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'What do you want to do, Ben? This is Glencoe. We can stop here if you like.'
'No. Let's keep going. The further we go, the closer we get to finishing.' This was a
first. Things were clearly worse than I thought.
The A82 crosses Loch Leven just after the village of Ballachulish and then follows the
edge of Loch Linnhe all the way to Fort William. The road was still incredibly busy, but
the cycling was easy and the views were striking.
FortWilliamisthelargesttownintheHighlandswith10,000inhabitants(Iassumethey
have rounded that figure to the nearest thousand). The city of Inverness is the only larger
settlement.
FortWilliamdescribesitselfas
'the Outdoor Capital of the UK,'
duetothehugenumber
of tourists who use the town as a base for climbing, hiking and mountain biking in the
surrounding mountains. Despite its relative grandeur in Highland terms, the town centre is
relatively modest and the main street had a distinct lack of high-street chains, which made
for a welcome change.
We asked an old lady who was standing in a shop doorway if she knew of anywhere
cheap to stay.
'Ye coods try th' Bank Street Lodge. It's halfway up towards Glen Nevis.'
'HALFWAY UP BEN NEVIS?' I shouted, after mishearing her.
'Ack noooo. Up towards
Glen
Nevis. It's nae far.'
TheBankStreetLodgesitsonasteepside-road,notfarfromthecentreofFortWilliam.
The reception was staffed by a no-nonsense lady in her sixties.
'Sae ye want somewhaur tae sleep an' yoo'll dae some jobs in return?' she said, as
though it was a request she had heard many times before. 'Yoo'll hae tae hang oan fur a
minute while ah phone th' owner.'
'I've got some wee jimmies haur who want tae bide at th' lodge tonecht fur free... Ye
explain it tae 'er,' she said, thrusting the phone towards me.
'Errrr... hello... yes... errr... my friend and I are looking for somewhere to stay tonight,
for free, as part of a challenge that we're doing. We're happy to do any odd jobs that you
need doing; cleaning, washing, decorating... ' I said.
'Andthisisacharity bikeride,isit?'askedthewell-spoken ladyontheotherendofthe
phone.
'Wellno,notexactly.WetravellingfromLand'sEndtoJohnO'Groatswithoutspending
any money and we're trying to prove how nice the people of Britain are.'
She gave a half-hearted laugh.
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