First order of yesterday evening (after a long laze on the bed) was to get dinner. And as ever, T came up trumps with some amazing searching, finding the 2nd highest rated eatery in Glasgow. 3 minutes walk away. It was an indian, and one thing that has been really fine for me since whipples has been curry and rice, so that was a great find. The restaurant was very good and had a slightly unusual twist on some indian classics – quite possibly more authentic (I don’t know, I’ve never been). I played safe with a chicken Korma and fried rice plus a share in a peshwari naan. T had some interesting tandoori combo and we both had Lassis – Mango for me and Sweet for T. They were amazing. Service was great, and I can tell it’s a good meal when I get a bit carried away and forget to space my Creon properly. Ate a full amount (the one thing that’s still not OK is that I don’t get a ‘nearly full’ warning, just ‘it’s time to stop NOW’), and enjoyed every mouthful.
It’s still a real joy to be able to enjoy good food, particularly after the rather nasty experience I had when getting home initially after my surgery. T has worked hard on this and it’s really paid off as food was always such a shared joy for us once she got me past my picture menu phase (back in Barcelona the first time we went away, it was nearly a deal breaker)!
Usual deal with 3am wake up, and pills not getting me back to sleep for a couple of hours, but still got enough sleep to feel OK and had a good hotel breakfast with some very strong coffee. Back to the room while T went out for provisions (we were out of a few things having stayed 2 days longer than expected), and just tried to relax. Mornings used to be my ‘full of energy’ time and now they’re quite the opposite – I take a while to get going (probably while food is struggling to be digested and coffee is kicking in), but this routine works okay enough to make it workable. Certainly way better than the first day away when I was despairing of everything…
Unfortunately T slept funny and has a sore shoulder so now she’s carrying an injury on top of an ailing husband… so more pain killers needed here.
Got to the station and got everything sorted (more coffee), including getting through the gates with the hand-filled piece of paper that said yesterday’s tickets were OK for today, and no-one questioned it…. But then, inevitably…. a delay! Some mechanical issue with the train and at one point it looked like it might not be leaving, but eventually (about half an hour later than scheduled) we were let onto the train and managed to bag a window seat with table – from which I’m typing this while still taking in the epic scenery.
And it is epic. The scale of it is just something else. The lochs are enormous, the peaks are high, and there is an enormous amount of wilderness out here. I can see why some Scots are dewey-eyed about their home country, it is truly magnificent. It would be more so if the windows of the train weren’t covered in some film that makes it next to impossible to take a decent photo of it – I bought an app to try to allow focusing past it but it’s not that easy, so I think most of the photos will be disappointing in terms of photography quality, but T has taken some photos of me on the train to prove I was here (and enjoying it).
We’ve had pretty much a repeat of yesterday’s lunch, but this time actually on the train. Pret and M&S. The best! They make some lovely food that actually agrees with me as a snack which is good as things are definitely getting more difficult/critical in this area, both in terms of times and type of consumption. I know that I’m struggling more physically each day, and an extra couple of days has been a blessing and a curse – a blessing as we’ve had good rest, but I know they are two days I’m not getting back for anything else. Sometimes I feel like saying this to people but TBH I don’t think it would be gracious or worthwhile so unless someone is a real dick about something I’m going to try to keep the cards unplayed. Nearly got played when some septics turned up to bagsy their seats where we were just taking this quick photo op, and did nothing to display decorum or patience during the 3 seconds this delayed them from taking their seats. Which I now note they have fallen asleep in, missing the epic scenery. Can’t be as good as whatever’s back home….
And then…. just hours of epic scenery unfolding. Moors, Locks, Forest, Bridges, Viaducts, Mountains. So much to see that a single train journey (or even a return tomorrow) can’t really do it justice. It’s massive. You wouln’t want to have to walk it, for sure. T said she’d never seen so many trees in one place and I know what she means, it’s just breathtaking the scale of the place and its rugged splendour.
We’re approaching Corrour, which is the highest station in the mainland UK, and also the one from Trainspotting (no, me neither). And in a few stops it’s Fort William and then the Harry Potter viaduct (although how much we’ll actually see of it remains to be seen, I’m guessing not a lot from this vantage point, particularly as the weather is definitely on the turn for the worse).
After that, incredible views along Loch Treig. Didn’t get great pictures of anything from the train, but I’ve never been one to trade an experience for too long to try to get the right photo. Particuarly at this point in my life, my memories of the experiences are more important than getting a 100% correct photo. Which is a good job as I was nowhere near close!
There’s no way you could do this justice from a single train journey. With a crew and proper cameras and skills (and clean windows) you could get close, but it’s just incredible. If you get the chance and want to see truly breathtaking scenery in the UK, then take this journey. It’s just not something I really expected the scale and expanse of in the UK. It’s like being on another planet.
Later in the journey, passed over probably the most famous viaduct in the world…. Forgive the bad footage!
Yes, it’s the one from Harry Potter! So I’ve passed over it and was more keen on watching it than making a good video, so forgive the quality.
A few stops later, and stopped at Morar, to be booked into the Morar Hotel for the evening. The view out of the window (albeit blocked by some scaffolding) was pretty spectacular, in between the rain:
Down for dinner after a short rest, and my first (and probably only!) Cullen Skink. Seemed a bit silly not to have the local delicacy on every menu here while I was here… and it was very, very good:
The rest of dinner was good – T and I both ate plenty and had a very good meal. This place might be out of the way but the food and service was good, and nice to come back to the room afterwards, finish writing this and then time for bed. It’s been a looooong day but I actually feel pretty good. I think good food and pretty much resting all day sat down (very little walking done, whereas usually I’d have been out for an hour after dinner exploring) meant that I could take in the experience of a lifetime.
Going to repeat it tomorrow (hopefully first attempt without technical train issues!) and then off to Newcastle to see Summer tomorrow night, but it’s a near 3-hour drive after getting back to Glasgow so it’ll be a long day even if it does go to plan.
And there’s NO M&S or PRET at Morar. The world has gone mad. Actually there’s literally no shop at all here, so we might get the train to Mallaig after breakfast and stock up (at the londis or whatever that’s there) for the long trip back. Did it right today, hopefully can do it right tomorrow too. As ever, T has been amazing, but has found today difficult – it’s an emotional day and we’re both away why where here and why it’s now.
But…. I never thought I’d make it this far on day 1, that’s for sure, let alone still be up at 22:18 writing things up. There’s a (little) life left in the old dog yet. I hope.
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