This morning we boarded a small 1940 era passenger vessel out of Fort William for a 90 minute cruise of Loch Linnhe. At the start the skipper of this well narrated tour declared the day to be the finest he had seen in the last 5 years. We were believers.

From the start, photo opportunities were overwhelming!

Fort William stands on the shores of Loch Linnhe, a saltwater tidal sea that opens through a narrow passage to the Atlantic. While that passage presents hazards to ship navigation with its 35 foot average depth, 12 foot tide range, and resulting tidal currents, the Loch itself is over a mile wide and up to 600 feet deep. The waters have a yearly average temperature that is barely above freezing. For these reasons, Loch Linnhe hosts one of the world’s premier schools for deep water divers and operators of remotely controlled deep water submersible vehicles.

The yellow object amidships in the above picture is a deep sea submersible. Students learn to pilot and control the vessel, in coordination with deep sea divers, accomplishing complicated construction tasks. The work is extremely challenging as one wrong move by the operator not only risks the life of the diver, but catastrophic expense to a project. A trained operator earns the same salary as the diver, $70,000.00 a MONTH.

The 4 round buoys in the above picture mark the training area for helium gas deep water divers. The students come to the school as highly skilled divers. This 3 week course, and its $25,000.00 tuition take these divers to the highest level of their profession. Students spend the first and last 5 days of the program pressurizing and then decompressing to and from the pressure of being 500 feet underwater. That is over 16 times sea level air pressure, and over 30 times the air pressure contained in the tires of most automobiles. At that pressure, ordinary air becomes so toxic that divers must breath a mixture of 98% helium and 2% oxygen. The first 5 days are necessary to acclimate to the mixture/pressure and then the last 5 days to return to the sea level environment. The other 11 days are spent living on the sea floor and operating out of a submersible habitat. The pay is great, the conditions not so much.

Our tour also took us by an active salmon farming operation. Salmon fry are raised under controlled conditions. At two years they are removed from the pens by sophisticated vacuum devices that do not harm the fish. They are then transported alive to the fish factories in nearby Mallaig where they are flash stunned, gutted, and smoked.

 

The following facility with its seven lines of supporting buoys is a mussel farm. Thousands of lines dangle to the depths below. Mussels naturally attach themselves to the lines and thrive without further intervention of the “farmer”. Every 2 years the operator returns to harvest 800,000 pounds of the delicacy from this “farm”! The owner of this farm is reported to be 21 years old.

 

The other sights we enjoyed included a rare view of Ben Nevis mountain nearly clear of clouds (see yesterday’s post),

A modernized crofters homestead,

“ordinary” seals basking in the rare sunshine,

and some of the most beautiful scenery of this entire journey.

 

Peace Everyone. Pete

At 4,411 feet, Ben Nevis stands as the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom. It is the remnant cone of an extinct volcano that exploded and then collapsed in upon itself 350 million years ago. From 1883 to 1904 a weather observatory sat upon its summit, the data from which remain the most important resource for the study of Highland climatology. The ruins of the observatory can still be seen.

One might conclude that climbing “The Ben” is no great task. Many make that mistake and climb with insufficient preparation. Quickly changing weather and dangerous cliff faces have resulted in frequent rescues and fatalities (3 deaths in 2017, considered an average year). The summit is clear an average of only 1 day in 10. Since my ascent occurred on one of those unlucky 9 days I am including these 2 internet images of The Ben:

I had some forewarning of what my climb would present. Good friends Kris and Dennis from Colorado had accomplished the ascent a week earlier. They are both quite fit and Kris regularly leads Colorado Hiking Club groups on multi-day treks all over the world. We made her acquaintance during our 2013 hike on the Camino in Spain. Here is what Kris said, “Seriously f***ing steep hike today up Ben Nevis, the highest point in the UK. Basically 4,000’ of elevation gain in 4.5 miles. Then back down. Relentless. Character-building.”

I agree. I also learned a lesson, bring more water. The 4,411 foot ascent took me just over 3 hours, and so did the return. One might assume going down would be quicker and easier, but one would be wrong. It was incredibly punishing on the knees. Furthermore, insufficient hydration on my part led to a serious case of leg cramps, one bout taking me to the ground. Needless to say, I survived and did not become one of the rescue statistics. Christine was waiting for me at the base where there is a welcoming Inn. 2 Cokes later and I was (mostly) recovered.

My iPhone and altimeter statistics tell the following tale for the day:

• Total ascent, 4,440 feet.

• Total distance walked, 14.1 miles.

• 36,365 steps.

• 364 flights of stairs climbed.

Tomorrow is predicted to be sunny and a warm 72 degrees. A perfect recipe for our last day in Fort William. Our experience with Shana and her Air-BnB continue to be rewarding. We will be heading back Thursday for 2 more days in Glasgow and then 3 in Edinburgh before returning to the Continent.

Peace Everyone. Pete

PS. Not everyone is satisfied with just hiking The Ben.

PPS. A week later Dennis Waite, who I referenced in this post, died in a tragic fall while hiking a cliff trail on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. He was a good friend who lived life large.

The day was much too cold and rainy to consider a climb up Ben Nevis so we decided to make a day trip to the fishing port of Mallaig. After breakfast we went to the nearby train station. It was packed with folks, including a high percentage of children, a few dressed in “Harry Potter” style clothing. We did not know that the 10:15am departure to Mallaig was the scheduled run of the world famous “Jacobite”, a perfectly preserved steam train from the 1930-40’s. The Jacobite is also the train featured in every Harry Potter movie, departing from platform 9-3/4 and taking students to Hogwarts School.

The Jacobite plies the same 41 mile route seen in the Potter movies, including the crossing of the Glenfinnan viaduct. Enthusiasts consider this one of the premier train journeys in the world, more for its history and rugged beauty than for its cinema fame. It’s popularity is such that tickets must be purchased months in advance.

We did not have such foresight, nor did we wish to pay the significant premium for the steam train experience. Fortunately, the regular Fort William to Mallaig run covers the same track and gifts one the same sights at a fraction of the cost. Furthermore, by not taking The Jacobite I was able to shoot an extraordinary video of her departure from the station.

This link will allow you to watch the amazing 2 minute video clip. Be sure and share this with any “little people” who are in your life!

https://youtu.be/SICP1y0gOnM

We took the more mundane standard service train to Mallaig that left at noon. The journey and scenery were spectacular! Unfortunately, the mist and rain the delayed the ascent of Ben Nevis also reduced the quality of my pictures as I was forced to take my shots through rain streaked windows.

Mallaig is a working fishing port founded in the 1840’s on the western shores of Scotland. It abounds with restaurants serving the freshest seafood imaginable, literally from the ocean to your plate. For the second time on this trip Christine ate fish, cleaning her plate with gusto! I don’t expect this to become a habit for her, but who knows.

Tomorrow’s weather remains a crapshoot, but Wednesday is predicted to be a sunny 70 degrees. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for that climb of Ben Nevis. In the meantime…

Peace Everyone! Pete

PS: I couldn’t resist the irony in this shot.

We departed Glasgow on a 5 hour train ride north into the West Scottish Highlands and Fort William. The scenery changed quickly from urban to a starkly beautiful landscape of bogs, rock, and rolling hills. The weather became a constant fog and cold mist.

The combination of the changed weather and rugged scenery looked right out of Harry Potter and well it should since we were on the very train line that has been featured on every one of those movies. With a bit of planning and a lot more fare money we could be on the Jacobite Train, the steam train Harry rode to Hogwarts every year! It’s a real train that travels between Fort William to Mallaig. It is incredibly popular and considered one of the greatest train journeys in the world. Tickets must be purchased weeks and sometimes months in advance. Fortunately, the “ordinary” train plies the same route and while popular, does not require such planning or capital. In the next 3 days we may day-trip to Mallaig, but for now we are happily in Fort William on the shores of Loch Linnhe.

This is a thriving community of 10,500 and a draw for tourists eager to hike the Highlands and perhaps climb Ben Nevis, at 4,411 feet the highest mountain in the entire United Kingdom. Depending on the weather I may give the climb a go of it.

Our train ride was quite crowded and in mid-journey it divided. 4 coaches split off for Oban and our train consisting of the two remaining cars then continuing on to Fort William.

I love new foods. I have rarely found a cuisine I disliked, and as I sit here I can’t think of a single one! I figure if an entire people like a dish then there is a reason. This is one of the very few things upon which Christine and I are not in agreement. In Scotland I have found (to Christine’s wonder) two new favorites in Haggis and Black pudding. They are simply the best! However, description of their ingredients could give one pause.

Haggis is a combination of a sheep’s offal mixed with oats and spices, sewn into the sheeps stomach and boiled. Cut open the stomach and dig in… Wonderful! Black Pudding is not a pudding as we know it in North America, but rather it is a traditional blood sausage made from blood (of course!) grain, spices, and meat. It is a breakfast staple in the UK. I seek it out any chance I get.

Fort William is crowded, perhaps for an antique car rally, in addition to the usual crowd of Highland tourists. I could not find an available accommodation until I lucked upon an AirBnB and it’s wonderful owner, Shana. She picked us up at the train station and has even done our laundry! We will enjoy Fort William and her hospitality for the next 4 nights, the longest we have been in one place since this journey began.

Peace Everyone. Pete