Monday May 18, 2026
Inverness, Scotland
Weather: the usual, same as the last 18 days.
We took the train from Edinburgh to Inverness today. I'm sure for people used to catching a train over here, it is no big deal but we are rookies so we got to the station more than an hour before our scheduled departure. When we arrived, we were greeted by the sound of a rock pipe band playing music to the throngs of passengers. It was actually a lot of fun.
I WON'T stop believing!
We were walking to platform 16, which our tickets indicted would be the departure platform. However, when I asked somebody for confirmation that this was correct, he told me that as of that moment, the platform was 13 but that it could change at any time up to about 15 minutes before departure. And it was quite possible another train would depart from the same platform before ours so don't get on the wrong train.
So we decided that with an hour to go, we should get a latte and a bite as the prospects for food on the nearly four hour train ride were limited to non-existent. The band quit playing, packed up and went home. At 9:30 am. I wondered how long they had played.
Notwithstanding our no-seat-assigned "first class" tickets, we opted for a regular seat at the front of the train as that carriage was not near as full as first class. The train we had was eight carriages, indicating it was a popular route. We heard on the announcements the number of carriages for each departure and most were five with some as low as two and only a couple were eight.
Once we got going, it was actually a fun excursion. The train clipped along at Mach 0.11, so lots of speed. I got to look out the side without worrying about steering into a ditch or oncoming car. We saw all manner of castles, sheep both white and black, old farmhouses, golf courses, deer, pheasants, bunnies a few dogs and mountains a-la-mode (which was a little distressing).
We arrived in Inverness at 2:15 pm, which left us a little time to kill since the guest house made it clear they didn't want to see new guests before 4:00 pm. Nan suggested we go hang out at a coffee shop. I suggested we go hang out at a laundromat and do a load since our hosts had already told me we weren't using their equipment (the Galway B&B had let us use theirs).
We dragged our suitcases to a laundromat pulled everything out that had had a wear since Galway and we did a load. It worked out to £10.50 or about $20.
We decided against putting the clothes we were wearing into the wash, though we did consider it. While we sat there, a Canadian nurse on a tour came in to do a load. We chatted with her and she asked if we had been to Scotland before and Nan said "no" and I said yes, before she was born. Without batting an eye, she commented "so you are quite a bit older than her". I said definitely. This, of course, made Nan very happy. Before she trashed my comment.
We checked in to the B&noB shortly after 4. The key to our room was left on a hook with our names listed on a sheet. We didn't see the hosts.
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| It seemed like a poor day to be out golfing but to these Scots, it was a beautiful summer day! |
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| Rain coming! |
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| Where William Wallace was proclaimed Guardian of Scotland in 1298. |
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| Two story bike rack. I believe this is for a train + bicycle package. |
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| I know how to take a girl on a fun date! |
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| Pedestrian - only bridge across the River Ness. |
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| Local street art. |
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| Inverness Castle |
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