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A short drive to Drumnadrochit


Home -> Europe -> Scotland -> Travelogue Scotland -> 03 September 2006

Sunday 03 September, a short drive to Drumnadrochit

Today we are going to make a short drive because we do not want to use the car too much. We honestly have no idea how much damage can or can not be caused by continuing to drive. It is fair weather so we go out to view the Plodda Falls again, south of the village Tomich. The last part of the road, a few kilometers, is a sandy path. Nearby is also the road to Glen Affric, a beautiful valley, but we have been there before and it will be busy now with Sunday hikers.
Toadstools at Tomich Toadstools at TomichIt is dry, but it is moist enough for enormous mushrooms that grow in the forest. Local people probably know better than we the difference between edible and poisonous mushrooms, because there are enough people in the forest to collect them . There are also huge Douglass firs here.
Plodda FallsThe walk to the waterfall is not that heavy and is definitely worth it, especially if it rained a lot the previous weeks. There is also a bridge over the waterfall from where you have a spectacular view of the gorge, but it is closed now and under maintenance. There is only a sign and a ribbon around the bridge, but if you want you can climb on it. It does not seem very sensible to us, but there will be enough young people who want to do something tough. You hear and read regularly that children in Scotland during a walk are killed by a fall in a ravine.
Near TomichIt is a remote area but there are traces of habitation everywhere, sometimes hidden in the woods, sometimes in view from the road like this next to a loch. We are a bit jealous of the people who live in such places, but we hope they enjoy what they have. In the past we have had emigration plans, but now we stick to traveling, and we are very satisfied with that.
At Mirjam and Bert, DrumnadrochitBert and Mirjam however are two Dutch people who have taken that step and moved to Scotland almost 10 years ago with their 2 children. We know Mirjam from our Scotland forum (check out here ) and now that we are around, it seems nice to meet each other in real life. They have a Bed & breakfast in Drumnadrochit although they both have other jobs as well.
Time fliesd and before we know it we have been talking to Mirjam all afternoon. Bert brought one of their sons and is only back at the end of the afternoon, but then we are almost at the point of departure. You never know in advance if you have a real connection with people you only know by mail, but this has become a very pleasant afternoon. Perhaps also because of the shared love for Scotland, that is a nice topic of conversation! And the funny thing is that there are more people staying at the B & B that are also members of the forum that day, but we miss them because they are going to Skye for a day. Mirjam has probably seen more forum members than we do!
When we drive back we meet a Dutch car in Glen Urquhart whose passengers wave to us enthusiastically. We also wave back exuberantly, but it can not be the forum-people, because they have a Scottish rental car.
West of Loch Ness West of Loch NessOn the A833 we drive over the high plateau that lies west of Loch Ness back to Beauly. There are far fewer houses here and the landscape consists mainly of hills covered with heathland, ferns and small lochs and now and then bits of forest. A rough area and we see enough beautiful places where we would like to set up a holiday home.
RainbowWe often pay attention to this when we are traveling, but we have never seen as many of those dreamlike places as here in Scotland!
It starts to rain and we get to see one after the other rainbow, sometimes also double rainbows. They can appear very quickly and disappear again and sometimes they seem to be nearby.
When we return to the hotel, John and Rachel have arrived. They do not recognize us directly, but we do. John had an epileptic seizure in 2000 in the pub where Elisabeth decided to faint as a reaction to that. When we tell the story they remember us again and we have the greatest fun. John is now operated and has no more attacks. Meanwhile, Cathy enjoys the fact that the people they like come into contact with each other and we are all well encouraged by her.
Later I talk for a long time with a man of whom I am sure that he is French in origin, he has such a strong accent. In the end, he turns out to be a purebred Scottish who comes from Aberdeen and the dialect seems to be very different from that in this area. I really thought I was dealing with a Frenchman and even that I was being fooled by everyone.

 


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