I’m sitting typing this in a holiday cottage in Fort Augustus: You’ll be reading it when I’m back, or on the way back at least.

We try to get away to Scotland once a year, and preferably to the highlands, because the highlands are *proper* Scotland: the scenery, walking, space, decent driving (it’s the one place I don’t whinge about driving very much) and friendly people make it a great place for us.

Fort Augustus itself is a nice without being twee: it’s a tourist trap, with the Caledonian Canal locks and swing bridge, but that has it’s compensations: pubs, restaurants, ATMs, and the place gets quietish by 5pm, plus walk 1/2 mile out of town and the crowds disappear. The canal provides easy, flat walking with the scenery all around, right from the door, and if you’re more adventurous there’s forestry paths and Wade’s military road up into the hills. We managed one forest walk and a couple of excursions along the canal.

We drove up in one go: it’s 420ish miles, but a good, clear 7 hours, so an early start was involved to get past the worst M6 horrors while most are still in bed. A breakfast stop near Lockerbie, and then onwards with a switch of drivers: this time, no local becoming part of the scenery on the A82 north of Fort William, but there was a shiny new bit of Armco commemerating his upside-down slide along it. Mostly a good drive: no arseholes, only one dawdler (I *know* an Octavia handles better than that), and 46mpg. One further stop just north of Glencoe for a drink, arriving around 3:30. A brief unload, and then the pub :-).

[edit]

We’re back. A bit quicker (but only 42mpg….) back. No corry houses near Fort Augustus: Guess what I’m going to eat tonight?