make ourselves lunch while we wait for some action. Eventually the lock-keepers fill the lock again so that the boats in it can reverse out and also moor while they wait, rather than being stuck in the lock. As they come out and more boats come from Laggan, the mooring places fill up - we're glad we had an easy option when we arrived.

Some time later when Peter has just gone below to have a post-prandial zizz and I'm not paying attention, Peter realises that the boats around us are moving. Clearly the bridge problem has been resolved and boats are re-entering the lock. We rapidly organise ourselves and are just in time to be the last boat into the lock. When the lock opens we happily let the other five boats go ahead. For a little while we try to keep pace with them because there is one more bridge ahead, but when we get there we find it open and it looks as though that's its normal state. So we slow down and let the other boats disappear from view - why do people have to rush?

Another pleasant stretch of canal lined with greenery and we come to Banavie, where there is a famous 7-lock sequence called "Neptune's staircase", which takes you down to Loch Linnie and sea level. The pontoons near the locks are full, but there is room for us between two yachts a bit further back. We're just about to go in to tie up when we realise that a boat coming the other way is heading for the same space. We feel it would be a bit rude to go ahead of him, as he has clearly turned around to come back to it, so we also do a turn and come back to where there is still room behind him. It's a bit tricky to get into a space that's just long enough, but the people who went in ahead take our lines and help us in.

As soon as we're secure we walk to see the staircase. It's too late in the day to see anyone going through, but it's still an impressive sight. We go down one side, watch a train crossing the canal on its way to Fort William, then back up the other side, with a splendid view of Ben Nevis to the south. There is even a tiny patch of sunlight on the hills.

Train at Banavie

Neptune's staircase, from the bottom

Ben Nevis

Look! Sunlight on the hills

Even though it was cloudy and the maximum temperature was only 16 degrees, today was our best weather. Sadly, it goes pearshaped again with lots more rain starting at 10pm tonight and continuing for the next three days. On our last day the forecast maximum is 11 degrees. Let's hope they're wrong!