Saturday 15 November

Went on the 7 am ferry to Ullapool this morning, for a brief visit to Inverness. The crossing was very calm, and we were delivered to the mainland with a minimum of fuss by 9.45. The bus took us into the city, but fog shrouded the landscape from Garve all the way into Inverness. After a rather over-priced lunch in a restaurant that tried to get us to order two courses without offering a one-course option, we went to our B&B in Kenneth Street. Inverness was shrouded in pretty dense fog.

By evening, we ventured out for fish & chips in a pub, then to a charity ceilidh in the Ironworks venue on Academy Street. This lasted from 7.30 until 11.30pm, and raised about £4,000 on the night, excluding ticket sales. I estimate the revenue of those at around £3,000. Great atmosphere, but tinged with sadness. CRY for a ceilidh was in memory of islander Andrew Macleod who died of an unknown cardiac condition aged 21 in 2011. One of his friends had organised it, and she was very emotional throughout.