None of us had ever been to Inverness but more importantly the train trip is known as being one of the most scenic in the country. We got up at 5.45 and walked down to the station. It was a beautiful morning. Tom was very excited to be given the job of stopping the train (Dun Craig is a request stop only). He was seen and the driver gave him a hoot to let him know he was going to stop. We managed to get a table on the lock side of the train. Our eyes were glued to the scenery all along the loch - it was very very beautiful. Once we got to Strathcarron we headed inland we were really in the middle of no-where. We can't quite understand how this line has survived - guessing the fish trade was a bit more lucrative in the past. The smallest hamlets have stations - with literally 2 or 3 houses - there were 7 request stops on the line - so that gives you an idea of how small the settlements are.
We ate our first breakfast on the train - iced buns for the boys and an egg sandwich for me which we brought from home. We then sat back to enjoy the ride. Tom spotted some deer stags and we saw a couple of highland moos but really not enough!
The train got busier once we got to Dingwall - where it became a commuter train, arriving into Inverness at 8.50am. We stepped out of the station, had a good look round and found a café that we had been recommended by a local in Plockton - the Artysans. It opened just as we arrived and it did us proud. Homemade baked beans on toast for me and Matt (Matt had haggis on the side of course) and a sausage bun for Tom - all very nice. We then had a quick look around some touristy shops (Matt was after a T-shirt and me a patch) and then headed down to the river Ness where we did a walk down to the crazy golf which we had promised Tom.
We had a great time at the crazy golf - Tom and I were pretty rubbish, so Matt won. But it was fun and it was sunny and hot and everyone was in a good mood.
After a game we stayed for a drink and then had a good 'mess around' playing table tennis, where Tom got an attack of the giggles and couldn't stop! By now it was lunchtime so we headed to the Botanical Gardens next door for lunch. It was quite busy but we managed to find ourselves a table and a sandwich each. We then went for a walk around them - it was quite small but very nice.
We decided to have another game of crazy golf as it was one price for all day, I did worse! Matt won again! Oh hum. We said goodbye to the lovely man who ran it, then went for a walk in the Ness islands which were very lovely. We then walked back to the city and found ourselves a cafe for a sit-down and a drink - all of us had aching feet and were hot, hot, hot!
We then went souvineer shopping - didn't find many interesting shops, but I did get a patch and Matt got himself a T-shirt and Tom found himself a tartan Rubik's cube.
We got back to the station with an hour to spare, so we went to Pizza Express next to the station for a quick pizza before boarding a very hot train back to Dun Craig - no air conditioning, not fun when you are wearing a mask and it is hot outside. Luckily the driver sorted it out after we left. We were all exhausted and could have nodded off if there hadn't have been the promise of beautiful scenery, it was worth staying awake for and we saw loads of deer this time too.
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| View from Dun Craig Station on our return |
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