Solo in Scotland

 

Mallaig Wednesday 9 September 2020

Travelling solo has the advantage of a bit more time to spare on recording events and thoughts - so the Fake Blonde is back as I embark on a Hebridean island-hopping tour.

Arrived here late lunchtime after an overnight in Glasgow where I stayed in a bargain price and very pleasant Ibis hotel, ate a rather good Italian meal, and walked around the corner this morning to arrive early at Glasgow Queen Street, where there is not a single coffee outlet in the station building, and where I boarded a train that takes 5 hours and 27 stops to reach its destination of Mallaig on the west coast. Thankfully my early arrival meant I could detour to a Caffe Nero so that my journey wasn't entirely beverage-bereft.

The scenery was breathtaking, as I knew it would be - it was the whole reason for doing the trip by train - and I took a few little videos through the window, including the famous Glenfinnan viaduct (the Hogwarts' Express Bridge). 

Arrived at Morar (the stop before Mallaig) in order to pick up my car hire, where a mix up (because Morar Motors is a really shit hirer and doesn't communicate) meant I walked down a hill with luggage from the station past the car I was hiring all the way to the bottom to be told where the car was and that I would have to walk all the way up again and was then slapped with a pre-authorised £950 excess if I take it back with so much as a scratch. If you're considering making this trip, be aware car hire is very very difficult and this particular company seems to delight in using Covid-19 as an excuse for shit customer service and inflexibility. I had to hire a car at home while mine was being repaired under insurance, and it still felt safe and half the trouble.

Arrived in Mallaig which is a bit of a disappointment, not least because my one night accommodation, though clean and managed by a nice young man from Barcelona, is shabby, without a lift and more expensive than the Glasgow overnight (though looks to be a better breakfast!). Here's the view from my window. And it's never a good sign when a pair of earplugs have been left on your bedside table.

I found a place for a late lunch and then had the all-too-frequent rubbish single person service (Amarone in Glasgow was a notable exception) waiting an age for cullen skink (probably the first of many over the coming 10 days!) and a fizzy water and then the bill despite holding my debit card up very pointedly for several minutes.

There's not really much to see here - most eateries closed at 3pm (despite the fact that the arrival of the steam train around 4.30pm meant lots of hungry and thirsty punters wandering around with nowhere to go, especially as the teeny shops are strictly enforcing queuing and distancing). Even finding somewhere for a takeaway coffee at 4.30pm was a challenge. I collected my ferry tickets and got blown away looking at the sea with Skye visible in the distance - tomorrow's destination. A striking mural was tucked away in the port

Had a nice dinner with friendly service at the Chlachain Inn and a good old chinwag with Martin and William from Glasgow and their dog Stan sitting at the next table (the men that is - the dog was chilled out on the floor at their feet), which made up for the lunchtime disappointment - though somewhat strange to be sitting at tables separated by perspex screens hanging from the ceiling. 

It's a strange time to be on holiday altogether. Not only are there the all-too familiar Covid-19 precautionary signs everywhere (and boy are they really keen on keeping to the rules up here), it's weird to be somewhere cold, wet and windy, which of course means a really bad hair holiday. (This time last year Kim and I were in sunny Italy, basking on beaches and imbibing on balmy terraces.) I remembered to bring a hat but not gloves, so purchased a cheap pair locally today from a shop which doubles up as a left luggage depot that I may need to use on my way back. Tomorrow on the ferry to Skye, I have to stay sitting in my car which is a bit depressing, but all to enforce social distancing without decimating capacity on the boat. 

All in all it's not been the most promising start, though the day started and ended well - but then neither was it on my big trip to Europe exactly 5 years ago when I got on the wrong train in Brussels on the first day, ended up the wrong end of Ghent in the rain, the taxi driver attempted to drop me off at the wrong hotel and I then had to lug my enormous suitcase up several twisting flights of stairs to a tiny room adjoining a smelly toilet so small I couldn't actually turn around in it. After that it was nearly all plain sailing - so let's hope for a good ferry crossing tomorrow and some sunshine on Skye. At least it's a change of scenery, and a spectacular one at that.