4 Kidneys and a Wonky Leg

Today we woke to a text message from Nicola and Russell saying they were in Glasgow and it was pouring with rain. We replied saying, welcome to Scotland! Fortunately by the time we met them at Inverness bus station the sun had come out and the day was warming up. A quick lunch was on the cards before grabbing a taxi back to the boat.

We have hardly spoken to anyone apart from each other for weeks, now there’s two pairs of willing ears and all of a sudden we have endless stories to tell. Tales of our journey spilling out one after another. We’ve been fine travelling just the two of us but we’d forgotton how enjoyable a good chinwag can be.

We are not locking in to the Caledonian until tomorrow, so had a lazy afternoon before dinner and in the evening a walk along the edge of the Firth. We spotted a large bird of prey, possibly a Golden Eagle which are reported in the area. If it was it would be quite a lucky sighting so near the town, unfortunately we didn’t have the telephoto with us and camera phone picture is inconclusive.

We are unable to go into the sealock until at least 11.30am because the lock doesn’t open 2 hours each side of Low Water Inverness. By the time we’re in and through the first couple of locks it’ll be a bit late to make it to Loch Ness.

The Caledonian can be hard work at times, lots of rope work, pulling the boat through the locks. We haven’t told them that yet but we’ll start off slow and build up. First stop is Seaport just two miles away, so an easy first day.

The Wessex Kidney Patients Association is a charity that helps patients and their families deal with the upheaval caused by Kidney disease. If you enjoy reading our blog please consider giving to this cause . Many thanks Louise & Martin