It was good all family was up for it (and my bike sufficiently back in working order) since they'd burned our ship for plan B : we planned to go back to #CorranFerry and road-#cycle to #FortWilliam in case we found the way too wet or the weather too steep (or the other way around), but the #ferry boat broke down this morning!
(and that replacement boat of a replacement boat...)

Today we looped the loop of our bike tour with #Glencoe to #FortWilliam by the #WestHighlandWay and military road , which we joined from #Kinlochleven. There it's a quite steep path for 2km, on which we pushed more than pedalled - hikers were looking at us with a pitying or even worried look.

But once the 200m+ are done, great wideish track, rocky and watery, in an amazing #firstDayOfTheWorld landscape! By then hikers's looks turned rather envious ;)

#mtb #cycling #Scotland #Highlands

Then, we knew things would get less pleasant: the only road to #Glencoe is super busy A82 that all motorists going to #FortWilliam take...

This section is part of national #cycling network #sustrans though. Can you find where cyclists are supposed to be on this picture?

3/n

Après demain, départ pour l'#Écosse ! ⛰️ 🌧️ 🌅

Enfin, pas direct : en sortant de l'#Eurostar, on se pose pour 2 nuits à #Cambridge chez une amie, puis on fait une journée à #Londres en attendant le #trainCouchette pour #Inverness

Ensuite, 7 j sur la côte nord et ouest en 🚗 (😔... et un peu de 🛶) puis 5 à #vélo 🚵 itinérant autour de #FortWilliam. Devinez ce qui coûte (beaucoup) plus cher? (~2x pour 4)

Retour par #Edimbourg, #ferry ⛴️ pour #Amsterdam et #TGV 🚆 via #Bruxelles !

A wee bit of reading for my holiday picked up from the little book shop in Fort William

#Tolkien #MiddleEarth #MakerOfMiddleEarth #Books #Reading #FortWilliam

Zo… ruim 14 dagen #schotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. Met het hele gezin, dus nee geen verslag van mooie beesten en waanzinnig natuurbeelden.
Maar voor hen die het interesseert, 14 dagen gepropt in 4 minuten 🥳👍
Voor hen die het niet interesseert… snel door swipen.
#glenfinnanviaduct #highlandgames #natuur #bennevis #FortWilliam #tayport
O ja overigens wel 26 soorten zoogdieren gezien en een paar leuke vogels. https://youtu.be/DL71mQmnYb4

Handlebar footage from cycling down Scotlands The Great Glen starting from the outskirts of #Inverness, taking the Military road route along and above #LochNess and then the forest trail along the north side of Loch Lochy to reach #FortWilliam & on to Oban via cycle paths and back roads in increasingly heavy rain

https://youtu.be/yTWTy2uOp2c

So I was up in #FortWilliam and went for a hike when this happened.... #photography #highlands #hiking #walking

Took this years ago while walking the West Higland Way.

Ruin on the last leg of the way between #kinlochleven and #FortWilliam

#WestHighlandWay
#photography
#walkinghighlands
#Scotland

https://flic.kr/p/B93ZQd

Filmed one cloudy day last October, a lovely short film - featuring me! - about the Scottish scientist CTR Wilson and the experiences on Ben Nevis that started him on the road to the Nobel-winning invention of the cloud chamber https://www.arte.tv/fr/videos/115282-005-A/en-ecosse-les-scientifiques-n-en-croient-pas-leurs-yeux/ (in French) #historyofscience #ctrwilson #cloudchamber #particlephysics #fortwilliam #lochaber #bennevis #physics #ArteTV

That shed is looking a bit tired.

#pareidolia #FacesInThings #FortWilliam #NevisRange

One route that seems doable and enjoyable for us is ferry from #FortWilliam to #Camusnagaul, then road-cycle 42km to #Strontian, stopping there for the night (BnB, recommendations?), in the morning cycle up the road (300m↑, 10km) to #Polloch and then take the #LochShiel forestry road to #Glenfinnan (21km, probably a lot of up and down). From there, there are 2 trains back to #FortWilliam at 5pm ad 7pm.

Comments welcome + I'm looking for similar plans in other places!
#Inverness #Aberdeen ...

We want to #ride #trains and #bikes in #Scotland for our Summer holiday. I'm looking for reliable sources on wild-but-manageable multiday #cycle routes between #train stations, typically 2-4 days, cycling half of the day, visiting/loch-side-idling/pub-comforting the other half, and staying at hostels for nights.

Ideas?

#highlands #FortWilliam #Deeside #Skye

Furze / gorse / whin looking across to Ben Nevis on today's lunch break.

Given the plant's sweet smell, I used to wonder if it was the secret ingredient in Drambuie...

#Lochaber #ScottishHighlands #HighlandsAndIslands #gorse #whins #BenNevis #FortWilliam

Unlike some of the ferry problems out on the Hebrides there is a road alternative to the #CorranFerry, but rather than the six minute crossing and about ten miles straight up the #A82 to #FortWilliam it’s three times the distance more than half of which is the #A861, a single track road with passing places.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-65221872

You have to admire the #Morrisons in #FortWilliam and their commitment to public transport 🙂

Yes, you can literally get to Fort William from all of those places on a bus.... basically all of mainland Scotland... but if you just need a loaf of bread, should you... 😄

#Maps #Scotland #Buses #humor #publictransport

A walk up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland.

“#BenNevis is the highest peak in #Scotland, located at the western end of the Grampian #Mountains in the #Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of #FortWilliam. It's not just the highest peak in Scotland, it's also the highest peak in Britain and the highest peak in the U.K.”

https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/ben-nevis/

A walk up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in Scotland.

“#BenNevis is the highest peak in Scotland, located at the western end of the Grampian #Mountains in the #Lochaber area of #Scotland, close to the town of #FortWilliam. It's not just the highest peak in Scotland, it's also the highest peak in Britain and the highest peak in the U.K.”

https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/ben-nevis/

A walk up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in #Scotland.

“#BenNevis is the highest peak in Scotland, located at the western end of the Grampian #Mountains in the #Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of #FortWilliam. It's not just the highest peak in Scotland, it's also the highest peak in Britain and the highest peak in the U.K.”

https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/ben-nevis/

A walk up Ben Nevis, the highest peak in #Scotland.

“Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Scotland, located at the western end of the Grampian #Mountains in the #Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of #FortWilliam. It's not just the highest peak in Scotland, it's also the highest peak in Britain and the highest peak in the U.K.”

https://cromwell-intl.com/travel/uk/ben-nevis/