NC500 Day 11 - From Kinlochewe to Inverness With A Visit To Culloden

Sunday 16 Jul 2023 by Sticky Beak
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Oooh, the bed at The Kinlochewe Hotel is a fibber! You sit on it and it tells you that you’ll get a nice nights’ sleep in it, but you don’t; instead it suddenly becomes very soft when you snuggle under the duvet, not our cup of tea at all. Those of you who like a soft mattress though will love it.

Donald (the lovely chap who’d checked us in the previous day) was up for breakfast service, and took our order in double-jig time. I fancied Scrambled Egg, Mushroom, Tomatoes and Bacon to get me fuelled up, and His Nibs had Bacon, Sausage, Scrambled Egg and Baked Beans.

There was bread available to toast, so we grabbed ourselves a couple of slices and some pots of Marmalade, Raspberry Jam and Honey to pop on the warm bread. We filled glasses with orange juice (whilst Donald went off make us pots of tea) keen to rehydrate ourselves for a fairly lively day ahead.

We jumped in the jalopy and headed for Little Garve, the location of Black Water Waterfalls. Pulling into the smallish car park, we saw three Mountain Rescue vehicles and wondered if there’d been an incident? These ladies and gents (and the dogs!) really don’t get enough credit for what they do; most hold down jobs and do this service as volunteers, polling out in all weathers to rescue lost and/or injured individuals and groups. I, for one, am grateful that they choose to do this for us all. Thankfully, it turned out that they were taking the opportunity to do some training.

As we watched the water cascade over the rocks and into the gulley below us, it was easy to see where the falls got their name: the water clearly flows through peat and picks up its dark, brackish colour, making it look black as it pools together. There are toilets at the Black Water Falls, too, I should just mention.

Our second stop was to some more Falls; this time the Rogie Falls at Strathpeffer. The car park here is a good size and motorhomes had parked here, but we managed to find a spot easily enough. You’ll also find some spotlessly clean, free-to-use toilets here, though no cafe. I was just about to get out of the car when His Nibs stilled me; literally perched on the wing mirror my side was a Robin! We looked at each a few moments before he flew away, but for me those couple of seconds seemed to last forever – what a memory to have.

There are two well signposted walks around Rogie falls; a steeper one (yellow) and a gentler, longer one (blue), with both having a common section near the falls. The Man and I decided to go down to the falls via the shorter, steeper yellow route and, in sensible footwear, it wasn’t too bad. Thanks to the recent rain, the Rogie falls are in full flow and the amount of spray that was being thrown up as they hit the rocks below was spectacular! It’s only when you walk out onto the wooden suspension bridge that you truly get to appreciate the power and beauty of these waterfalls though. Salmon also leap on this stretch of water, though we didn’t see any on this occasion; apparently peak time to see them do their acrobatics here is August and September.

We walked back, taking the slower, shallower blue route to the car and took in all the beauty that this area has. It’s easy to see why there were so many families out and about; if I had this on my doorstep, I’d be here plenty, too.

Our next stop was the viewing area at Carnac Point where you can see the full splendour of Kessock Bridge as it straddles the River Ness in Inverness. We were lucky enough to see a large fishing boat coming down, and got some really fab photos. There’s also a rather nifty retail centre, discovered only due to my FitBit charger breaking (gotta love tech, don’t’cha?!) – shame we hadn’t got time to stay longer!

Moving swiftly on, we hit the road to the visitor centre at Culloden Moor, the site of one of the most famous battles in British history. I won’t bore you with the intricacies of the history behind the Battle of Culloden, but will say that the (Whig) government army culled the Jacobites fighting for ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’ in a couple of hours.

The landscape is vast and boggy in places and, when covered in fog, I can imagine it to be very eerie. Inside the centre there are plenty of display cases laden with artefacts and some brilliant commentary stations, with narration from various figures of the time on both sides of the battle. We both enjoyed the room where a re-enaction of the battle was shown, and as an educational tool, this was very impactful.

It had been another packed day on our NC500 odyssey and we were glad to pull in to The Star Inn at Ardersier (only 3 miles from Inverness airport, in case you ever find yourselves needing it). Parking is at a premium, to say the least (!!) and we found ourselves out of luck for any of the three spaces and had to park on a nearby street. The Star Inn’s rooms are located directly across from the pub, in a separate building, and we were shown to our room personally (rather than it just being pointed out) which I thought was a lovely touch.

We’ve had some fab rooms along our way, but this was the first one that had a modern magnetic key. The room was really spacious; king-sized bed, hanging rail for clothes, hooks for coats, an ample host tray, USB points, dressing table and relaxation chair, and then the bathroom was kitted out with toiletries, towels, a bath with shower over and even a pair of dressing gowns – another first on our trip!

It was possibly the most beautiful bathroom on this adventure, too; a trendy splash-back, rather than tiles, extended all the way around, and was a striking dark marble effect. I wasted no time in going for a soak in some very welcome hot water; my bones, joints and muscles joined in a silent prayer of thanks as they relaxed in the warmth. Unusually, His Nibs had a bath, too; you can count on one hand the amount of times he’ll have a bath in a year – he’s a shower kinda guy.

Feeling suitably refreshed, we popped the kettle on for a brew and opened the biscuits that were provided, and watched the Wimbledon Mens’ Final match. Dinner was literally across the road at The Star Inn, so not far to go, if time was going to be of the essence thanks to Messrs Alcaraz and Djokovic.

Turns out that there was a cock-up with our meal booking anyway! We’d emailed and booked for 7.30pm and been replied to that that was all done (so far, so good), except when we rocked up, we were told they’d got us down as 7pm as that was when service finished. My heart sank and my hangriness simmered, but luckily the situation got sorted and we were shown through to the dining room. I spied Chef and she didn’t look impressed – can’t blame her, I wouldn’t have been either; but it wasn’t our fault! – but we were only having the one course so at least her evening wasn’t completely kyboshed.

I had the homemade Steak n Ale Pie (made with local Upper Raddery Beef, £14.50), just with vegetables as I didn’t fancy potato in any form, and His Nibs had the Venison Burger topped with Haggis, Bacon and Red Onion Chutney with Chips and Coleslaw (£11.90).

The Puff Pastry lid was lovely and buttery and a good size, but for me it was the sauce that stole the show; this was thick and rich and seriously tasty. Mingled in the sauce were plentiful, chunky pieces of Beef and they melted on my tongue, making me grin in happiness. Carrots and Green Beans were also plentiful and both were cooked perfectly to retain some crunch and all their natural flavour.

His Nibs was clearly not in the mood to share, so I can’t tell you anything about the burger in detail, but judging by the fact that it all went and he was smiling, I think we can assume that it was a scrumptious morsel. I did get offered the coleslaw (!), and it was just the usual tub stuff, so nothing of interest to report. Our bellies were nicely full after both dishes though and we returned to our beautiful room satisfied.

Looking forward to a good nights’ slumber...assuming the bed is an honest one tonight, LOL.