Home -> Europe -> Scotland -> Travelogue 2003 -> Wednesday 19 March

From Beauly to Kinloch Rannoch

The last whole day in Scotland, time has gone by quickly, again. Tonight we have to be in Kinloch Rannoch, a 2-hours drive. Time again to say goodbye to Iain and Cathy. We remember how difficult it can be to leave here, so we have decided we won't do too much sightseeing today, but leave Beauly in the afternoon. After breakfast we have coffee and Teije still wants to get this projector to work. So we go off to Inverness to look for the right cables in a tv-shop.

Inverness looks great in the sun and we take a walk through the town. Last year the weather was a bit gloomy. Quickly, we find the tv-shop and the owner explains us what to do to connect the projector in the right way.
Back in the hotel it takes about half an hour before we have everything working: a nice big image on the wall, projecting tv, video and dvd-player in colour: mission accomplished!

Time for lunch, together with Iain and Cathy and their assistant Becky. We chat for some time and we get some nice presents: a carpet with a Scottish squares, fish and a bottle of whiskey, brand Tomatin. We have given them our presents when we arrived.

A last few pictures and then we really have to leave. It is almost four o'clock. Honking we leave the village. Until the next time...

At first we want to take the A9, but we like the byways much better, so we follow the A82 to Spean Bridge and drive along Loch Laggan, where we have spend the first few days of this holiday.

We see Ardverikie Castle now from the other side of the loch, from the distance. And again we have to take pictures of 'our' castle, the Gate Lodge, when we pass it but we have already enough on the website. We are saying goodbye to all these fantastic places where we have been the last days.

We have to drive a short distance on the A9, but soon we leave the road and take the single track road to Trinafour, a small village among a bare mountain landscape. The area is sparsely populated and we don't meet any oncoming traffic on the narrow roads.

Mountains, valleys and lochs join to a spectacular scenery. Somewhat lower the hillsides are covered with forests, a beautiful area. The sun just sets when we arrive at Kinloch Rannoch, where we have a reservation at Dunalastair hotel.
One of the owners, Paul, has invited us. Last year he offered us a drink by email when we would put a link on our site to his website. And, of course, we accepted this offer.

I can even pour my own beer in the hotel pub. The whole night we talk about internet and websites and Paul gives us a few very good ideas and tips. Soon, we will make a special website in Dutch with tips, so people from Holland and Belgium can easily arrange their Scotland holiday online. The site is only in Dutch but you can always have a look: www.reizennaarscotland.nl.

We get the most luxurious room of the hotel, with a four-poster that was especially designed and made for Liam Neeson, the hero in the movie Rob Roy (some sort of Scottish Robin Hood, living in the 17th century).
We feel very at home here, also because of the hospitality of our host, Paul. We really will return here more often, also because we still have a lot to see and do in this area, as in the whole country.

Travel through Europe and Africa

with Elisabeth and Teije