Wednesday 22 June 2011

Wintery Inverness

40.3 Miles. Now at Culloden Moor Club site near Inverness.

We were in no hurry today as our next camp site was only a mere hour away. We stopped at Drumnadrochit for a look around as there is a Loch Ness Information Centre there. From what we could see around the foyer we decided that it wasn’t worth the admission fee to be told a lot that we already were aware of, so we flagged this one away.

Loch Ness Caravan Park with it's latest camping idea. Log cabins with a double and 2 single beds and a fridge. No cooking facilities. Each cabin has a name from Lord of the Rings.Loch Ness Caravan Park with it's latest camping idea. Log cabins with a double and 2 single beds and a fridge. No cooking facilities. Each cabin has a name from Lord of the Rings.

Arriving in Inverness we sought out the local B&Q hardware superstore using the Sat Nav only to find they had moved. Still they had put up a banner with their new location, so try again. Bingo, got it right the second time. Well the new store was all very upmarket with self scanners replacing most of the checkout operators, anything to make a bigger profit. Once I had sourced what I required it was on to Tesco’s next to replenish the pantry and diesel tank. The bill for the pantry was a bit of a shock but we have been running things down. The diesel was a mere 11 litre’s but at £1.38.9 a litre it was too good to let go as most service stations we have passed lately have all been up in the £1.45 plus region.

A floral recreation of Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness.A floral recreation of Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness.

Since arriving at our camp site the heavens have opened up and it hasn’t stopped raining since mid afternoon and the temperature has dropped to single digits. Even though this site is only about 4 miles from Inverness we have no phone, internet or TV reception which is only analogue through the camps own internal system sourced at the power box. This is no use to us so another couple of days without communication. Hopefully the weather will improve tomorrow so we can catch the bus into town. 

The Loch Ness centre in an old hotel building dated 1882.The Loch Ness centre in an old hotel building dated 1882.

We have now made contact with our vehicle importer in New Zealand and we now have the date of the 17th August to ship Gypsy Rover back into NZ. We are now starting to plan our final month or so as we will have quite a lot to organise in a short space of time.

A very expensive Gin Palace moored at Inverness.A very expensive Gin Palace moored at Inverness.

A total of 3295 miles, since 5 March 2011

4 comments:

Jenny and Robin said...

You say you have no TV reception I thought that you would be using the Satellite system you had on the boat. I guess it must have gone with the boat. We are going totally digital here over the next two years, starting with Hawkes Bay and the West Coast.
Robin

Jenny and Robin said...

Your current camp is across the river from the B&B we stayed at. It was called Cantrydoune Cottage, searching Google Earth it now looks like a private house only but they do have a large caravan in the driveway.
You no doubt know you are very close to the Culloden Battlefield but also worth a visit are the Cairns of Clava and the Culloden rail viaduct.
Happy travels, oh by the way Geoff & Eileen have booked onto the same ferry sailing as us in Feb

Robin

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Jenny and Robin
Yes that went with the boat, we'll need to get another in NZ. Our system is all digital at present

Derek and Dot said...

Hi Jenny and Robin
Just received your comment with no internet for a few days in the Highlands. Great news about Eileen and Geoff.