Scotland motorcycle trip Day 8. Portree to Strontian.

The little white house we rented was a two bedroom fairly old house that had been nicely decorated. I wanted to rent a house so I could do our laundry. That was accomplished successfully so we had clean clothes to see us until home. We gave the place 7/10. It was not cheap for what it was for one night. There were little in the way of amenities for us. OK there was tea and coffee and biscuits but no milk. A small carton in the fridge for our arrival would have been nice.

We woke to a chilly frosty morning. The bikes had a dusting of frost about them. We set off on the 162 mile run gingerly as the roads could not be trusted until the sun had warmed them up a bit.

We headed for Armadale to take the ferry to Mallaig. Whilst waiting for it we bumped into a small tour group of Ozzies and Kiwis. Had a lovely chat with them.

Back to sea for me. Well for 40 minutes as we crossed over to Mallaig. We took the coastal scenic route through the pretty village of Arisaig to Glenfinnan. The beaches are of the whitest sand and buest seas. They would be comparable to any beach I have see in the Seychelles. Just the sea is a bit cooler.

We spent some time checking out the Glenfinnan viaduct made rather famous in the Harry Potter movies. The structure itself is rather impressive but not so much as say the railway viaducts at Settle or Durham or Bath. The Glenfinnan one looked rather drab compared to the magnificent stonework of the others.

We then looked at the impressive Glenfinnan monument. More about it can be found here.

We retraced our route along Loch Eilt and turned south on the A861 south to Strontian.

This is a sinuous road that twists and turns its way along the coast and is mainly single track with passing places to pass traffic coming the opposite way. It takes concentration for there are frequent blind bends and summits and dips but what awaits you at the end is worth every mile.

The Strontian Hotel is a revelation. The Owner Julie greeted us warmly. Our room was warm and comfy and well appointed.The hotel is spotlessly clean. Work by local artists adorn the walls. It is a fairly old building and the decor is typically Scottish and very much in keeping with the building. Julie has owned it one year only but she has big plans to run motorcycle tours from the hotel. The hotel and area lends itself to the idea.