Great Glen Way Log #8

We are having breakfast with Jörg and Eva. Jörg's chat is still quite entertaining, the line "Raschel, raschel, raschel, Käseplatte" never ceases to make me chuckle. When they make off for Aberdeen, Kat and I go back to the Café 82 for some tea to kill the time before our bus to Inverness leaves.

Sitting in the sun in front of the café a bus for Invernesses passes by. Oops. Oh well, there will be another one.

Inverness is the end of the Great Glen Way, and even if we took the bus on the last leg, I feel we deserve some treats. So after five days in the sticks we enter the first outdoor store we pass and Kat gets herself new boots. We meet my friend Jono at the Castle Tavern and spend a pleasant afternoon in a beergarden. Jono even promises to bring a bearded man! Adam joins us and turns out to be a Czech lumberjack gardener who knows Jono from grouse beating. Grouse beating means walking across the moor and the hills and make noise to startle the grouse so other people can shoot them. Apparently it pays £50 per day and Kat and I are considering it for our next holiday!

We walk past three Arnold Clark car dealerships before we find the Arnold Clark car rental. A brand new Seat Ibiza is waiting for us and Kat drives us to Ullapool in lovely weather with beautiful views. In the hostel by the harbour we make plans to climb Suilven the next day.

Tea at Café 82 in Drumnadrochit

Ullapool - view from my top bunk

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Laser Boy

Laser Boy was a sweetie. A laser engineer, lovely guy, very polite. Wasn't my type, and also lives in Glasgow. But then I was in Glasgow for work anyway and we met up. He was actually really short which I knew from his profile, but seeing it in person when we walked out of the pub was quite stark. He was observant enough to realise I wasn't too keen, but we exchanged a few friendly text messages afterwards.

Best thing about Laser Boy was his graciousness.

Number of dates had: 1. Overall experience: 6/10.

Great Glen Way Log #7

It is dark but there is an almost full moon lighting our way to the loch. One mile he said. It feels like more than that. We're walking on a narrow cycle path and almost get run over by a cyclist with no lights. The castle sits on a little headland besides Loch Ness. It is illuminated now and there are no people or cars anywhere. We open the gate and walk through as instructed by the hostel warden.

Then there is another gate. This one is locked.

We climb over it and this is when is actually feels like trespassing. It is trespassing. 

There are loads of bats, the nearly full moon, the loch, and the castle. A helicopter with searchlights is crossing the loch moving towards us and past. This is brilliant.

Urquhart Castle

Urquhart Castle

The ghost of Urquhart Castle

Full moon. Loads of bats here as well.

Great Glen Way Log #6

It's day five and we're taking the high route from Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit, through the hills that look over Loch Ness. But before we get to the high route we have to follow a switchback road and then a path and then it's just up and up and up. It is tiring, but with Jörg chatting away it never gets boring.

At the top we find some sort of monument or sculpture made of tree branches bent in a circle, providing a nice frame for photographs of the surrounding hills. It's also a great place to sample the plum cake Jörg made and carried all the way up the hill. Or is it Eva who's carrying the cake? Well, who cares when there's whipped cream!

We continue in a pleasant stroll and after a few hours reach a nice spot for another cake break, just before it goes downhill again. Suddenly a horde of Swedish ladies on mountain bikes climb up the steep hill, looking slightly confused when in the middle of nowhere, they see a bunch of Germans enjoy their cake with alpine cream mountains on top.

The descent down towards Drumnadrochit is taking a long time, and Kat and I start to fantasise about a surprise café, when voilá, a sign for a tea room comes into view! It is in fact a pottery as well as a café, Loch Ness Clay Works, and a friendly hobbit serves us. We are soon joined by a few locals who have walked here from Drumnadrochit, and we're pleased to hear that it's only a 1.5 hour walk. They have a small dog with them, looking like a rug, with loads of hair, parted in the middle along the length of the body. Impossible to tell which end is the head.

Refreshed, we're getting ready for the final stretch to Lewiston by Drumnachdrochit. The couple with the dog pass us, walking super fast. If this is the speed required to cover the remaining distance in 1.5 hours, it will take us at least two! But there is no rush, and we even find time for cachaca and beer breaks.

When we finally reach Loch Ness Backpackers after a total of 14 miles (22 km) I'm tired and hungry. I'm struggling to be patient with the friendly and helpful warden who explains in detail all the sights in Drumnadrochit and places to go for food and drink and entertainment. He says we should walk the mile to Urquhart Castle, a major visitor attraction by Loch Ness. By day, hordes of day trip tourists disembark from their buses onto the huge parking lot, welcomed by a bagpiper in a kilt, swarming over the estate and taking selfies with Nessie. The warden says we should walk there after dark, when it is technically closed...

But right now all I care about is dinner, and following the recommendation of the couple with the hairy dog we visit the adorable Café 82. After some delicious beef bourgignon and red wine it is now dark outside and I try to convince the gang to go to the castle.

To be continued...

A thing

Whipped cream on a bed of plum cake

View

Loch Ness

In the surprise tea room - Loch Ness Clay Works

Outside the surprise tea room

Uhm, ... trees?

Moor

Not sure who that is

Random bits and pieces

Here comes an update of the things I have been up to.

Weekend review
I spend most weekends either dancing, walking or doing nothing much apart from catching up with friends, chilling, and being domestic. Last weekend was different though - a weekend filled with cultural highlights.

The National Museum opened its doors on Friday night for a theme party, the Victorian Sensation, which is also the title of their current exhibition on the invention of photography. Fittingly, the dress code was black and white. I dug out my little black dress from a corner of my wardrobe. I had bought it years ago for a sweet date with a French guy in Montreal. I couldn't find anything white though that didn't look very silly, including my flatmate's white underskirt/slip.

The unofficial theme of the party seemed to be Queues, as you had to queue for the bar, for the Gin tasting, for the Silent Disco, for the photography exhibition, for the photo booth, for the place where you get a temporary finger tattoo of a moustache... Was the moustache-thing for Robert Louis Stevenson day I wonder? A propos, I'm sure my non-German readers will be pleased to learn that the German word for moustache translates to "purr-beard".

Anyway, it was good fun, but mainly because of my fun company and the silly photographs we took.

I also went to see George Bizet's opera Carmen which was excellent. To this I went on my own which might seem sad but was actually quite nice. And I was able to get a decent seat on short notice. Also, there is little overlap of friends who are interested in opera and friends who can afford it...

On Sunday I went bowling - not quite as cultured as opera and museums, but I did learn about bumpers. They can put up bumpers along the lane so the balls don't roll into the gutter! Well, to me that's cheating and misses the point of the game, but when we had them removed for the second game, my balls ended up in the gutter half of the time. Oops.

And finally, my bowling date walked me to the last cultural highlight of the weekend, the always so classy jam session at Whigham's weekly jazz club. Last time I went with my friend Leila, and a stranger bought us wine and had it delivered to us anonymously! This time I just enjoyed the opening set of the Glasgow band Rose Room, which were excellent and danceable. And sure enough, the room was packed, and lots of swing dancers showed up, some of them good friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Job news
In other news, my boss cracked a rib playing football. Drugged with strong pain killers he put me in charge, lets me take all the decisions, and said he'd back me up. I think that was a big mistake. My first executive decision was to cancel a big meeting next week. My next decisions will be to drastically overhaul our website, change my working hours and location, and introduce free coffee and scones for my team (which is only me now). All this new power is intoxicating! In his absence I'm now also getting involved in some more political stuff. I'll report on the damage I've done.

Spaced-out Susan, Nat with creepy baby, me: bored

Nat about to drop creepy baby, Susan watching, me: party

Great Glen Way Log #5

We leave the hostel to have a nice breakfast in a café. It seems closed when we get there, but as if by magic they're opening right in front of us. With an egg roll and a scone we watch the action in the locks. Today is going to be a good day.

We're taking the high route to Invermoriston. It is pretty, and most importantly, varying in landscape and views. We pause by a little waterfall on a meadow in a forest. We continue up the hillls until we cross the treeline and have wide views over Loch Ness, Fort Augustus and all the way back along the Great Glen where we've come from. And even the sun comes out in-between showers.

We break for lunch in a dry stone shelter. After walking through the hills west of Loch Ness for a while we descend steeply to Invermoriston which has another picturesque old bridge ruin. At the only café in town, the family-run Glen Rowan café, I decide that today is a two-scone day and sample the home baking. The couple who run the place have come up from Glasgow to escape the city. They took it over in March, and her parents help run the place.

Our B&B for the night, Darroch View, is cosy and has nice views. The owner explains in detail how to operate doors and the telly.

It is Friday. Tomorrow, there is a big marathon along Loch Ness. Sightings of lycra-clad athletes have become frequent. At the pub, we are joined by Joerg and Eva, Kat's friends from Aberdeen. They weren't able to get accommodation, possibly due to the marathon. When we retreat to our warm and cosy B&B, they return to the parking lot next to the public toilets to spend the night in their car.

Lock action in Fort Augustus

Spidernet masterpiece

Looking back at Fort Augustus

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Sterling Boy

Not everything is fun and games in online dating! Here's one specimen who verbally abused me, a first!

Thankfully we never actually met in person. We just chatted for a bit, disagreed fundamentally on a topic I care a lot about (climate change) after which I told him that I didn't think we would get along.

So far so good, no harm done. But then he unnecessarily called me narrow-minded, an embarrassment and probably other things I've forgotten because I deleted the conversation right away. Such an unhappy person! Now I know for sure that we would not get along and I'm glad I figured that out quickly.

What I liked about him: He wrote me a limerick.

I mentioned in my dating profile that I liked to get serenaded. Since then, I've had offers of ukulele-accompanied serenading on Calton Hill, one guy wrote me a poem, and this one a limerick. Maybe I should publish these things here as well.

So this is just to say that people are generally lovely, but every once in a while there is someone who doesn't take rejection well.

Number of dates had: 0. Overall experience: 1/10.

Great Glen Way Log #4

Spaghetti for breakfast on day three. The night before, we overheard the teenagers make plans for breakfast at half nine, so we make sure to be gone well before that.

We walk past Invergarry Station project, a former railway station which is going to be a museum. We follow the new railway bed along the shore of Loch Oich.

And follow it.

And follow it.

And eventually get really bored by it.

Luckily we find a way down to the original path closer by the water which is rather nice and reminds of the Loch Lomond shore.

It starts to rain and we are looking forward to reaching the Tea Garden at Aberchander Bridge to dry off and warm up and find some motivation for walking another few tedious miles along the canal. But when reaching the bridge there is no tea room to be seen! I ask the lock operator and he doesn't know of any tea room nearby - what a disappointment! This is the low point of the Great Glen Way.

We have our lunch in a short rain break and continue the slog to Fort Augustus. Fort Augustus is a pleasant surprise - quaint and charming. Until we see the huge bus parking lot behind the visitor information and bus loads of visitors streaming towards the three pubs.

We check out the hostel, Stravaigers Lodge, where we chill for a bit until a noisy bunch of workers joins us and we retreat to our room for an early night.

Huggy Boy

This one's a hugger. I do like a good hug, but it was a bit strange to get hugged mid-conversation on our first date. He didn't find me funny, I didn't find him funny. Dealbreaker.

Best thing about Huggy Boy was that he liked to read and had read many books I like.

Number of dates had: 1. Overall experience: 4/10.

Cat Boy

Well, I didn't actually go on a date with this one. In fact, he has no idea I exist.

This guy's cat has an extremely popular Twitter account, "Why My Cat Is Sad" (*click*) which I follow. He also writes a blog and books. If you like good writing, romance, and the countryside please go ahead and read one of his excellent blogs for life-changing advice: Top Tips for Countryside Dating (*click*).
Number of dates had: 0. Overall experience: 8/10.

Autumn: Longstone in Colour

Great Glen Way Log #3

Back on the road to Gairlochy it starts to rain and it takes us a while to stop a car. The guy in the huge SUV seems almost apologetic when all he can offer is a short lift as he lives only a few miles down the road. But that is further than we need to go to get ourselves back on the trail.

Friends and Weddings

A lovely wedding last weekend. It had everything: Lovely food and excellent service, witches and magic mirrors, ties tied around heads, obscene drawings, serious hangovers, bad dancing, and best of all: Almost all my uni friends in one place!

Has anyone taken photos? I feel like I remember cameras. And can we please do this again soon? Another wedding anyone?

Potter Boy

This one is a postdoc, quite quick, quite cheerful and active. Learns Japanese and pottery in his free time. He was 20 min late for our first date and didn't have a good excuse. He seemed nice but the date was a bit rushed as I had other plans after. A second date never happened because I met Jacuzzi Man (*click*) and went off online dating for a while.

I didn't get a proper impression of him as we didn't spend enough time together.

Number of dates had: 1. Overall experience: 5/10.

Great Glen Way Log #2

On day two of the walk we call Al, the only taxi service in town, to see whether he can get us back on the trail. Unfortunately, Al is on his way to Glasgow, so no taxi for us. We'll have to walk the 4 miles to Gairlochy and hope for someone to take pity on us and give us a lift.

Happy World Statistics Day!

It's World Statistics Day.


And since I'm now officially a statistician, here comes a not-so-inspirational but still true quote by another statistician, W. Edwards Deming:

“Without data you’re just another person with an opinion”

Great Glen Way Log #1

A few weeks ago Katharina and I walked the Great Glen Way from Fort William to Inverness. Well actually, I started a few miles in, in Banavie instead of Fort William, and we didn't actually walk the last leg to Inverness because it was very long and we needed to pick up a rental car by 4 pm.

Whisky Boy

This one was interesting, although again not really my type. I liked that he had interests - but we didn't share many of them. He is a member of the members-only Whisky Society so I agreed to go on a date with him - to see the Whisky Society. The Whisky Society was a strange place. It felt a bit like an Old Man's club and I couldn't see any women who weren't accompanied by a man. The conversation was relatively lively, but we had opposing views on most things. Neither of us wished to go on a second date.

Best thing about Whisky Boy was that he had quit a well-paid job in financial services to start his own business as a photographer.

Number of dates had: 1. Overall experience: 5/10.

Daddy Boy

This one was a dad, a bit older than my target group, and didn't seem to lead an active lifestyle. More the sort of person who spends a lot of time watching telly. I wasn't interested but he sent a nice message and I didn't mind an evening out so I met him anyway. Also, I was still quite new to this and thought I shouldn't be so picky in the sifting phase, he might surprise me. (He didn't.)

Best thing about Daddy Boy was that I kept running into him in pubs in Leith, after I had told him I wouldn't care for a second date. Awkwardness is fun!

Number of dates had: 1. Overall experience: 3/10.