Corinne CrawfordMy final evening in Ullapool I decided to go out for a few pints at one of the local pubs as I typically do. I am not sure why I feel like on my last night I want to soak up as much of the culture of the place I am in as I can. So I went out at about 6pm thinking I would have a pint or two then go back to my little cottage and heat up the frozen pizza I had which was the last thing I had in the freezer or anywhere in the pantry. I try to buy groceries very strategically so that I have just enough food for my stay as I can’t really take anything with me from place to place and I hate to throw perfectly good food away. As I sat in the pub drinking a beer and still reading my book on Scottish history, it started to get a little crowded as there was a rugby game playing on the television. So the young lady that was sitting at the table next to me asked if she could join me at my table so that her table could be freed up for others. Of course, no problem. I had noticed that she seemed to know the bartenders and figured she was either a local or a service industry person on a day off. After a bit, a friend of hers joined the table and she then asked me what I was reading. We got to chatting and it turns out that she lived most of her life in South Africa but half of her family was from and still lived in Scotland. She had moved to Ullapool to work at one of the hotels. Her friend, James, was originally from England but his family and he had lived in the area for the last 15 years on a little croft about 15 miles outside of Ullapool. I enjoyed my conversation with them so much, I didn’t get home to eat my frozen pizza until close to 10pm. During my chat with Anthea, she mentioned that she actually was planning on going to Inverness the following day about midday and asked if I wanted to ride with her rather than take the bus and we could stop at one of the nature parks called Collieshalloch Gorge. I had wanted to go there while I was in Ullapool but the bus schedule didn’t work out to spend any sort of time walking around so I didn’t get a chance to. So this proposal sounded wonderful. We exchanged numbers and said we would touch base in the morning.
We messaged each other in the morning and planned for a pick up at my cottage at noon. It had been alternating between sun and rain all morning and that pattern continued throughout most of the day. After about 25 minutes, we pulled onto the road that led to the gorge and waterfall. We parked on the side of the road at a pull out to avoid the £5 parking fee in the parking lot just across the street. It was not a long walk, about 10-15 minutes, down to the suspension bridge that spanned the gorge. I knew it was called a gorge and I knew it had a waterfall so I am not sure what I was expecting but what I saw from that bridge was much better than I expected. It was a deep narrow rock canyon but the sides were all covered in greenery and small waterfalls. The river that had carved out the middle also had a large waterfall tumbling down the canyon. It was stunning. The rain was coming down but cleared a bit as we walked over the bridge and went to a little viewing platform on the other side that gave you a different view of the waterfall and canyon. We even got to see a rainbow as the sun was starting to come out as we finished the hiking loop back up to her car.
We continued on for the next hour or so onto Inverness with me playing DJ and both of us soaking up the scenery. She dropped me off right outside of the hostel and we said our goodbyes. It was right at the time for check in at the hostel and because I was the second person to check into the room that was outfitted with two bunk beds, I was fortunate enough to snag a bottom bunk for my 5 nights in Inverness. Not only is the bottom bunk just plain easier to get in and out of, it also has the benefit of letting you put some storage under the bed. Most of the other people I shared the room with only stayed for a night or two so I had many different “roommates” throughout my time there. I hardly saw or talked to them much because I was not in the room much. I was either out exploring or working in the common room downstairs or at the library. This hostel, Bazpackers, was one of my favorite hostels I have stayed in. I typically don’t like hostels; I enjoy my privacy, my space and they really are geared toward those that travel with one small bag. But this hostel was quiet, well laid out and very clean and organized. It was quite small and cozy. I settled in and worked for a bit but took myself out for dinner as I was not going to get to the store to get groceries until the following day. Inverness was my kind of town. It was big enough to be a “city” but no so big that it was unmanageable. It was very walkable and the location of my hostel was about 8 minutes off the main city center. The following day I decided to do an extended walk to the grocery store. I downloaded an app called VoiceMap that offers self guided audio walking tours in lots of different cities and countries. I paid the small fee to download the Inverness tour and proceeded to listen to history and landmarks throughout the city for the next 2 hours. It took me all around the city with great information about the area and the buildings and history. I really loved the long walk along the River Ness and the little island parks in the middle of the river. At the end of it, I stopped by the grocery store to pick up provisions for the week.
I had already booked an evening event called the Highlands Malt Whisky Experience. I found it on Airbnb experiences and it got great reviews. It was described as a whisky tasting with musical interludes. I worked a bit more before getting myself ready to go to this whisky tasting. It was held in the basement of one of the popular local pubs in town. It was a small room with 4 tables of about 6 people each and a flight of 5 whiskies at each seat. The host for the evening was great, a local musician who gave great background on the whisky, the distillery it came from and general Scottish history and in between each tasting he played traditional Scottish tunes on his accordion.
I was seated at a table with an American woman and her daughter that now lived in Sweden. To be honest, they both were a little obnoxious. Then another couple that actually were from Michigan. Also obnoxious. The man talked so loud throughout the whole thing, even while the guy was performing in this little basement room that couldn’t have been more than 400 sq meters filled with 25 people. And the final seat other than mine was a guy traveling by himself from Australia although he was born and raised in Scotland and was visiting his mother. But if I just tuned out the Americans, it was a great evening with some really good whisky.
I liked one of the them so much that it made me think of my friend Debbie back in California who really enjoys whisky. She has been a great friend to me and my little tent camper is currently stored in her garage. So the next day, I researched how to send her a bottle. It should arrive in two days. I hope she enjoys it and I look forward to sharing a dram with her when I make it back to Central California next.
I was feeling in a good mood after the whisky and music. Not that kind of good mood, each tasting was just a wee sip or two of the whisky so no real effect. But I was already out and about so I decided to pop in somewhere for live traditional music, something Inverness is known for. I popped into Gellions, a small unassuming pub and listened to a duo of guitar and accordion . Everyone there was in a good mood and there was dancing and general merriment. And then, that lone Australian guy from the whisky tasting walked in. He recognized me and we enjoyed the music there and at another venue together until it was time for me to call it a night. I even danced a bit!
