Glencoe – 4th Scotland Blog

After a great night’s sleep we awoke to a magnificent breakfast in Allison’s large and stately dinning room. Seriously, it was directly out of Downton Abbey. There we ate along with a couple from a small village near Lake Constance in Germany and a couple from Paris. We have stayed in touch with many people we met on this trip to this day.

Allison gave us personal tips on places to see and do on our way and we set out again by car. Said hearty good byes to Allison. Gee, I love that place. When we reached Glen Coe, we realized we we wanted to spend more time in this majestic and haunting area of Scotland. However, we were also running low on cash so we drove to the town of Kinlachleven, which has a bank, the only one for miles and miles and miles. The bank was closed until 1:30 so we ate lunch in a nearby hotel pub. We were seated by a window and while eating we noticed a lot of hikers. I asked the waiter, why so many hikers.  Found out the Kinlachleven is on the hiking route known as the West Highland Way that extends from Glasgow to Fort William, kind of like the Appalachian Trail, also part of it extends from Kinlachlever thru a mountain pass to Glen Coe. I knew of it as a result of my research before leaving the States but didn’t know about the Glen Coe mountain pass.

After stopping at the bank we realized we probably would not find a nicer place to stay then The House of Kiel, where we stayed the night before. We did not know the names of the proprietor, but a woman at the hotel desk knew their names and obtained their phone number.  Allison was so excited to hear from us, I mean we’re nice people but she meets a lot of nice people. Long story short, we left our jackets and coats in the closet. This was before cell phones and she had no way to contact us. We’re only several days into our trip. What a rookie move!!! Plus she had only one space left and it was the same rooms from the night before. Score!

Hiked up through Glen Coe, which is one of those places where mere words fail to describe. We decided it is one of the MOST beautiful and serene places we have ever been. The hike was pretty uncomfortable due to it being cold and drizzly. Good thing we had jackets! After our hike we stopped at The King’s House Hotel, which is the oldest working Inn in Scotland. This was becoming a ritual, one of us writes in our journal and the other two write postcards. Jim drinks Scotch, James drinks Spatzi (mixture of Coke and Fanta Orange Soda,) me Black and Tan (lager and Guinness.) Yeah Baby……yeah I’m hiking and going to drink the most caloric beverage on the planet, because I’ve earned it.

By this time it was dark and raining cats and dogs. The King’s Inn is a very popular stopping off place for hikers walking/climbing the West Highland Way, whole moors were dotted with tents. They were in for a pretty miserable night.

Jim always likes James and myself to write about the food. Geez I married such a nerd. He was a hardware and software geek in his early years and then he became a food geek. So here goes. We stayed at King’s House Hotel for dinner. Jim had Hagus and Colecannon , Laura had chicken rolled in oats sauteed in Rosemary butter. James had a Hamburger. Really James?