After leaving Ballachulish we ventured on towards the Isle of Skye. It was nice to see snow on the tops of some of the hills, our first snows of the year. However, it never occurred to us that in another half hour the road would be white and we would be driving through a blizzard.  Okay, the road at this point was 1300 feet above sea level and as soon as we dropped some height it was fine again. Nevertheless, snow was unexpected and quite exciting.

Stokers from down under

We had aimed to arrive at our destination, Kinloch Lodge, in early afternoon because they had offered tea and scones on arrival. It had to be early afternoon so that we had an appetite for dinner in the evening. These are the sort of decisions we are forced to make these days! True to their word, before we had even seen our room, we were ushered into one of the drawing rooms and sat in front of a lovely log fire.

Originally built in 1676 as a farmhouse, all the public rooms have log fires expertly managed by the staff. Amazingly, quite a few of the staff hailed from the Gold Coast of Australia. Not quite sure how they found their way here but they all seemed to be thoroughly enjoying their time on Skye.

One of our daughters was here at Kinloch with her family a couple of years ago and has heaped praise on it ever since. We were beginning to see why!

The scones arrived beautifully presented complete with sparkling white linen napkins. Just as you might expect in a place like this. And just as you might expect they were topscones. Perfect size, lovely and warm and complete with lots of jam and cream. What was not to like? In our younger days on Skye we normally camped  and have experienced everything Skye weather could throw at us. Now, many years later it was great to be back in such comfortable surroundings.  We’re getting soft!

Clans

My lineage makes me feel right at home here. My middle name is MacDonald and my mother’s name was McKinnon, both good Skye names. Isabella MacDonald, daughter of Godfrey Macdonald, the 35^th High Chief of his clan runs Kinloch today, She can trace her family back to the 9th century. When her her parents set up Kinloch in 1972 their ambition was to create  a place that had everything they could possibly want in a hotel: comfy beds, endless hot water, warm and attentive service and, above all, delicious food. Mission accomplished we would say.

To top off clan connections Isabella is very ably assisted by the delightful Rachel McKinnon. My brother once visited a graveyard on the Waternish peninsula on Skye to try and shed more light on our mother’s side of the family. All for nothing, however, lots of headstones but almost all were McKinnon.

Wasn’t it obvious?

At the ongoing COVID enquiry  Simon Case, Head of the Civil Service was giving evidence. He said of Boris Johnson’s government that he had “never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country“. Surely we all knew that?

Yesterday saw the state opening of Parliament. Anyone tuning in from abroad must have thought they had accidentally hit a Disney channel. That degree of pomp looks totally ridiculous and inappropriate for a country heading towards recession. The spectacle of the King in fancy dress reading out statements even he doesn’t believe in doesn’t help either. Mind you, who are we to criticise anyone? Sitting here sipping whisky in front of the fire  in the bar after a superb dinner.

IV43 8QY         tel: 01471 833333              Kinloch Lodge

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