crianlarich, scotland

While unexpected guests might sometimes be a positive addition to your holiday, Hurricane Alex probably is one packing wet blankets. Rather than the (relatively) balmy mid-summer weather one might expect in Scotland in August, they've had the usual full-August rainfall in the 48 hours since Monday morning. One of the areas most heavily hit: Sterling, the region we sit squarely within as I write this.

We departed Wimbledon at 8:45am, for a relatively uncomplicated journey to Glasgow (though the District Line was suspended between Earls Court and Wimbledon, of course). We flew ex Heathrow, on BMI for the first time (British Midlands... something). Pleasant. A quick shuttle to pick up our rental from easyCar. Fears of lack of space unfounded, the vehicle a Vauxhall that is surprisingly nice for a budget company... CD player, even. And with good advice from housemates Nick and Hayley (who had a similar car recently) our luggage had been carefully selected and was a perfect fit. Satisfaction gained from the mundane things of life! (If only we'd packed some CDs... we did talk about it.)

A nice drive past Loch Lomond led to a lovely B&B with a view out over the river valley that leads back down to the Loch. I'm enjoying the Scottish accents. Such a novelty, particularly in “official” places, such as airport announcements. Great being here already.

The weather is predicted to do a repeat tomorrow. Meanwhile, we've prepaid day return tickets on the famous highland railway from Fort William to Mallaig, reputed to have the unusual combination of being being both popular and good. Hope we'll be able to see something through the mist.

Och aye the noo.