The aim this year is to explore the far North and East of Scotland. We’ll get as far as the northernmost tip of Orkney, taking in Inverness, the Great Glen, John O’Groats and Aberdeen, stopping off in Lindisfarne on the way back home. We had to de-scope Shetland as being just too far, and lots of the historic central Scottish towns (Perth, Sterling, Dundee, Montrose, St Andrew’s, Dunfermline) will also have to stay on the to-do list for now. Of course as usual we did the trip without a car!
Day 1, Sunday 9 August: Departure from London
First leg: take the Caledonian Express sleeper train from Euston to Inverness overnight.
Having only just got back from picking up Dom from his NCO residential week in Wiltshire, we needed an easy day to start off with, so we left ourselves plenty of time on Sunday to get packed up and ready. Actually the packing was remarkably calm and well organised. Before we left I took one last look at the garden; the weather had been so hot that I was worried everything would be wilted by the time we got back. (Fortunately my worries were unfounded.)
We were so well organised we got to the point where we were downstairs with our bags wondering how to kill half an hour. Al’s one-track mind therefore led us to the Millstream, our local pub, for a cheeky beverage before getting on the train from Hertford North into London. Judging by the grumpy people on the Victoria line wearing red t-shirts, we concluded that Arsenal must just have lost (later confirmed, 3-2 to Dortmund apparently).
Our pre-travel meal was to be in the Ravi Shankar in Drummond Street, just around the back of Euston station. This is a highly recommended vegetarian Indian eatery, one of the cheapest in London and actually the venue for Al’s first ever curry in London, on a Proms trip from circa 1997, so it’s delightful it’s still going strong. We substantially under-estimated the portion sizes and odered Thali, Masala Dosa, Chickpea Curry and more; oops. The kids loved their mango lassis!
The weather in London was roasting hot; even at 9pm the temperature on the platform was over 30 degrees. Fortunately as a family of four, a whole bedroom became affordable on the train, and that came with lounge access, and the lounge was air-conditioned! We chilled out (too full for a snack) and tried to walk off the curry by walking the length of the train; one of the longest in the UK (only two platforms at Euston are long enough for it). It splits into three (Aberdeen, Inverness, Fort William) at Edinburgh, so has to have three dining cars. The platform was baking and the noise of the engine idling at the front of the traing was deafening; I wonder how the drivers can put up with it? On the plus side it was a lovely sunset as we left.
Top tip: grab a booking for breakfast in the dining car as soon as you board (which is the first and last chance you’ll get).
The beds were surprisingly comfy with lovely crisp linen. We relaxed happily as the train rumbled north through England in the dark; Rugby, Birmingham, Crewe etc. We rolled over the river Mersey in Stockport just after midnight and it was strange to think that some of water underneath us had flown in the river Sett outside our Batemill Cottage not long before.
Day 2, Monday 10 August: Inverness
Peeking out the window through one eye at 4am revealed that we were standing in a platform at Edinburgh Waverley station; we’d already left England behind.
Sunshine flooded into our room from the East at 6am as we ran through the Cairngorms alongside the river Spey through Aviemore and Dalwhinnie: such a treat to wake up up to and a great sign for the day. At 7:00 sharp we made our way to the dining car for breakfast. You feast resplendently on bacon, mushroom, poached eggs, black pudding and (naturally) haggis, surrounded by highland mountain peaks: not to be missed!
We’d caught the Caledionan Sleeper once before (on our Western Highlands adventure), but that was marred somewhat by covid 19 restrictions, so this time we really felt we’d experienced it properly. It is surely one of the world’s great train journeys.
We arrived in Inverness bang on time (not that we were in any particular hurry) and stepped out into the bracing Scottish fresh air. People talk about stepping off the plane in hot countries and having the experience of the oven-like air enveloping you for the first time (I certainly remember that the first time I went to the Middle East) - well, this was like that but in reverse: from 31 degrees when we boarded (and for weeks previously too) it was now 15 degrees as we disembarked. It was like being thrown into a swimming pool: shocking but refreshing! We’d forgotten what cold even felt like. We were soon wrapping up and realising we should have packed more jumpers. In August!
We dropped off our bags at our hotel (the Heathmount - a good find) and fortunately the shops in Inverness were able to provide warm tartan scarves for three of us and a beanie for Dom. Of course Inverness is the most northerly city in the United Kingdom (and yes Kirkwall, we’re coming on to you later!), so we shouldn’t have been so surprised, but it’s difficult to pack for cold weather when you’re peering into your wardrobe, melting with summer heat.
Inverness is a pleasant and elegant city with the River Ness running through it out to the sea (‘Inver’ means ‘mouth of’ in Scottish Gaelic). The Great Glen Way starts on the riverside near the centre of the city (destined ultimately for Fort William) and it’s a lovely walk, threading through little tree-covered islands with the water rushing around on every side. Fly fishermen in waders cast for salmon, and Rosa and Dom made friends with some local dogs who were loving swimming after their owners’ thrown balls into the river.
After this we felt we’d earned an upside-down lunch (pudding first), so treated ourselves to an ice-cream from Miele’s Gelateria, which had very creative flavours; we politely steered clear of their Irn-bru sorbet after a dutiful taste. Inverness’s famous bookshop, Leakey’s, is closed on a Monday: given the weight of our bags, this was probably for the best! Main course was sourced at the Castle Tavern, whose terrace has lovely views of the castle and river.
Full to the brim once more, we visted the castle, again enjoying the views and impressed at the loving restoration work in evidence everywher, but slightly overwhelmed by the relentlessly all-immersive audio-visual vistor experience inside.
Afterwards we were all ready for a chillax, and dinner at our hotel was the obvious option, preceded by a game of Gubs over cocktails and mocktails in the bar, and followed by a good few frames of pool. That’ll do for one day!
Tomorrow we board our cruiser boat on the Great Glen …
Map
Where a photo has GPS information it is shown on this map, which you can scroll and zoom to see where we went.