Does it Rain in Scotland?

Well I’m here in Inverness after changing trains twice and spending an hour wandering up and down Princes Street in Edinburgh. What a place. I didn’t realise that it was so beautiful. Edinburgh that is, but Inverness as well. Coming out of Waverley station, snuggled deeply in the valley running under the castle, it’s absolutely stunning. The blossom and flowers are out in Princes Park and a piper plays in the warm distance. The sun shines through a thin haze and the world is relaxed. My pack is comfortable on my shoulders and back – at 16kgs – and I’ve kept most of my weight off so I’m carrying nearly 15kgs less than when I started the South West path.  Here’s Princes Park this lunchtime.

The castle still broods in the sun behind this statue of the painter Allan Ramsay. 

Sir Walter Scott loafs around underneath his monument.

And the Firth of Forth shines forth.

Past Pitlochry the first snow shows itself in the mountains.

I’ll sleep well tonight and look forward to getting a big step closer to my starting point tomorrow.

Night night.