The 50% off tour - Scotland again

It's the tour that nearly didn't happen.  Conceived in autumn 2019, to say it had a difficult gestation would be an understatement.   A bonnie tour of the sunlit highlands and islands, hopping on and off ferries like nobody's business, was imagined and planned, in detail.  In the difficult second trimester, like the Spanish Inquisition, Covid-19 turned up, unexpected and uninvited.  Lockdown happened.   Scotland was even more shut than England.   A go/no-go decision in mid-July came and went.   Would the hostels be open?   Would any eating establishments be open?  Would four of us be allowed to do the trip together?  The answer to that one was unchanging: no.   Late in the day, Scottish Youth Hostels confirmed that none of the (five) hostels we were booked into would be opening, and another independent hostel on Mull said they weren't opening.  Surely, it had to be cancelled?

But no - a brainwave from Dave 'brainwave' Bartholomew - what if we could stay around Fort William?  The carefully-made plan was turned upside down and inside-out, new hostels were booked, a few of the original ones were confirmed and extended from one to two nights.   Oops - no trains to Fort William due to a replacement bus service.  No worries, we'll just ride there!  A few more hostels booked, and the trip was on.

So, Dave and I - just two of the original four - are going, due to a combination of social distancing and other reasons.   It doesn't look much like our original plan, but we will be riding around (and over) some of the beautiful and very remote parts of the western highlands.  It would be tempting fate to ask, after all that, what could possibly go wrong?  We can think of a few things.   Midges, for example.   The company of Storm Ellen on our day of arrival (this Friday 21st).   It should be interesting.

We'll be posting on this blog about our trip, so please come back and see how we're getting on, or if you like, subscribe to the blog to get a daily email of any new posts.