Waterfalls on the trail from our anchored boat to the town
[Kyle]We took the lakeshore (lochshore?) path into town. Our main purpose for visiting Lochaline was to visit Maryanne’ s University and diving friends Annabel and Mark.
[Maryanne]Lochaline is a beautiful part of Scotland and I’d visited several times before as a diver; there are some fantastic dive sites whatever your tastes (Wrecks, archeology, marine life, and dinner!). If you are not a diver, it is still a very special place to visit (at least when the sun shines), and it has easy access to the Isle of Mull to boot. I had extra reason to visit now Mark and Annabel live there.
With moving to the USA (so far from my family and friends) and now cruising, I understand that we lead a very special and amazing life. One of the downsides, the sacrifices of the lifestyle, is that we don't get to visit with either family or friends nearly as much as we would otherwise have done, and certainly not as much as we would like. So I was especially excited that I'd be able to see my old University friends.
We were anchored quite far into the loch, about 1.5 miles from the town, but close to a place we could bring the dinghy ashore. Along the loch there is a trail into town; a beautiful, tree lined path, and dotted with waterfalls – not a bad way to arrive.
Since I left Scotland, Annabel and Mark have added two more girls to the family, purchased a beautiful home in the country, and are successfully managing 2 businesses. With 3 girls and all the business work to manage, the general activity was a huge shock to Kyle and I who lead a much less intense life. Amazingly Mark and Annabel found some quiet time to share a meal (just the 4 adults) and it was great to catch up. We are so grateful for their time, but we left feeling exhausted just contemplating the life of my friends. They have 3 beautiful and happy girls, so nice that Kyle (the great child avoider) even said he liked being around them. I too loved my dose of kiddy time, at least for the day we spent hanging out with the family. They older girls had us dancing around the living room with them!
Living such a nomadic life, and mostly on the anchor, it is difficult to find showers and laundry facilities in most places – Annabel offered us both (and as a mail drop for some replacement boat parts) while we visited, and these were added treats from the visit.
We neglected to take any photos of our friends, but we took plenty of the loch, so you’ll have to make do with these – beautiful eh?
Lochaline entrance and the house of the Ardtornish estate house at the head of the loch
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