highland daytrip..Pt 3 of 4...

keeping moving on the whirlwind tour we headed up for fort william and along to the nevis range...

passing the corran ferry...

nevis range has the only gondola in the UK with a restraunt at the top...

and of course it is home to the famous mountainbike center with cross country trails and the UCI downhill track...regaurded as one of the longest and tougest tracks in the downhill world cup series...


we went for a trip up the gondola...



below the snowline was the downhil track...its a beast of a track... 4-5 minutes the pros take...6 or 7 mins for us average riders...



the ski slopes were open with a good covering above the restaurant...




just below the snowline a path leads up to the view point where the views are superb...



impressed with the view!...





with time getting on it was time to get a coffee then head down the gondola...lots more scenery to see yet...

highlands daytrip..Pt 2 of 4...

there is alot of scenic views in scotland further north of glencoe but there is something amazing about the drive over rannoch moor and down into glencoe with its mountains towering either side...
ive been here dozons of times and i am always moved by its scenic beauty...rain snow or shine...
today the road was quiet so easy to pull over for pics...

buachaille etive mor (the white shepherd) towers above at 3345ft at the head of the glen...

it is the classic scottish mountain rising from ground level to its peak...

then the walls close in a bit as the road descends alongside the river coe...i think the snow will be on the peaks late into summer this year...

hanneke loved it!...

great scenery at ground level too...



happy days...

we sat and had lunch below the 2000ft+ three sisters...


and the anoch eagach ridge...

down through the pass of glencoe and past glencoe village and ballachulish...




and around the winding road above loch linnhe to kinlochleven...


and a lovely mossy woodland walk to the grey mare waterfall...



next up to fort william...and anoch mor (nevis range)

highlands daytrip..Pt 1 of 4

we had a great day out up to the highlands last saturday...375 mile round trip in perfect calm sunny weather with broken cloud...snow cover had mostly gone at ground level with just the peaks white...on with the pics...
bannockburn on the outskirts of stirling...every scot knows of this famous battle...

statue to the man himself...


the statue is lifesize...look at the size of the axe and claymore sword!...


moving words indeed...

with patriotism now pumping through the viens it was up along the scenic shoreline of loch lubnaig...


from strathyre to lochearnhead...the petrol pumps are gone here now but the old garage is still there...

looks better in B&W...

the disued railway line up glen ogle with its viaduct...the line is now a cycle path to killin and loch tay...

down at killin the falls of dochart were on full song with the recent thaw...












stones trapped in cracks spin with the water creating holes in the rocks over many years...


heading north from tyndrum for bridge of orchy under the impressive 3530ft peak of beinn heasgarnich...

the view west over loch tulla...


and south with ben lui (3106ft) in the distance...

over rannoch moor...

and your definitly in the highlands now...

glencoe next...