We had breakfast in the hostel and were bumming. The day was overcast, foggy, and a slight mist in the air. The forecast called for possible clearing in mid-afternoon. We skipped the Scottish breakfast of haggis and opted for our usual porridge, toast, and coffee. Pam even ate a chicken abortion or two (aka egg).
The plan was that we would pack up and leave our packs at the hostel while we climbed to the top of Ben Nevis, but the hostel attendant said we should wait until the weather clears because people have gotten hurt climbing in the fog by walking off the trail and falling off the mountain (not a great alternate ending to the trail). We finally decided to just skip it and head into Fort William and finish the WHW.
From the hostel, it’s just a road hike into town and not very spectacular. Unfortunately, the town portion of the trail isn’t marked very well and there’s confusion as to where the end of the trail is. The first shopping center in town claims to be the original ending so we stopped to get a stamp for our passports but they didn’t have one. It was just a scam to get us to shop. We came back out to find the actual end. About a block down, we saw an elder crossing sign—it was the image of an old couple using a cane to walk. It could just as easily been a tired WHW couple which we were.
We eventually got directions to the real end of the trail and made our way the final mile through town to the statue of a man rubbing his sore feet. Like every other hiker of the trail, we imitated the pose. We completed the WHW on 9/11/13, the fourth anniversary of our first date. (Man tip—if you’ve got to remember relationship dates, I like them to have multiple meanings so it’s easier for me to recall.)
We had a few days to kill which we had intentionally built into our itinerary just in case we had any problems along the way. It wasn’t quite lunch time, so we made our way to the train station to see about getting to the Isle of Skye. There was a train in a bit heading to the Port of Mallaig where we could catch a ferry to the island. Once on the island, there was a car rental spot at the port and we’d get a car for a couple of days—we’re done with walking.
While we were waiting for the train, we popped into the grocery store to pick up some snacks for the ride and then we got a warm drink (it’s still cold and misty). On board the train, we got to talking to an older couple from the area. This line was the line the Hogwarts Express used in the Harry Potter movies so that was exciting to see more scenic views we recognized already. Once we got to Mallaig, the steam train from the Harry Potter movies was there. They run dinner tours in the evenings.
In Mallaig, we went straight to the Ferry Terminal and caught a ride out to the Isle of Skye. The older couple we talked to on the train came out to wave goodbye to us. It was a short ride out to the island and the sky cleared a bit. We got off and went to the car rental place. There was, however, one small problem. What we thought was a car rental turned out to be a car repair garage. We walked another mile (dam, turns out we’re not done walking after all) up to the MacDonald Castle because there was a bus stop there. We checked the schedule and had enough time to go look at the castle. We got back to the stop and waited for the bus. Then we waited another 30 minutes past the scheduled time and gave up. We went back to the castle and asked about the bus. The cashier informed us that in the best of times, the bus was iffy and if the driver was tired or wanted off early, they just wouldn’t come down that far. One of the waiters heard us lamenting about not having a way to get to Portree and told us he was getting off in less than an hour and he’d give us a ride to town. We gladly accepted.
Tom was an Englishman relocated from south of London to the Isle and had a wife a small child. He gave us an excellent guided tour of the island all the way to Portree where he dropped us off at the bus station. We found a hotel right next to the bus terminal (apparently, they do run on the island just not to inconvenient locations for the drivers). We got the last room in the hotel. Even though we had showered the last 2 nights, we showered yet again then walked around Portree. This is a very picturesque town where the majority of the residents on the island live. There are colorful shops and a fine selection of restaurants here. We stopped by a the visitors center and they hooked us up with a rental car where the guy would come into town in the morning to pick us up then take us out to his lot.
All we had to do now was eat. We found the “Prince of India” and this was the best Indian Food we have ever had (or maybe we just still had a hiker appetite, but it was good). We were both worn out and I was starting to get a cold so we just headed back to the hotel. Unlike most men, I’m an easy going ill guy as long as I get the proper pampering (back massage, food delivered in bed, and general empathy from my partner). Since I wasn’t getting any of that from Pam, I went to bed a little cranky.