Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Lunch at the Cluanie Inn.

A break in the April showers last week allowed us to enjoy a day out.The view along Loch Ness towards the east coast did not look at all promising so we headed west to Fort Augustus and decided to aim for lunch at the Cluanie Inn which is now in new hands.Drove through a busy Fort Augustus and continued on the A82 before crossing over the Caledonian Canal to Loch Oich.This is always a magical sight with the snowy mountain backdrop. 
We skirted the loch before heading off to Invergarry on the A87.This road would eventually take you to the Kyle of Lochalsh and across to the Isle of Skye but we did not intend to go that far today - we were on a serious mission to eat.The journey passed pleasantly alongside picturesque Loch Garry and then Loch Cluanie until the weather started to close in.We passed several snow topped Munro mountains and we suddenly felt very small.

 The highest mountains in Scotland are known as Munros, after Sir Hugh T.Munro who,in 1891,surveyed all the country's mountains above 3,000ft [914.4 metres] and painstakingly catalogued them in his Munro Tables. Currently there are 283 Munros recorded and the highest of which is Ben Nevis at 1344 metres. In good weather there would be lots of 'Munro Baggers' around the Cluanie area as climbing and collecting Munros is a very popular but extremely challenging activity. 
The Cluanie Inn was a welcome sight and it was good to sit down in the warm out of the sleety rain. Lunch went down well and when the rain stopped we headed back home.
Near Loch Tarff we spotted a magnificent stag with his hinds on the hillside....but that is another story!

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