Nevis Range Gondola

I had a pretty slow start today after a huge vegetarian omelet (and French toast with bananas and mango slices yesterday) at the hotel,  following a bit of digestions we walked into town next to Lock Linnhe the whole way.

A photo of the High street in Fort William.

While we were waiting for our bus up to Nevis range. 

We asked the lady that was manning the CityLink desk for directions to go Nevis Range since I fancied riding in a gondola or what I would call a tramcar. She gave us the time table for the next bus out and the return times. We were thinking about climbing Ben Nevis when we first arrived but spent the day taking a break from travelling, working and saying good bye to everyone with a nice relaxing evening in.

Knowing that you have to be real prepared to climb the mountain we choose to do the easy route and walk around when we get to the top.

On the bus out to the range.

The bus only costed us £5 for two return tickets, which was half as much as I thought it would be.

 Approximately 20 minutes later we were at a Pinemarten cafe and bar and a ticket booth to head on up. £11.25 for a return adult ticket we hopped right on the next available gondola. In 15 minutes an a nice conversation with a couple of friendly elderly travellers about what happened to the people at the top since we saw no passengers coming back down. They were a riot to ride up with. You started to notice the top when the fog got closer and we were above cloud level. The mist was thick and very cool, we bundled up just the right amount. After our yummy Morrison lunch - aromatic duck with salad and ho sin sauce in a wrap it was time to climb.

The restaurant at the top. 

There is a ski lift that isn't active yet and a the ramp for the Mountain Bike World Cup in the UK  they say that it take 5 minutes to get down on a mountain bike [WARNING, only for experienced riders only] it is extremely steep. There were two view points one that takes 20 minutes or 30 minutes each way. Taking the left path we walked towards the place where the panoramic photo perfect point would be if it wasn't entirely impeded by fog, mist and clouds. Below is the map of the full mountain range, the gondolas only take us to the little spot in the bottom right hand corner.

The trip back down was very short in comparison to the uphill ride, even when we heading down at 4pm people were still going up. Grabbed a coffee and waited for the bus, when it was time to board the bus it didn't come. Checking the bus timetable we realized that the lady at the CityLink reception desk has given us the wrong time. The waitress said that we would have to pay for a £10 taxi back into town even though we both held a return ticket back into town. 

Time for some quick thinking we asked some people coming off of the tram if we could catch a ride with them, a couple from outside of London were happy yo help. No questions asked they were really accommodating and even offered us a ride back to our hotel. We learned that they were scoping out the area for their big climb all the way to Ben Nevis, with a guide and tonnes of supplies it would only take them 9 hours!! They dropped us off at their hotel and we meandered back into town to grab the one thing we forgot - toothpaste (you never think about it until it is gone) and some dinner. 

I decided that today was the day that I was going to try the infamous haggis. Haggis- Containing sheep's heart, liver, lungs minced with onions, oatmeal, spices, salt and stock. Traditionally encased in the animals stomach, now they are prepared in a sausage casing. There was the common dish where haggis is served with neeps and tatties (turnip and potatoes) I didn't know if I could do haggis by itself so I went for the double burger.

Haggis, if you do not think about how it is made or what it is made up of too much it tastes like another version of meat. I don't know what I was so afraid of but I would have it again. Maybe I will even try it the traditional way.