On Monday morning I arose at 5.30am - yes that would be 6.30pm for all you in NZ - to catch a bus at 6.20am (after walking in the dark through the snow underfoot), to catch a tube (underground trains for those of you uninitiated), to then catch a train to the airport so I could fly to Inverness in the north of Scotland. The unfortunate thing is that after organising to get myself there by 8.45am at the latest for the 9.25 flight, it started snowing heavily and so therefore my flight was delayed by 2 1/2 hours! However, I eventually arrived in Inverness to blue sky and sunshine with no snow. My friend Vicki and her 2 girls (2yrs & 3 months) were there to meet me. We did a bit of a stop-off for lunch at the local battlefields and museum. Had a great soup for next to nothing, but the entry price of £10 was beyond us both. Apparently it's not much more than a field and a few museum items so we left.
Their home is close to 2 airfields so I have been able to watch and hear a number of fighter jets (Tornadoes apparently) take off, turn and land again. It's been quite awesome and I've been able to take some cool photos too. Yesterday we went to the local beach - it was freezing, but there's something about a beach that lets me enjoy it no matter what season. We didn't stay long and then headed to a Farm shop where the 2yr old could play on the slides and trampoline and we could have lunch.
Today I had a walk around the old ruined Cathedral in downtown Elgin. It was quite cool and then the town is quite a quaint little town with plenty of old buildings, cobblestones and statues. In the afternoon we headed out to Duffus Castle - again it is in ruins, but still quite cool to wander around. It has a moat that was frozen solid and we saw an amazing sunset at 3pm. No I didn't make a mistake - 3pm is when the sun begins to set and by 3.30 it is getting quite dark! However, I did take some cool photos of the ruins and the sunset, as well as some of the Tornadoes flying past.
Tomorrow I'm catching up with a friend for lunch in Inverness, before flying back to London, where it is apparently freeeeezing!! Cheers for the heads-up Clare!
