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Here’s part 4 of Kath’s break at The Waterfront in Fort William.

So today we had hoped to execute a long cycle ride… sadly my legs said otherwise and over breakfast we decided to postpone until tomorrow. OK, I persuaded Ian with my sad face… I am on holiday after all! Instead we jumped in the car and headed North along the A82 to Inverness for some city culture… and shopping! See what I did there?

The route was a scenic wonder taking us through dense dark pine forests and our first stop was Spean Bridge home of the Commandos Memorial. The huge 17 foot high memorial statue was designed by Scott Sutherland in 1949 and was dedicated to the Commandos by Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother on 12 September 1952. UK Commandos and US Army Rangers all trained in the area around the village between 1942 and 1945. It’s obviously well visited as three coaches pulled up to stand and look in humbled silence whilst we were there.

From there we headed alongside Loch Lochy which is the route of The Great Glen Way towards Invergarry. This is where the impressive Bridge of Oich passes over The Caledonian Canal. We stopped for a look on which was one of many times we would criss cross over the canal on our way to Inverness.

Next on the list was Fort Augustus and passing over the canal swing bridge we hit the south side of the infamous Loch Ness. Of course I saw Nessie gliding along gracefully… sadly Ian blinked and missed her. Oh well Ian – you snooze, you loose!

Another well known village next… Drumnadrochit. I had thought it would be much bigger in fact it consisted of a café, a restaurant, gift shop and a ferry/cruise boardwalk. Still it was very pretty and the Nessie Cruises obviously attract as there were plenty of people around.

I hadn’t realised quite how vast Loch Ness actually was… it seemed to go on for miles (the guide book says approx 23 miles) and our route took us round most of it. It is absolutely stunning… wide, blue and Urquhart Castle is a joy to see, standing proud at it’s edge. We stopped to see this incredibly ancient ruin and I was stunned to find that radiocarbon dates obtained in 1983 from excavations within the castle were in the date range of 460-660 AD. How incredible is that? It certainly gets you thinking about times gone by and life pre our own family greats.

If you’d like more info, or to make a booking, please visit the property’s listing on cottages4you.

Our very own Kath Preston is currently enjoying a break at The Waterfront in Fort William and has very kindly agreed to share her experiences in a holiday diary. The second installment starts below. Please click here to read part one.

Sunday 25^th September 2011

We decided that we would have a lazy Sunday and so didn’t set our alarm. We pottered and made fresh coffee and a cooked breakfast finished off with toast and Scottish marmalade. That’s the beauty of a cottage holiday and one of the main benefits for me … the fact that you can get up when you want and not have to dash around showering and dressing before rushing down for breakfast wondering if there would be any bacon left.

Late morning we decided that a cycle ride in to Fort William was in order as we needed to call in at the railway station. We intend to head out on the Jacobite Line later in the week but we wanted to check out the timings. With all info and  timetables in our pannier we then headed out along the cycle path towards the Nevis Range.

The path took us along  the foot of the absolutely huge Ben Nevis… not that we could see the top, it’s so gigantic it was in cloud and the day was dull and damp at best. The cycle path looked as though it has been recently formed and it was a welcome escape from the main A82 which is a very busy road. The path also took us right past the 13^th century Inverlochy Castle – an important stronghold in its day within both the 1^st and 2^nd battles of Inverlochy. The castle is in ruins now but still worth a look so we ditched our cycles in what was once the moat and strolled round for closer look.

Carrying  further along the cycle path lead us to a route through the dense pine forest up towards Nevis Range. The path was great and as we climbed gently upwards the fresh smell of pine was absolutely heavenly. The trees were also welcome protection from the now worsening weather. I’m actually ok with cycling in the rain… we have a dog back at home so we’re often out in the elements. Besides which we were soon at the Range. Deciding not to complete the tree top trail (a monkey I am not) we agreed that the ski gondola trip up the mountain was a better option. If the weather had allowed the views I’m sure would have been spectacular as we had climbed to over 2,150feet. The lack of them led us to the bar and a welcome beer… we paid premium prices for it mind as this is essentially the UK ski world in the winter!

We returned home along the same route – downhill this time so a lot quicker. Cold and wet we were soon back at the cottage and after supper the comfy sofas and a bottle of wine seemed to be the cosy way forward.

If you’d like more info, or to make a booking, please visit the property’s listing on cottages4you. We’ll upload another installment from Kath tomorrow!