After having to postpone a holiday in Plockton TonyS, Libby and I planned to take in May 2020, we finally got away last week. Here is a brief summary of the trip ....
Leaving on Saturday 22nd I had a leisurely top down drive up to Tyndrum where I stopped for a roll and coffee before heading up through Glencoe and on to Fort William. This is where we met up, Tony and Libby having left from from Bristol at 4am, and we drove from there over to our digs at Plockton. These where in a self catering apartment in converted station buildings on what is still a functioning railway station. The owners have taken great pains to keep the interior as original as possible and I was sleeping in the old station master's office, with the first class toilet converted to my en-suite shower room, and after partaking in a few beers, and some fish and chips from the local chippy, I was pleased to find my bed extremely comfy.
On Sunday morning Tony took me out for a run over the Skye Bridge in the SL. I think it really looks good in Hyacinth Red, and the contrasting interior really sets it off. It feels much roomier and more luxurious inside than the SLK and, as it is the 400, it accelerated soooo smoothly with a nice note from the exhaust.
Then, after we'd done a shopping trip to stock the kitchen cupboards with food and the fridge with beer, I thought it would be rude not to drop over to see Dave at Inverinate Autos as he stayed less than 20 miles away. Sorry mate, I'll give you notice next time!
Despite it clouding over, I managed to take a few photos on the way back and then it was time to eat and watch the Formula 1.
Monday morning I was awakened by the 06.26 train, which was on time, and discovered that it was a proper dreich day. That meant no tops down on the run over to Dingwall where Tony was going to visit a renowned model shop. I took advantage of being in the area and gave a couple of friends form Alness a surprise visit before a rainy drive back to Plockton. This was better than it sounds as for the latter part of the journey I had a spirited drive with a group of bikers. After dinner we spent the evening watching a few episodes of Hamish Macbeth, which was filmed in Plockton, whilst I partook in a few drams of Glen Fiddich.
Tuesday was another overcast day and we took a run over to Skye. As luck would have it, there was a couple of sets of roadworks causing delays and which we had to pass through, but, once clear of them, we made good progress and were enjoying the scenery. Stopping in Dunvegan for a coffee, only to find the hotel was closed, we then proceeded to Portree where we found the a supermarket and managed to replenish the dwindling food and beer supplies. Unfortunately, as the car parks all seemed to be full, Libby had to forego a trip round the town centre shops.
We arrived back in time to watch The Royal Scotsman pull into the station on it's way to Kyle of Lochalsh. This train does tours of the highlands and, although it is pulled by a diesel locomotive, is a throw back to the golden age of railways.
After dinner as we sat blethering we discovered we had a mutual love of Rory Gallagher which led to us listening to a selection of our favourite tracks that Tony just happened to have on his I-Pad.
Wednesday saw Tony and Libby take the train to Inverness and back. This is considered to be one of the "must do" train journeys in Scotland, with spectacular views as it passes through the highlands. Having lived there for 35 years it was less of a draw for me and so I spent the day exploring the local lanes around Plockton, an area I wasn't familiar with. I also took a walk around Plockton itself, discovering that there was a second jetty I didn't know about and that the village only got water piped to the houses there in the mid 1990's. Amazing.
Thursday was reasonably sunny and so we headed north to Gairloch. Passing through Lochcarron and Kishorn we stopped to take in the spectacular range of mountains on the Applecross peninsula. This is where the famous Bealach Na Ba runs up and over into Applecross itself. We carried on through the amazing scenery to Sheildaig, a village beside Loch Torridon where we stretched our legs briefly before heading on.
Passing through Torridon, past Loch Clair, we arrived in Kinlochewe where we took the Gairloch road. This runs along side Loch Maree, which can be seen through the trees, before turning across past Loch Bad An Sgalaig through Kerrysdale to reach Gairloch. Stopping for coffee, we sat on the shore and enjoyed the view of Loch Gairloch.
From there we returned to Kinlochewe and turned off towards Achnasheen where we took the road back towards Lochcarron before joining the Strathcarron road. This latter stage was marred by 30 miles spent behind a couple of SUV's that refused to let us passed. It never ceases to amaze me that people can be so inconsiderate or ignorant of the use of passing place to allow overtaking. Still the magnificent scenery more than compensated for their behaviour.
After arriving back at our digs we had a great curry and then it was time to pack ready for the journey home and say our goodbyes as Tony and Libby were leaving at 4am.
It was strange waking to an empty apartment, and after a hearty breakfast, a trip to the local bottle bank to clear the empties away, and dropping the keys off, I hit the road. Typically it was the best day of the week with blue skies and sun. Top down to Glasgow, where it inevitably came on to rain for the last 10 miles, and I enjoyed a leisurely drive topping my tan up.
To sum the week up, it was great to see Tony and Libby again and to be honest I think we wouldn't have minded if it had snowed as it was just soooooo good to be able to get away finally. The apartment was great and I'd thoroughly recommend staying there if you are holidaying in the area. Scotland's scenery was as beautiful as ever, and never fails to please no matter what the weather throws up. I covered 840 miles and managed to get the top down every day (even if it was only briefly on the wet days) and I'll definitely be going back for another stay in Plockton.
I've attached a few photos, with more to follow ......
![Cloud Sky Property Window Building]()
![Car Wheel Vehicle Tire Land vehicle]()
![Brown Wood Font Rectangle Commemorative plaque]()
![Train Sky Plant Tree Vehicle]()
![Train Plant Sky Vehicle Motor vehicle]()
![Font Symbol Emblem Crest Fashion accessory]()
![Property Building House Flooring Composite material]()
![Tableware Table Drinkware Stemware Dishware]()
![Water Sky Boat Water resources Mountain]()
Leaving on Saturday 22nd I had a leisurely top down drive up to Tyndrum where I stopped for a roll and coffee before heading up through Glencoe and on to Fort William. This is where we met up, Tony and Libby having left from from Bristol at 4am, and we drove from there over to our digs at Plockton. These where in a self catering apartment in converted station buildings on what is still a functioning railway station. The owners have taken great pains to keep the interior as original as possible and I was sleeping in the old station master's office, with the first class toilet converted to my en-suite shower room, and after partaking in a few beers, and some fish and chips from the local chippy, I was pleased to find my bed extremely comfy.
On Sunday morning Tony took me out for a run over the Skye Bridge in the SL. I think it really looks good in Hyacinth Red, and the contrasting interior really sets it off. It feels much roomier and more luxurious inside than the SLK and, as it is the 400, it accelerated soooo smoothly with a nice note from the exhaust.
Then, after we'd done a shopping trip to stock the kitchen cupboards with food and the fridge with beer, I thought it would be rude not to drop over to see Dave at Inverinate Autos as he stayed less than 20 miles away. Sorry mate, I'll give you notice next time!
Despite it clouding over, I managed to take a few photos on the way back and then it was time to eat and watch the Formula 1.
Monday morning I was awakened by the 06.26 train, which was on time, and discovered that it was a proper dreich day. That meant no tops down on the run over to Dingwall where Tony was going to visit a renowned model shop. I took advantage of being in the area and gave a couple of friends form Alness a surprise visit before a rainy drive back to Plockton. This was better than it sounds as for the latter part of the journey I had a spirited drive with a group of bikers.
After dinner we spent the evening watching a few episodes of Hamish Macbeth, which was filmed in Plockton, whilst I partook in a few drams of Glen Fiddich.Tuesday was another overcast day and we took a run over to Skye. As luck would have it, there was a couple of sets of roadworks causing delays and which we had to pass through, but, once clear of them, we made good progress and were enjoying the scenery. Stopping in Dunvegan for a coffee, only to find the hotel was closed, we then proceeded to Portree where we found the a supermarket and managed to replenish the dwindling food and beer supplies. Unfortunately, as the car parks all seemed to be full, Libby had to forego a trip round the town centre shops.
We arrived back in time to watch The Royal Scotsman pull into the station on it's way to Kyle of Lochalsh. This train does tours of the highlands and, although it is pulled by a diesel locomotive, is a throw back to the golden age of railways.
After dinner as we sat blethering we discovered we had a mutual love of Rory Gallagher which led to us listening to a selection of our favourite tracks that Tony just happened to have on his I-Pad.
Wednesday saw Tony and Libby take the train to Inverness and back. This is considered to be one of the "must do" train journeys in Scotland, with spectacular views as it passes through the highlands. Having lived there for 35 years it was less of a draw for me and so I spent the day exploring the local lanes around Plockton, an area I wasn't familiar with. I also took a walk around Plockton itself, discovering that there was a second jetty I didn't know about and that the village only got water piped to the houses there in the mid 1990's. Amazing.
Thursday was reasonably sunny and so we headed north to Gairloch. Passing through Lochcarron and Kishorn we stopped to take in the spectacular range of mountains on the Applecross peninsula. This is where the famous Bealach Na Ba runs up and over into Applecross itself. We carried on through the amazing scenery to Sheildaig, a village beside Loch Torridon where we stretched our legs briefly before heading on.
Passing through Torridon, past Loch Clair, we arrived in Kinlochewe where we took the Gairloch road. This runs along side Loch Maree, which can be seen through the trees, before turning across past Loch Bad An Sgalaig through Kerrysdale to reach Gairloch. Stopping for coffee, we sat on the shore and enjoyed the view of Loch Gairloch.
From there we returned to Kinlochewe and turned off towards Achnasheen where we took the road back towards Lochcarron before joining the Strathcarron road. This latter stage was marred by 30 miles spent behind a couple of SUV's that refused to let us passed. It never ceases to amaze me that people can be so inconsiderate or ignorant of the use of passing place to allow overtaking.
Still the magnificent scenery more than compensated for their behaviour. After arriving back at our digs we had a great curry and then it was time to pack ready for the journey home and say our goodbyes as Tony and Libby were leaving at 4am.
It was strange waking to an empty apartment, and after a hearty breakfast, a trip to the local bottle bank to clear the empties away, and dropping the keys off, I hit the road. Typically it was the best day of the week with blue skies and sun. Top down to Glasgow, where it inevitably came on to rain for the last 10 miles, and I enjoyed a leisurely drive topping my tan up.
To sum the week up, it was great to see Tony and Libby again and to be honest I think we wouldn't have minded if it had snowed as it was just soooooo good to be able to get away finally. The apartment was great and I'd thoroughly recommend staying there if you are holidaying in the area. Scotland's scenery was as beautiful as ever, and never fails to please no matter what the weather throws up. I covered 840 miles and managed to get the top down every day (even if it was only briefly on the wet days) and I'll definitely be going back for another stay in Plockton.
I've attached a few photos, with more to follow ......
