Train journey from Inverness to Edinburgh

Today was the last official day of our Great Rail Tour and appropriately we spent much of it on the train!

Today's Rail Journey

The incoming train to Inverness this morning was running a bit late, so they didn't get a chance to put the reserved seat tickets out, so it was just a bit of a free-for-all when we hopped on the train. Actually  I did well out of the chaos, because my reserved seat was facing the back and was in a bit of a corner, but I just found another seat that was front facing and I had a great ride to Edinburgh!

A lady got on at Pitlochry with her 2 kids and she was "not happy Jan!"
Not only could she not get her reserved seats, there were actually no seats left at all and she had to stand...
That's a bit crook when you pay money to reserve seats. I think she was going to ring Scot Rail and give them heaps! It all eased off a bit at Perth station as many people got off there to change routes or access the airport.

But I really enjoyed the journey. It went for nearly 4 hours, but I didn't notice it to be quite honest.
Could only take a few pics so will place them below.

Views from the Train

Aviemore Station

Views from the Train

Views from the Train

I took a couple of Pitlochry station - Hello Margaret and Alistair!

Pitlochry Station

Pitlochry Station

Pitlochry Station

Went through Perth Station - will probably be the closest I can get to Perth in Scotland. Photos weren't too flash though...

Perth Station

Perth Station

Also went over the Firth of Forth and saw my hotel - the Hawes Inn - which I will be returning to tomorrow.

Firth of Forth Bridge

Firth of Forth Bridge

Firth of Forth Bridge

South Queensferry can just be seen over the Bridge.

So, after we arrived at Waverley Station, we had a short walk over the bridge to our hotel for tonight in Edinburgh- Radisson Blu. Very nice too!!!! Got a much better room this time and it has heaps  of room to move and a very big bed!!!! No complaints from me tonight!!!

By the time we had checked in and settled etc... it was about 3pm.  I knew I wanted to go and see Holyrood Palace, which is the Queen's home when she is in Edinburgh. It's at the bottom of the Royal Mile, so I wandered down there and once again took the audio tour, which I love!

We weren't allowed to take pics inside, but I took a few of the grounds.

Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace

Holyrood Palace

Wikipedia, as usual, sets the scene...

The Palace of Holyroodhouse (/ˈhɒlɪˌruːd/ or /ˈhoʊlɪˌruːd/^[1]), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace has served as the principal residence of the Kings and Queens of Scots since the 16th century, and is a setting for state occasions and official entertaining.

Queen Elizabeth spends one week in residence at Holyrood Palace at the beginning of each summer, where she carries out a range of official engagements and ceremonies. The 16th century Historic Apartments of Mary, Queen of Scots and the State Apartments, used for official and state entertaining, are open to the public throughout the year, except when members of the Royal Family are in residence.

The places open to the public included many rooms related to Mary Queen of Scots, and told the story of her 3 husbands... Lots of funny goings on in that family!!! You can read more about her on the link above. She was forced to abdicate in favour of her very young son - James VI - then eventually fled to England to call on the mercy of Elizabeth 1. Sadly that didn't end well either, because after being held prisoner in the Tower of London, she ended up on the chopping block too.

Her execution held a few surprises too! Once again Wikipedia is easier than having to re-word it all...

Mary was not beheaded with a single strike. The first blow missed her neck and struck the back of her head. The second blow severed the neck, except for a small bit of sinew, which the executioner cut through using the axe. Afterwards, he held her head aloft and declared, "God save the Queen." At that moment, the auburn tresses in his hand turned out to be a wig and the head fell to the ground, revealing that Mary had very short, grey hair.^[224] 

 After the tour of the house, we were led outside to the ancient abbey in the grounds...

Holyrood Abbey

About Holyrood Abbey

The last place on the tour was the Holyrood Palace Gardens, where Queen holds a garden party to which over 8000 people are invited. 

Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens

Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens

Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens

Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens

Views of Holyrood Palace Gardens

So, having devoured all that history, I then had to walk back up the hill to get back to the hotel.

On the way I passed the Scottish parliament, which is across the road from Holyrood Palace

Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

I ran into one of the couples who were on our tour and they had actually sat through a session of that Parliament this afternoon. That's commitment!! I asked them what it was like and they said it was a bit hard to understand the thick Scottish accents, but they were more well mannered than our lot!!!! That wouldn't be hard!!!

I also saw the Canongate Kirk, where Zara Phillips (daughter of Princess Anne) was married..

Canongate Kirk

Canongate Kirk

So that was the last day of the Great Rail Tour. We have to fill in our evaluation forms with any comments. I might have a few things to say!!! Quite a few of us were saying we would've liked more trains and less bus, and that was what they had actually advertised, so it was perhaps a bit misleading!
Might also say something about the accommodation in Inverness...!

But apart from that it was great! Met some lovely people on the tour. We had 21 Aussies and 18 from the UK and they were all lovely. I was able to see some great places and experience some things I probably wouldn't have done on my own.

Tomorrow we move on... and I'm back to managing my own suitcases and my own travel again, which as I discussed yesterday has its good points and its bad points.

No matter what, I am really grateful for this opportunity to travel and experience a much broader view of the world and its peoples.

How blessed I am!

Train Journey to Kyle of Lochalsh

I spent the best £13.90 today, by purchasing my return ticket from Kyle of Lochalsh on the train. It just rounded off the day and made the journey all the more memorable.

First things first...

Our plan for the group today was to take the train to Kyle of Lochalsh and then go on to Eilean Donan Castle, then come home by coach. But,as I think I mentioned in the last post, I chose to return by train and I'm so glad I did.  It was just lovely and peaceful and I didn't miss that long journey on the coach one bit.

The train journey itself took about 2 hours 40 mins and of course, we couldn't stop and take pics, so I took some through the window and they didn't come out too badly.

This is a photo of the handout we were given, which includes a map.

Map of today's journey

Once again the sun was shining brightly - I can't believe this Scottish weather!

That handout describes the journey as a symphony in three parts - pastoral, mountains and marine. And that  describes it perfectly. For much of the way we followed Lochs and then we went through some glorious mountains, then in the last part of the journey we followed the sea coast of Loch Carron.

Will include some pics of the stations to start with...

Dingwall

Garve

Garve also

Achnasheen

Achnasheen was the turn around point for the Restaurant Car from and to Inverness. You got Breakfast on the way out and Lunch on the way back into town!

Some of the views from the train... Remember they were taken through the train window...

View from train

View from train

View from train

View from train

View from train

View of town Lochcarron across Loch Carron!

One of the pretty areas was Plockton, where Hamish MacBeth was filmed

Plockton

So, we eventually arrived in Kyle of Lochalsh,  and as you may recognize I spent 2 nights there only a week or so ago.
The tour group hopped straight on the bus and drove over the Bridge to Skye - just to say they had been there. Then they were heading for Eilean Donan Castle- which again you may recognize the name, as I had some pics of that castle last week also.

But having bought a return ticket on the train I was more than happy just to mosey off on my own. Went and had a drink of soda water. I had gone up to the pub where I stayed last time and was going to go into the bar there, but it didn't open until 3pm. I was on the 1.46pm train, so that didn't help!!!

Then I went and took a few more pics of Kyle of Lochalsh... very similar to the last lot, except this time the sun was out!  Last time it was bucketing down rain!

Over the sea to Skye

Over the sea to Skye

Right in the centre is our bus stopped at Kyleakin for pics!

Just pottered around and looked in a few shops and was sitting down having a bite to eat when a lady came and asked if she could sit next to me on the bench, which if course she could. She was from the the Isle of Barra and she just started talking about  life in Scotland and life on the West Coast. It's the people you meet on the journey who are so interesting!

Then back to the station and on to the train. I have to admit I really enjoyed the return trip more...
It was certainly less crowded and way more peaceful and I could just read my maps and all the information as we went along.

I think I've decided I'm happier as a solo traveller. There certainly are benefits from being on a tour. I was trying to list them in my head and compare them with solo travel!

Benefits of a tour

• Everything is organised for you
• Accommodation and meals are taken care of
• You are safe and people look out for you
• You meet lots of interesting people on the journey
• Usually everything is already pre-paid (except for those optional extras!!), so you don't have to worry about costs so much.
• No booking worries
• Usually the accommodation is very good (shan't mention the Palace Hotel!)

Benefits of solo travel

• You are your own boss
• You can go where you want, when you want
• You can change your mind and go somewhere different.
• I'm usually pretty careful about what accommodation I book, so you can make choices yourself.
• I just like being a free spirit. Sometimes I don't know what I'm doing the next day until the night before... or even during the day. For example, I hadn't planned to go to Culloden until I saw the turn off! 
• You still meet interesting people on the journey. Sat across the aisle from a Scottish couple on the return journey today and they were lovely.
• You can drive yourself! Much prefer that to being driven!

 I'm sure there are more things I could add to each list and I might revise it later if I think of other things....

So, not too much info today... just some pics from the journey and a few random thoughts.... perhaps you have different ones.... Feel free to share. I love receiving messages and emails and comments. Thanks so much to all those who do send stuff and thoughts through.

Perhaps that is why I can be a happy solo traveler because I know I have so many people supporting me on the journey.

What are you all going to do over breakfast in 3 weeks, when there are no more episodes to  Wattle's Wanderings????????

😃😃😃

PS Meant to say I eventually got my banking sorted out again last night, after holding on for over 20 mins. Lucky I was using my Skype account. They could offer no explanation as to why my card keeps getting blocked. It's just such a pain to have to ring Sydney every time I want to access my own money. I still hate banks. Might have to change banks if I ever manage to go overseas again....

Loch Ness - Urquhart Castle - Inverness

Today was our easy day on tour... only a half day really, as the afternoon was free time.

I was beginning to think of all the positives about today and everything was going swimmingly ...

• The weather had changed and was back to gloomy and misty - yay!!!
• I was over my grump and was happy again! 
• I found a laundrette around the corner and got all my washing done!!!
• I got tomorrow's trip to Kyle of Lochalsh sorted (more about that later)

Then........  those bloody banks struck again. I went to get some cash out and it has rejected my card again... Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.......

I've been trying to get on to the CBA but it's the middle of the night in Sydney or wherever they hole out, and they just kept me on hold forever, so I gave up. I'll try again after tea and see if there is anyone out there who can explain why I cannot get my own money out my bank, using my own card and pin number!!!!!!

Anyway.... moving right along....

I'm over my grump from last night! I was hot and tired and didn't have time to get to this blog until late, so I'll just remember Inverness for lots of reasons and move on.

Today was nice and relaxed. We didn't have to be down at the bus until 10am, so we could all take our time.

First on the agenda was a drive back to Loch Ness and board a ferry to take us to Urquhart Castle.

Here's our ferry coming in.

I was sitting on the op deck too...

As you can see, the weather has changed, and it's back to cool and cloudy - far more suitable for Scotland.

The Loch was very calm, which was good, because I have been on it before and it was quite choppy.

But it was a very pleasant half hour trip...

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Loch Ness views

Here's the commentary from Wikipedia - I couldn't remember all the things they said on the boat!!!

Loch Ness is the second largest Scottish loch by surface area at 56 km² (22 sq mi) after Loch Lomond, but due to its great depth, it is the largest by volume in the British Isles. Its deepest point is 230 m (126 fathoms; 755 ft),^[2][3] making it the second deepest loch in Scotland after Loch Morar. A 2016 survey claimed to have discovered a crevice that pushed the depth to 271 m (889 ft) but further research determined it to be a sonar anomaly.^[4] It contains more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined,^[3] and is the largest body of water in the Great Glen, which runs from Inverness in the north to Fort William in the south.

 You might be wondering if I found Nessie, the monster of Loch Ness... well actually I did!!!

Nessie and me

The legend of Nessie can be traced back to St Columba's day... he's getting quite a write-up on this blog!!! Trust the Catholics to be involved!!!

 
It went very quickly, then we began to approach Urquhart Castle which is on a headland on the Loch

Urquhart Castle from the Water

A guided tour was just about to start, so I tagged along with that. The guide was excellent as he ran through all the British and Scottish history of over 1500 years in half an hour - and how it related to Urquhart Castle. Obviously I can't replicate that here, but if you're interested, Wikipedia has all the details... Here's few..

The present ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, though built on the site of an early medieval fortification. Founded in the 13th century, Urquhart played a role in the Wars of Scottish Independence in the 14th century. It was subsequently held as a royal castle, and was raided on several occasions by the MacDonald Earls of Ross. The castle was granted to the Clan Grant in 1509, though conflict with the MacDonalds continued. Despite a series of further raids the castle was strengthened, only to be largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces, and subsequently decayed. In the 20th century it was placed in state care as a scheduled monument and opened to the public: it is now one of the most-visited castles in Scotland.^[1][2]
The castle, situated on a headland overlooking Loch Ness, is one of the largest in Scotland in area.^[3] It was approached from the west and defended by a ditch and drawbridge. The buildings of the castle were laid out around two main enclosures on the shore. The northern enclosure or Nether Bailey includes most of the more intact structures, including the gatehouse, and the five-story Grant Tower at the north end of the castle. The southern enclosure or Upper Bailey, sited on higher ground, comprises the scant remains of earlier buildings.

Here's a few pics to complement that...

Castle Ruins

Castle Ruins

Castle Ruins

He told us all sorts of interesting things, some of which were retold on these boards...

Info about Urquhart Castle

Info about Urquhart Castle

Info about Urquhart Castle

And of course there's always a Chapel somewhere...

Chapel Mound

About the Chapel

One more...

Prison Cell

And when the last garrison decided to leave, they more or less blew the place up!

Destroying the Gatehouse

So, when that was all over we went up to the Visitor's Centre to get some lunch and go to the loo.... Only problem was some cruise ship had just arrived and the queue for the loo would've taken 20 minutes or so - even the blokes had to queue!!!! And we had a limited time before we hopped back on the bus. So, cross your legs and be grateful it was only a 30 min trip back to our hotel!

So, this afternoon I had a few jobs to do.
First was pick up my washing 😃   £12.50 and all done for me while I was out. What a bargain!!!

Another one was go to the ATM...... let's not go there again just now!!!!

The last one was to go to the Railway station and pick up a return ticket for the train journey tomorrow.
As I think I mentioned previously, when I booked this trip I thought it mainly involved train journeys, but it seems to have evolved into a series of long bus journeys, which I don't really enjoy around all those windey roads.

Tomorrow we are going by train to Kyle of Lochalsh, but returning by bus.

I had a chat  with our  tour director Liz and asked if she would mind if I caught the train back from Kyle of Lochalsh tomorrow instead of coming by bus. She didn't mind at all so I got straight online and booked a ticket. Much happier with that scenario, because we are all still in this hotel tomorrow night and it makes no difference really.
So I went along to Inverness station and picked up the ticket.

Inverness Station

Then I just had a mosey through the streets of Inverness to get the feel of the place.

I've been accused by some of my fashion police friends of not including photos of me shopping, so here's a couple to keep you off my back!!!!

Victoria Market - Inverness Style!

Here you go Anna, petal!

Went in and had a look anyway!

Inverness Shopping Centre - didn't actually go in there!

Then I walked up to the castle, which is on the opposite side of the river to our hotel.

Lovely views from up there..

Inverness Views

Inverness Views

Inverness Views

They also had a statue  dedicated to Flora McDonald who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie escape

Flora McDonald Statue

Inscription on Flora McDonald Statue

BTW, did you know Bonnie Prince Charlie ended up dying a helpless alcoholic, in the Vatican!
More useless information for the day.

So that was the end of my adventures for today. I'm finishing this a bit early today so that I can go down and have a beer before dinner and gird my loins for yet another  fight with that bloody bank!!!!

Happy birthday to Kath and Eric for May 30th 💓🎂