Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Ben and I both had a sudden rush of panic that we had walked into someone's living
room. The lady was sitting on a big sofa in the dark, watching TV with a dog on her lap.
It's not the usual set up for a hotel reception.
'I'm really sorry,' I said, 'we didn't mean to scare you. Is this the reception for the
hotel?'
'Och aye, ye could say 'at. Are ye lookin' fur a room?'
'Yes, well sort of.'
'IAIN!' she yelled. 'Will ye come out here please. We've got customers.'
Iain emerged from another bar at the back of the room drying a pint glass with a tea
towel. He was a giant of a man; at least six foot tall, with a pub landlord's body. He was in
his sixties, had a white moustache and patches of curly white hair on the sides of his head.
'What can I do for you two gentlemen?' he asked, in a voice far more gentle than his
appearance suggested. He smiled as we explained our challenge.
'I'm sure we can sort you out with a room. We're not too busy tonight. In fact, you're
the only people here. I'll get Cathy to show you to a room.'
The room was absolutely fascinating. It would have looked very posh 'back in the day'
- perhaps the early 1970s. Everything from the floral print wallpaper to the bed covers, the
carpet to the radio/alarm clock looked like it was unchanged in many decades. I loved it. It
felt like we were staying in a museum.
After a quick shower and change into our new Sunday Best - the Ski Scotland t-shirts -
we walked back up to the Lovat Arms Hotel. The manager seemed a little surprised to see
us back, but was happy to honour his word and found us a seat in the restaurant - tucked
away in the corner hidden from the eyes of the respectable paying guests.
Itwasanamazingmeal;steakpiewithdeliciouschunksofbeef,thickgravy,alightpuff
pastry lid and chunky chips. But the highlight for me was the vegetables. Carrots and peas
havenevertastedsogood.Notthattheywereparticularlyspecialcarrotsandpeas;justthat
vegetables of any sort had been almost absent from our diets since we started.
If a nutritionist had analysed what we ate during the bike ride, I think they probably
would have concluded that we should not be alive, let alone fit enough to cycle. I read
somewhere that beige food is bad for you. Almost everything we ate was a shade of beige;
bread, pasta bakes, chips, pasties and bananas. Anyway, all I'm saying is that peas and car-
rots taste unbelievable if you only eat beige food for 17 days beforehand. Give it a try.
The Caledonian Hotel was buzzin' when we returned. By that I mean, that there was
another personinthe bar.Sheseemed tobearegular asshewas sat onabarstool anddeep
in conversation with Cathy and Iain.
'Thanks again for letting us stay,' I said as we passed the bar on our way to our room.
'Aren't you going to stay and join us for a drink?' asked Iain.
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