A Rest Day in Ratagan
Today I had a rest day in Ratagan. To think that today is my penultimate rest day, feels quite incredible! It’s hard to comprehend how far I’ve come and that I’ve been travelling since the 1st March. The fact that it is June, blows my mind!
I started with a lazy start, resting in bed until 8.30. I also needed to resupply, so I walked to Shiel Bridge, to get the bus to Kyle of Lochalsh. As I was walking back along the road, I spotted someone’s bike that they’d covered in crochet. Even the peddles were covered! It was amazing. I loved the crocheted mushrooms and snails accompanying it too.
I got to the bus stop and was joined by two locals. Unfortunately, the bus was running an hour late. So I sat on the wall, and wrote a couple of blog posts and chatted to them, whilst I waited.
An hour later, the bus arrived and I was on my way to the Co-op. The bus was very posh, it was a double decker and had swanky coach style seating (there were even seat belts!). Plus, it was only £2 – bargain!
I got off the bus, and completely forgot about the resupply mission, when I spotted the fish and chip shop. I enjoyed my fish and chips, whilst looking out to the Isle of Skye. Unfortunately, there were no views of the Cullin Ridge, as it was covered in clouds, but I could at least dream of climbing it one day!
With a full and very happy tummy, I reverted back to the original plan and went to the Co-op.
If the bus had not been an hour late, I would have been able to get a bus back one hour and ten minutes later – perfect timing. However, that bus had come and gone whilst I was eating my fish and chips. The next bus was not scheduled for another couple of hours, and it would be the late bus on its return journey, so it would likely also be an hour late!
Instead, I decided to treat myself to a taxi. Alan from Alan’s Taxis of Lochalsh, kindly picked me up and took me back to the hostel. It was lovely to chat with him along the way. He’d originally said he would be ten minutes, it turned out that it was so he could finish watching Bargain Hunt! We chatted about the show, my challenge and what life is like in the area. I was very touched, that when he dropped me off, Alan gave me £10 off my trip! It was such a kind gesture and I was very grateful.
The rest of my afternoon was spent resting. I had a two hour nap and wrote a couple more blog posts. I managed to get five posts written throughout the day, but I’m still a few behind. I’ll hopefully catch up on my next rest day. With a stretch of six days of wild camping, I need to preserve my phone battery, so unfortunately the writing will have to wait.
I’m really looking forward to this section, another five days on the Cape Wrath Trail. I can’t wait to see what it has in-store for me next! (Probably wet feet!)
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