Most of us had travelled many miles from North America and Australia to get to Scotland and many of us were disrupted on the last leg of our journey by severe thunderstorms in the U.K. and northern Europe. However we did all finally manage to step off our respective aircraft in the little airport of Inverness in northeast Scotland. The waiting Lindblad coach drove us the short distance to the city of Inverness, known locally as the “Capital of the Highlands” where we had time to enjoy some lunch and explore the narrow, winding streets of this ancient Scottish city.
Later in the early afternoon we boarded the coach once more, which drove us right across Scotland from east to west. The scenery along the route was just spectacular. This is a remote part of Scotland, sparsely inhabited, which is not seen by many casual tourists and it was a pure delight and a wonderful teaser for what lay ahead. By about 5:00 in the afternoon we pulled into the little town of Kyle of Lochalsh where Lord of the Glens awaited our arrival.
Hotel Manager Brian Copland, greeted us all and his helpful hotel staff showed us to our staterooms. After unpacking and exploring the ship for a while the first official business of the trip took place – the mandatory ship safety briefing. This was immediately followed by our Lindblad expedition leader, Steve Blamires, who gave us an overview of the exciting trip that lay ahead. He introduced as to the expedition staff: Ian Bullock, biologist and general naturalist; and Stewart Aitchison, geologist and photo instructor. It was clear from their enthusiasm and passion for Scotland that this was going to be an interesting and enjoyable adventure.
But it had been a long couple of days travelling for most of us, so after a hearty Scottish dinner in the elegant dining room we were glad to retire to our staterooms to catch up on much needed sleep and refresh ourselves for the full day that lay ahead tomorrow.
