We actually slept very well through the night. Although the KingsMills Hotel was not the favorite stop on our trip, the room was very large and it had what seemed like an oversized King bed. We enjoyed a reasonable breakfast downstairs and were amazed by the large groups of golfers assembling for the guided trips, tours and link adventures! All of this in the pouring rain! What were they actually going to do? We could not imagine how those folks were going to have a fun day! We, however, had the same challenge with the weather. We were headed south today with about 2 hours of solid driving……and some diversions. Most of the morning’s travel was along the banks of Loch Ness……so this was our chance to see Nellie, the Loch Ness monster! We heard the chances were better on a murky day, so I was psyched! This is a country where you imagination can drift beyond normal boundaries! We had multiple pullovers during our drive and I think I may have seen something!
The best stop, however, was at the Urquhart Castle. This is a famous Scottish landmark and also requires a bit of imagination, as the castle is mostly in ruins. It is, however, quite powerful and was a fun excursion even in the light rain. It may have been even more atmospheric and romantic in this weather. We did a lot of walking and ended up grabbing a coffer and a quick bite in the café. Funny, as these Scottish breakfasts start to take their toll, we end up almost skipping lunch!......not enough absorption capacity!
DO YOU SEE WHAT WE SAW OUT ON LOCH NESS?!!!
The balance of the drive was through similar lake and mountain landscapes. The rain stopped but it remained mostly cloudy. We actually traversed some rather high elevations where we passed a couple of ski areas, relatively busy with summer hikers and rock climbers. We arrived in Glencoe around 3:00. The Inn at Glencoe was not really what we imagined. They had used some clever view angles in their promotional images on the website that managed to hide the fact that they were right on the main road……..and it was a main road in a non-existent town. We imagined there were more people in the cars and buses moving through town than actually lived there There were a couple shops and a gas station…….and a few nice views of a rather rugged landscape. The Inn really caught us by surprise…….disappointing at first, but we adjusted and it grew on us a bit. It was so odd, both in its physical ‘assembly’ as well as the somewhat unique assembly of people working there.
Our room was OK…….highlighted by a huge claw-footed tub at the window at the foot of our bed! I had to give it a try! Andrea then read a trip-advisor review from two weeks ago from a couple that stayed in our room. They said they checked in late and jumped into the tub only to find it was leaking onto the floor. They had to call an emergency number and someone sent a plumber……who was drunk……and only made things worse. Andrea begged me not to risk repeating this experience! I figured it would be fine, and it was for the most part……..just a little leakage this time, easily absorbed by the bath mat.
The food service was divided into three strangely connected facilities. One was a rather cheap fish and chips/pizza hang out with a lot of motorcycles out back. The middle zone was a bar area, fairly quiet and attended to by an unusual middle-eastern bartender……..very nice but slightly weird. The final segment in the food series was the more formal restaurant for Inn guests only (?) focusing on Steak and Lobster……in hindsight also a bit strange, although I had the steak and it was excellent. The waiter at dinner introduced himself as ‘Dave’. He was a bit difficult to understand, but quite cordial. He actually sat down at our table to write down our orders…….
Overall the food was great! I forgot to mention that upon arrival at the Inn, we were 10 minutes early to the check-in time of 3:00. The woman at the desk (not a desk but a cubby office) said we would have to wait as the room was not ready. It turns out that there were two very large and . comfortable lounge areas just off the lobby……..without any sense that anyone had used the rooms in days…….a bit of a ghost town! At 3:00 the woman said we would have to wait a bit longer as the room wasn’t quite ready. Finally she found us 15 minutes later and lead us to our room This adventure lead us down several hallways that separated the Inn from some of the kitchen spaces…….and the trip was a bit strange with some interesting odors. Things cleared on our floor and it was basically fine!
The other challenge was our luggage. They had no one to help us………dragging the 50 lb. bags through a gravel parking area and up the narrow stairs to the second floor. This was a bit exhausting, so in the morning we found a back door escape with half the stairs leading to an elevated back yard and I pulled the car right up to the curb! Much easier.
The evening’s sleep went fine and breakfast was ok also. We checked out with the same woman that checked us in and she was in much better spirits.
