Ben Nevis

On Thursday night I stayed in a hostel a few miles from Fort Augustus (at the sourthern tip of Loch Ness), in the countryside. It was like stepping back in time, to about 1983. The hostel must have been built during that time, as it was a near perfect 80s time capsule. There was dark wood paneling, cavernous but soulless room, aluminium glazing, those glass, crystal-like door knobs and carpet with a pattern that defies description. It was all in surpirsingly good condition and quite comfortable. It should be a listed building.

My goal yesterday was to climb Ben Nevis. It was a perfect day, with high clouds and little wind. The views from Ben Nevis were superb. It was a relatively easy walk up, as there is a well maintained track the whole way. There was snow from about 1200m and the summit was largely snow covered. It got cooler nearer the top, as you would expect. I got to the top in two and half hours. I spent an hour on the summit. It was busy but not horribly- I had chosen to go on Friday as I figured it would be busier on the weekend. The summit.

The drive along the A82 from Fort William to the hostel by Loch Lomond was the most enjoyable of my whole trip. The road had two lanes but was quite wide, a verge (not that common), was gently windy, largely free of traffic and the landscape had a very NZ look to it. I drove for two hours but I could have driven all day on roads like that.