June 18 - Ft. William to Glenfinnan

Caroline and I started the next day by visiting the Ben Nevis distillery, which we had just missed on the previous day. This distillery opens their tours by showing a 10-minute introductory film, to give some background about the whole Whisky thing. The film was called the Dew of Ben Nevis. Well, apparently the film has dubbed versions in Japanese, Spanish, and other languages, as well as English. Our friends who visited the previous day were treated to a showing of the film in Japanese (three times!), then Spanish, before the operator got the right version. I guess it was quite hilarious. Well, we weren't so lucky (??!!). The audio cut out as we were watching (the English version), so we didn't get to see the film at all. Our guide for the tour was one of the workers at the distillery, since the regular summer temp flunkie wasn't there yet. I liked this guy, since he told it like it was. The entire process of making Whisky (spelled without the "e" in Scotland) is pretty fascinating. A good overview can be found on the Glenmorangie Distillery website, www.glenmorangie.com. It is multimedia, so expect a good bit of downloading of movies and sounds. For an extensive explanation of all things Whisky, check out the FAQ list at John Butler's excellent web page. This site also has a slightly interactive map of all registered distilleries in Scotland.

So, anyway, the tour was quite informative and fun. We each got a "wee dram" to try afterward. I bought a small bottle of their Ben Nevis Scotch.

One of the more interesting points they made during the tour is that they recycle all the used ingredients after the distillation. The leftover parts are:

1. Burnt peat, used to give the malt its smoky, peaty flavor. The ashes are used as fertilizer.


2. Malt, after it has been soaked in water to remove the sugars. It is fed to cattle they love it!).


3. Used "wash", or liquid that contains the sugars and fermentation remains after the distillation. This is sprayed onto fields as liquid fertilizer.


4. And of course, the barrels used to age the whisky are used three times.

So, after the tour, it was time to head for the ferry. Now this is not your ordinary ferry; it can only hold six bikes and not many more people. There was no way our group of 11 could all fit on it, so we had discussed over breakfast who would be in which group. The ferry crossed at three different times (9:00, 11:30, and 17:00),
and it worked out very well that we split into three groups of 3, 5, and 3 bikers.

The "Wee Ferry"

The road on the other side of the loch was our next wonderful encounter with the single track roads that are so common here in Scotland. This lovely road wound along the foot of the mountain to the south of Loch Eil, squeezed between the cliffs on the left and the lake on the right. After a while, the valley widened a bit and we passed some small crofts (farms) and villages. Another common sight in the Highlands are phone boxes that are seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Many folks out here cannot afford a phone, so there are community boxes set up in the most unlikely places.

Unfortunately, we were also introduced to what would become an almost daily occurrence: rain. Not a heavy, choking downpour, but a steady cold rain that eventually seeped down our backs and into our shoes. After days of this, I just gave up trying to stay dry, and concentrated on staying warm.

Caroline and Beth G. along Loch Eil

So, by 2:00 p.m., I had reached Glenfinnan. I checked out the monument to Bonnie Prince Charlie, who had tried to start the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745, but was defeated by apathy and the English army at Culloden (see Day 11). Glenfinnan was where he was introduced to the clans who had joined in his dream.

Most of the rest of the group headed to the Glenfinnan House Hotel, where they would catch a boat tour of Loch Shiel. I decided to strike out on my own, first at the Glenfinnan Monument visitors center (where I took the panorama pics above), then up the Glen Finnan itself. This was a strikingly beautiful glen, with steep, barren walls on all sides and a beautiful trout stream running down its length. In retrospect, I think the time I spent in Glen Finnanwas on my list of "Three Most Outstanding Moments of the Scotland Tour". Just gorgeous....

Getting bored with touring the Glen, I headed up to see the Glenfinnan train station, in case I could catch a glimpse of the Jacobite Steam Train. Of course not, it comes through in the morning. Anyway, I didstay long enough for a prawn sandwich at the cafe next door, and visit the small museum at the train station.

Later, Will, Maureen, and I walked back up into the Glen for a while, to get a closeup look at the viaduct. What a beautiful place, and what a work of engineering!

Glenfinnan Monument and Loch Shiel