Dores beach covered in snow.

A very chilly week which culminated in a spectacular blizzard which lasted all day last Thursday. Snow fell in bucket loads and the wind blew it everywhere but we felt really cosy to be inside in the warm talking to guests with a few welcome glasses to keep the spirits up. We wondered what we would wake up to on Friday morning as we needed to go into Inverness. The local radio station reported warnings of school closures, the A9 was shut down to Perth and no trains or planes were operating due to the extreme weather conditions and we suddenly felt isolated. As we cautiously looked out of the bedroom window we were very pleased to see that the area around the house was not too badly covered so we ventured into town, not quite knowing if we would get there or back. The top road had been gritted and was fine if driven with care. After our business in Inverness we came back and stopped at the village of Dores at the eastern end of Loch Ness. The beach was covered in snow and it looked very strange and so different from the normal vision of the famous crescent beach. The Dores Inn looked very inviting but we decided to leave that for another day and head back to the safety of home.