Day 3, Glenfarg to the drop zone
We were up at 7am again and ready for our brekkie at 8. A healthy bowl of fruit and fibre was followed up with a not so healthy, full Scottish cooked brekkie. Plan was to leave by 9am. In the event, we are five minutes early. First stop was just 10 miles up the road, a fuel stop. One good thing about this trip thus far, we aren't using a much fuel as I thought we would.
As we made our way along the A9, it wasn't long before some nasty black clouds appeared on the near horizon. I could tell they were rain bearing and tried to attract Paul's attention, he was leading, to pull over. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to pull over before we ended up in a contraflow system, where the laybys were all closed and the inevitable happened. A short heavy shower engulfed us. As the contraflow ended, a bright patch appeared up ahead, so I made the decision to push on through. The decision proved to be a good one, as we ended up in sunshine once again. It wasn't long though before the same menacing clouds appeared up ahead once more. I knew there was a stop (from my tour last year) just up ahead. In the event the heavens opened again just before we got the the rest area/cafe, so we were already quite damp before donning the waterproofs. This was to be the pattern for the rest of the ride up and indeed, the rest of the day.
We finally arrived at Loch an Eilein around about 11am. Once again, the sun was shining. As we rode towards the Loch, I felt quite emotional. Maybe it was the wind in my eyes, I did have the visor up, maybe not. We explained to the chap at the car park what we were there to do and he kindly told us to park the bikes and he'd show us where to go. By the man's hut were some bird feeders, servicing finches, tits, etc, and to our surprise and joy, a red squirrel! He soon scampered off though, no doubt scared by the swishing of our waterproof bottoms as we walked! There's no pictorial evidence, I'm afraid.
The chap gave us directions of where to go to find a suitable 'resting' place and I carried Ma as we made our way along the loch side. We settled on a spot close to the island and the castle, a large patch of ferns, set back from the bank, 20 or 30 feet, distinguishable by a group of trees close by.
Paul did the honours, being eldest son and we said our final goodbye. We took some photos of those trees by the ferns, so should anyone else from the family ever venture up that way, they should have some chance of finding Ma's final resting place.
That was it. The task that had first been discussed many, many years ago and maybe in jest, had been fulfilled. We had done as our mother had requested be done when she died and scattered her ashes at Loch an Eilein. We had ridden the best part of 600 miles to do it but do it we did. We made our way back to the bikes.
As we made our way along the A9, it wasn't long before some nasty black clouds appeared on the near horizon. I could tell they were rain bearing and tried to attract Paul's attention, he was leading, to pull over. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to pull over before we ended up in a contraflow system, where the laybys were all closed and the inevitable happened. A short heavy shower engulfed us. As the contraflow ended, a bright patch appeared up ahead, so I made the decision to push on through. The decision proved to be a good one, as we ended up in sunshine once again. It wasn't long though before the same menacing clouds appeared up ahead once more. I knew there was a stop (from my tour last year) just up ahead. In the event the heavens opened again just before we got the the rest area/cafe, so we were already quite damp before donning the waterproofs. This was to be the pattern for the rest of the ride up and indeed, the rest of the day.
We finally arrived at Loch an Eilein around about 11am. Once again, the sun was shining. As we rode towards the Loch, I felt quite emotional. Maybe it was the wind in my eyes, I did have the visor up, maybe not. We explained to the chap at the car park what we were there to do and he kindly told us to park the bikes and he'd show us where to go. By the man's hut were some bird feeders, servicing finches, tits, etc, and to our surprise and joy, a red squirrel! He soon scampered off though, no doubt scared by the swishing of our waterproof bottoms as we walked! There's no pictorial evidence, I'm afraid.
The chap gave us directions of where to go to find a suitable 'resting' place and I carried Ma as we made our way along the loch side. We settled on a spot close to the island and the castle, a large patch of ferns, set back from the bank, 20 or 30 feet, distinguishable by a group of trees close by.
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| Loch an Eilein Castle with mum in the foreground |
That was it. The task that had first been discussed many, many years ago and maybe in jest, had been fulfilled. We had done as our mother had requested be done when she died and scattered her ashes at Loch an Eilein. We had ridden the best part of 600 miles to do it but do it we did. We made our way back to the bikes.
A fantastic tribute guys. And great to have a landmark, for other people to pay their respects at the spot.
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