Storyline: A Glimpse of Scotland
Mallaig was our final stop on The Jacobite steam train (September 9, 2018). From there we had to somehow reach Kyle of Lochalsh for the next picturesque railway to Inverness. The best way (other than going back to Fort William then taking a bus – total distance of 113 miles / 182 km) was via the Isle of Skye, reachable by ferry from Mallaig to Armadale and departing via the bridge from Kyleakin to Kyle of Lochalsh. This was a bit of a risk, given my (Diana’s) history of motion sickness.
The Jacobite brought an excited crowd of tourists from all over the world to Mallaig on time. After shuffling through our, then another carriage, we alit at the end of the platform. It was bright and sunny! A few quick snaps documenting the end of our journey. As we marshalled our two carry-on suitcases and two backpacks we felt a few drops of rain. We headed quickly for the exit at the far end of the station and were slammed by a vicious squall that appeared from nowhere.
One shelter like a bus stop in the middle of the platform was all one could see. It was just a few meters away, but by the time we reached it not only it was full with the fellow passengers trying to stay dry, but we were so soaked that it didn’t really matter that we could not squeeze in there. By the time we found shelter in the Co-op grocery store across the street, together with 100 or so other tourists, everything was soaked through and through. Welcome to Mallaig! We came prepared to deal with rain, any rain. We had our raincoats handy in the backpacks, we had covers for every piece of luggage – handily stuffed in the outside pockets of the luggage. Yet we had absolutely no time to act. Having showered this morning was a waste of water, said Alex.
Standing not far from the entrance of the grocery store, in the way of some shoppers and many other tourists like us trying to stay dry, we pulled out our towels and tried to dry what we could. A battle lost from the beginning. We didn’t need to pretend we were shopping. They seem to be used to this. After all the train station was closed on Sunday and no other shelters were near the platform.
The squall eventually transformed to light rain and strong winds and we decided to find a better shelter. Walked to the first restaurant downhill just in time to occupy the last available table. Many after us were sent away.
We marked our territory around the table with drying lines – we used every possible tool – suitcase handles, chairs and…
heating elements to hang our towels. Alex’s pants were of fast drying material, but my blue jeans were soaked and they would not dry until the next day on Skye.
We had a few hours before the ferry. Thus, we took our time. Had lunch, used all the paper towels available as drying material… you get the picture.
We even managed to take a few shots of Mallaig between squalls and sunny breaks alternating every few minutes.
Little did we know, but there was more to come.
Partially dried, we walked to the ferry terminal only to be told that the ferry might not run because of strong winds. Here we go. We had a car hire waiting at Armadale – the other end of the ferry trip, we had and Airbnb flat (what appeared to be a cottage as we discovered later) booked and there was nothing in Mallaig that would provide shelter from this vicious weather. When I was making the itinerary in Canada I knew this day was cutting it close. First of all, the usual 1 pm ferry did not run because of tides. Our only option was the 4pm one, which was also the last ferry of the day. Then we were relying on the car being delivered to the ferry terminal in Armadale and of course Alex driving a manual transmission car (15 years out of practice) and for the first time on the “wrong” side of the road (in the approaching dark) to who knows where.
Nothing we could do but wait for a decision together with some other passengers from the train having the same ideas. Our luck and my misery worked.
The ferry was eventually given a GO and…
I drugged myself with Gravol to deal with the motion sickness, clueless about the waves we’d experience later.
Almost asleep from the Gravol, I eventually made it through a 45 min ferry ride navigating 2 – 3 meter waves and a subsequent 30-minute rental car-ride on the left side of the road with Alex at the wheel. I don’t think I will ever board a ferry again! (Awww, come on Diana, it was FUN! – Alex)
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