Inverness
River Ness
I think the girl serving in the Cafe liked Jeremy – I do not think she could have got any more marshmallows into his hot chocolate. (Hidden Gem Cafe – near Inverness Bus Station.)
Caledonian Canal
Travel
Highflight Secondhand Bookshop
It was Bill, the owner of the Highflight bookshop who recommended us to visit the Highland Aviation Museum – so we went back and had a look at his books.
He specialises in books about aviation and nearly half the store is taken up by these – however he also has a good selection of general books, and second hand novels ideal for the holiday maker who wants something to read whilst away.
JSC bought a Harry Potter Book (why?!) but I bought this:
When I was at junior school my Dad used to read these, therefore so did I and if you are a certain age I am sure you did too!
Highflight
Aviation and General Second Hand Books
5 Castlebank House
Dingwall
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Early Morning Cromarty Firth
Took a walk down to Ferry Point early this morning.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
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Found! WiFi in Dingwall
Since arriving at Dingwall campsite, last weekend we have been thinking about finding a WiFi cafe – there was not an obvious one in Dingwall and we went to a cafe in Ullapool where we got WiFi last year but they no longer offered a free connection. It is not so important as I have a really good 3G data deal from T-Mobile but WiFi mean’s catching up on some TV via BBC iPlayer and JSC wanted to FaceBook with his friends.
The Camping and Caravan Club sites have WiFi but when I looked into this in the past it was not very good value, especially when compared to my data bundle.
I went into Dingwall this afternoon and after buying some award winning black pudding from the local butchers I went to Grants Café Deli, in the High Street, where I got a cappuccino and they had a free 30 minutes of WiFi – however it was a BT Openzone access point, so I logged on using my account and had nearly an hour online. I watched Click, edited the blog, logged into a client’s server to check a problem out and updated eight apps on my iPhone.
The opening times at Grants are good; Mon to Wed 9am – 6pm, Thurs to Sat 9am – 8pm and Sun 10am – 4pm, as many Dingwall cafes stop serving at 4pm.
I got back to the site and put my iPhone in flight mode to charge it in the car, whilst we cooked and ate our award winning black pudding – which also got our seal of approval! After tea I got my phone out to update the blog and when I turned it on, the WiFi was still enabled and I have discovered there is a BT Openzone access point within range of us here – and I am now wondering if this is also part of the C and CC Site WiFi which means there would have been WiFi at Dunbar as well! I just never thought to check or ask because of previous costs and my current 3G deal. I will check in future.
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Glen Glass and the Cromarty Firth
There was a heavy and prolonged thunder storm, last night in Dingwall – following what had been a fine day. The rain was so loud beating in the tent that we had trouble hearing the thunder over it.
I awoke, this morning, (JSC was still asleep) to a damp but bright campsite and had a very good coffee made with my “coffee maker”, sitting outside the tent, watching the rabbits on the field. Eat your heart St*rb*cks this is the only way to appreciate fresh made coffee.
Once JSC got up we decided that we would go walking.
The photos below are from Glen Glass, a little north of Dingwall – as you can see blue sky and sunshine.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
What you cannot see in the photos are the midges – so JSC went back to the car, leaving me to take my photos and try out a bit of gear I bought yesterday – a lightweight midge head net! Not something I had considered before, however the air at the campsite at Cragganmore, last week, was “midge soup”. The other backpacker I met there had a midge head net which she found useful. That got me thinking that many of the wild camping places I plan to visit in the future will probably also be plagued midges.
The one below (modelled for you by JSC) is the Micro Head Net, from Highlander, it packs small,weighs little, (I will weight it when I get home) and cost £4 from Tiso.
We left the forest and headed for the coast – with a stop at the picnic site at Invergordon. The Cromarty Firth was used by the navy in the past as it is a deep safe anchorage. Today the oil industry uses it for the same reasons.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
Another photo using Pano – if you have an iPhone get it – it is easy to use and, as you can see, great results.
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Logie Steading
The weather forecast today was not so great, so we planned a trip to the secondhand book shop at Logie Steading.
Well as you can see from the photos – it was excellent weather.
Click on the Pano image below for a larger version
There is a walk from the visitor centre/shops down to the River Findhorn, where it passes through a gorge.
Below was the view we had from our picnic spot on the banks of the river. Click on it for a larger version.
Click on this Pano image below for a larger version
So remember if you come to Scotland assume the weather will always be unpredictable!
Breakfast in Dingwall
For some people it is breakfast in bed – well Jeremy is still in his sleeping bag and has not yet got out of the tent.
Below is the cooking area – using the board we found in Dunbar.
The wind shield is there to protect the windbreak from any stray flames from the burner.
Above you can see the Crusader burner with the meths burner unit from a titanium, Vargo Triad XE dual fuel stove.
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