Scotland 2.9: A missed day, Neist Lighthouse, some castle ruins, and the tracks of Potter.

Two days ago I had a lot of health problems.  To make matters worse, it was rainy outside, with very heavy winds.  Outside of a short trip to the grocery store, we stayed inside all day.  The bed and breakfast had a few stacks of dvds, for guests to share.  The two of them enjoyed watching a series on wildlife on the Scottish Islands, and then Miles watched Shaun the Sheep and some other movie with Will Ferrell.  At night, we hooked up the computer to the tv and watched Monty Python And the Holy Grail.  Miles loved it.

The next day was not as windy, and my problems were not as bad.  We ventured out to the western part of Skye, to visit the Neist Point Lighthouse.  It was about an hour drive away, and when we were just minutes away, it was pouring.  I parked the car and it was still raining.  I was hesitant to go out, but pushed myself.

First, Stephanie and I needed to use the bathroom.  About two minutes away from the parking lot is a gift shop with bathrooms.  They had a sign outside saying they were closed, right next to the sign saying that they are open all year round.  Scotland doesn't seem to believe in installing toilets near their natural attractions.  Further evidence of the need for toilets became clear when we found a rock that provided a hiding spot, and it was littered with toilet paper and even tampons.

The sun miraculously came out, and we began our descent towards the Neist Point Lighthouse



We spent some time enjoying the view of the ocean and the magnificent rocks that were on the far side of the lighthouse.  About halfway through our walk back to the car, the clouds quickly reappeared and it started to drizzle, and then rain heavily.  As we drove away, the gift shop was reopened.

We drove to Portree, the biggest town in Skye, ate some lunch, and browsed some of the shops.  I was not impressed.  We had dinner at our favorite local spot in Uig, the Uig Hotel.  Back at the bed and breakfast, we watched the first two thirds of Robin Hood: Men in Tights.  Miles liked it.

Today began our two day journey back to Glasgow Airport.  Our final stop today would be in Fort William.  We stopped for a five minute gander at the ruins of Invergarry Castle.  It was completely enclosed by a gate with barbed wire, but we were able to view the castle from the sides.



Next, we took a brief stop at Glenfinnan.  This area has a viewpoint that overlooks the Glenfinnan Viaduct, where a steam train still operates.  This train was featured in the Harry Potter movies.  I was disappointed to see that they charged money for parking, something that I have yet to see in Scotland.  Additionally, they were selling Harry Potter merchandise in the cafe shop, which I find to be tacky.

It was drizzling, so we put on our waterproof clothes and walked up a very short path to the lookout.  The viaduct didn't happen to have the train on it at the time, of course, and so the view was just unexceptional.  The exceptional view happened to be in the opposite direction.



We arrived at our first hotel of the trip, which is at the beginning of a pedestrian only street lined with shops.  We ate dinner at the local pub and I had an excellent bean quesadilla.  Next, we decided to take a forty minute walk to the last castle ruins of our trip, Old Inverlochy Castle.