Day 11 Fort William to Inverness.

It was a chippy tea for everyone last night. Paul and I went into the town to get it and I don’t think they get very busy as they had to get in extra staff to cope with our order! By the time we had eaten and got sorted it was after 10pm. The internet signal isn’t very good. I was hoping to get more photos on, so hopefully I will get better service later on to upload them.

We all slept well. I think because we are all so tired now, it didn’t take long for everyone to drop off. Paul, who is normally one of the early risers, had to be woken this morning. The weather has returned to normal-grey skies with the occasional rain shower. We couldn’t even see Ben Nevis, it was that overcast. We made our way out of Fort William, stopping at the ‘Commandos War Memorial’ for a cuppa, and then we continued up the A82 towards Loch Ness. You can tell we’re up north now, we saw a road gritter doing the rounds-its July!

There were a few more hills today but nothing worse than what had been encountered already. We then dropped down onto Loch Ness. It is beautiful. The rain held off just long enough to enjoy it. Bev got her bike out again and rode the last few miles into Inverness. Omar was too busy fixing his punctures!

With Loch Ness being such a large attraction, the roads around it were very busy. They were also very twisty in places, but everyone got through ok. For the last 15 miles Tris went for a burn, cycling ahead on his own getting up to speeds of nearly 40 miles an hour. Meanwhile the rest of the gang decided to sit back and enjoy the scenery at a slightly slower pace.

All five before Tris' breakaway.

Loch Ness

We were all surprised to find ourselves outside Inverness Fire Station at half three. The last few days, we have been finishing at after six, so it was a welcome treat! Unfortunately, the fire crews weren’t expecting us to be that early either. We had our own room to bed down in but it wasn’t available until after half five. the room mentioned is in fact their gym;

But it does the job. We sorted ouselves out and went for a Chinese buffet at Jimmy Chungs. We have been in Scotland now for nearly four days and we've hardly heard any local accents. we are surprised how many different nationalities are about!

As we've kipped in the gym there's no telly, so we've dusted off Dave's Trivial Pursuit! Morale is really high today. Everyone is getting 'blagged' by each other and the jokes and banter is flying around. I guess its because there is only 120 miles left and it'll be job done! 

Posted by John