What a blooming nightmare!!
Good news: I am not imagining a problem with Gloria
Bad news: Paul took her down the hill and said
that the clutch is slipping. Today is Saturday. The only garage in Ullapool is
closed until Monday.
Good news: Paul
says if I treat her very gently and stay in low gear and go slowly, we will get
to Plockton, my next place, perfectly well.
Bad news: These
are the most demanding roads in the UK. There are mountains. Gloria is
struggling to get out of second gear and doesn’t want to go up mountains any
more.
Good news: Much
of this journey is on the level. Not nearly so many mountains as there heave
been over the last five days. Saw a garage and it was open Yay!!!!
Bad news: Not
a garage at all...somewhere to keep haulage truck.s
Good news: Kindly
Kenny the owner tied to ring a couple of garages he knew but they were all
closed. He gave me his phone number and said she should make it to
Plockton but in case she didn’t he would came and get me with his tractor if I
broke down. He also tested Gloria and like Paul said he thought she’d
get to Plockton but to take it very gently on the hills. (He means mountains
just not the Munro sort of mountains!)
Bad news: “By
the way Plockton doesn’t have a garage. You’d best drive on to Kyle of
Lochalsh."
Good
news: We limped into Kyle - just
Bad news: It's
Saturday. The garage was shut. I am supposed to be back in
Plockton staying on a farm that is 9 miles outside the town in the middle of
nowhere – and no way to get there. I went to the police since
my car was sitting defiantly in their drive opposite the garage.
Good
news: Kyle of Lochalsh has the single best police
force in two men anywhere in Great Britain! Big round of applause please.
First they found me
a garage that was only open because staff were about to go on another rescue
mission. John the mechanic let me have a car of his for £10 a day so I can
still go to Skye and the farm at Plockton and when I get back on Wednesday
morning - Gloria will be sorted. And as she's a Ford not a BMW or a MERC
so it will be almost affordable.
What a stressful
day. I haven’t a clue about scenery or wonders to behold. Spent 80 miles
concentrating on
getting my beloved little car safely to a garage. And we have. And we did.
This
is my replacement car. I stalled it four times just trying to get it out of the
garage onto the main road. But doubtless we will soon get used to one another.
You
can see the island of Skye from the Kyle of Lochalsh. It is so close! I
had imagined in the ‘Over The Sea to Skye’ scenario that we were talking about
a distance like from England to France but far from it. There’s a
rather elegant road bridge and that is how I will get there on Monday (now I
have a replacement car!)
Happily I had managed to get the car to move uphill without embarrassing
myself, the farm was just 9 miles away. It turns out not to be the usual sort
of farm.
Graig Highland Farm is a sort of conservation farm with the usual
chickens and Bonnie the goat and the less common lama. Judging by the notices
pinned to the fence, families are welcome to bring their children to see the
various animals and feed them. I have seen neither any of the animal, any families with or without children nor my
host.
My cabin is wooden and self contained with a bath (hurray) and main room
with kitchen sitting area and dining area and one bedroom. The views are great.
Not too sure about the cabin but I intend to have a long soak in the bath with
a glass of something red and then an even longer sleep. Night all.
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