Hello, reader
Thanks for checking in with my blog. I'm playing catch up now, so this post concerns things that happened a few days ago, when I woke up in Fort William for a second time. As before, I spent my time between breakfast and lunch in the Fort William library, making the most of the free Wifi and charging up all the electronics, including my LED lamp.
While I was waiting for a table to become free at The Wildcat, I had a look in a few of the local charity shops. I picked up this lovely, warm fleece for 6.50 pounds. What a bargain! And for the drive ahead I bought a CD (one pound). It's a compilation of hits from 1990s Indie and Britpop bands, including Oasis, Pulp, Blur, Wonderstuff, The Smiths, Jesus Jones, Suede and New Order. I also spotted Meatloaf's 'Hits Out of Hell' which would have been awesome to drive to, but it was so badly scratched, I passed.
At The Wildcat, I had the soup of the day: leak, potato and celeriac with whole meal bread. It was peppery and warming.
One more stop before I left Fort William - the train station had a shower facility. Five pounds for as long as you want. It was a pure joy to stand for twenty or thirty minutes under that piping hot water. There was also a radiator to hang my towel on. The only downside to that shower room was that the washhand basin was clogged with hair. Lots of it. You know how sometimes in a horror film, blood comes gurgling up out of a plug hole? It was like that when I started running the water for a shave. The water didn't drain away, and instead a cloud of beard trimmings, nose hair and goodness knows what other kinds of hairs came billowing up in a revolting floating cloud. It was stomach turning.
Not far from Fort William, I made a stop at Neptune's Staircase, as recommended by my brother, David. It's situated on the Caledonian Canal and is a staircase lock comprising eight locks that allow boats to reach higher elevations and continue their journey. This is Britain's longest staircase lock. I took a stroll along, but the locks weren't in operation while I was there.
Not far away is the UK's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. I couldn't see the summit because of all the mist and clouds, but I think that's the base of it over there ...
From there I drove to Glenfinnan and used the Park4Night app to find my next place to sleep. What a view!
A while later, a young couple arrived in a very swish RV. They were renting it at a cost of 160 pounds a night and it had every luxury I could think of. Even a microwave oven.
I found some huge mushrooms near my van. To give you an idea, this one is about the size of my hand. A few days later, I showed this photo to a couple who are into foraging and they told me it's an edible variety.
I enjoyed the view as the light started to disappear and the evening chill arrived.
My movie for the night was another Wes Anderson favourite: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. It's wonderfully ridiculous and has an impressive cast, including Bill Murray, Angelica Huston, Cate Blanchett, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson, Jeff Goldblum and others. Check it out!
That's it for now. Join me next post when I have a treat for Harry Potter fans :)
Thanks for reading,
Brian
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