A planned down day...
Spitting, drizzling and raining was predicted for most of the day so we decided to hang around the Arrochar Hotel all day and to not do very much.
Arrochar Hotel is, like our last hotel in Kyleakin, managed by Bespoke. Hence, there was a certain sameness between the two. For example, similar room decorations such as lights, curtains and TVs of the brand Haler.
Even the breakfasts were similar, with some differences. Fruit pieces and ham and cheddar cheese were served at both places (fantastic), but the "pork" sausages at Arrochar Hotel tasted of breadcrumbs and can not have had much, if any, pork in them. We thought that Kyleakin was bad - these were even worse.
Arrochar Hotel had a very nice breakfast room, doubling as a dining room at night, overlooking Loch Long. Hans is settled in here...
After breakfast, we wandered up and down our local street along the loch edge. This ex-pier had been taken over by the seagulls. Nice and sheltered.
Loch Long was very still this time in the morning, around 9am, with low cloud hanging on the mountains. Scotland was being photogenic again and Di looked OK too.
We took 3 photos of the same boat below from the same spot. We left out one of the photos, but then we couldn't agree which photo looked the best. Hans liked this one the most...
...while Di was in favour of this photo. Readers can judge!
This church must have one of the most scenic backdrops anywhere.
Looking back north towards "downtown" Arrochar. We were not 100% sure about the name of the mountain in the background, but it could be Ben Vorlich.
There were a few shops, a couple of pubs / inns and no less than 3 small grocery stores. This grocery store traded in a few different areas, but we were a bit uncertain about the naming of their cosmetics. Will it give an explosive difference in appearance...?
Part of the shop was a post office. Here is Di preparing to ship something to Australia, a present to somebody... No, we can not reveal who it is for or what's in the package..
Further up the road, there was water coming down the hill through a stream and through a small pipe. Hans was certain that the water was drinkable...
Hmmm.... Perhaps not...
The "Three Lochs Trail" passes through Arrochar and it diverts off the Main Street here. We liked the very targeted advertising to hikers from "Arrochar Tearoom". You just couldn't miss the signage irrespective of which way you came.
At this food outlet, you could have any type of potato with your meal, as long as it is chips (with apologies to Henry Ford).
There is a small park at the towns northern end with artistic animals carved out of old timber. Di became an instant fan of these otters.
According to the sign, this guy is a "bodach", an "elf-like character in Scottish folklore". We just thought he was cool. And yes, he had a bit of a lean...
Here, the road turns to follow Loch Long on the other side after first crossing this bridge over Loin Water. Adjacent there is a foot and cycle bridge which looked new and was probably very useful for local to get in and out of the town centre.
We had enough of the strolling at this time, and frankly there wasn't really anything more to see locally in Arrochar, so we returned back to Arrochar Tearoom for a cappuccino each. The Scottish bloke from Glasgow who ran the place in season was a very chatty character and sat down with a cuppa at the next table and talked in rapid Scottish... A lot... Di was even drowned. It didn't help that he peppered his Scottish with a lot of slang and we managed to only pick up parts of his... Monologue.
Back to Arrochar Hotel for a sit down in the lobby for online research, mostly by Di (all credit to her) and we booked a few more places along the way. The Lake District and Yorkshire Dales were proving to be very popular despite lots of accommodation, and were therefore not cheap. We persist...
Later in our room, we first had a light lunch then nanna naps (nice!).
Afterwards Hans planned for his hike up to Ben Nevis for tomorrow, with Di throwing in ideas.
It will be the first test for Hans' LL Bean jacket that he purchased in Maine, USA - it should work - after all American Weather Channel TV presenters use the same jacket . The weather forecast for tomorrow for the top of Ben Nevis is 2 to 3 degrees Celsius, but hopefully the rain will stay away (one can never be certain that it will be totally dry is our experience in the UK).
Di has an appointment with a hairdresser in Fort William while Hans is hiking, but she has kindly offered to have "jägarväckning" and early breakfast with Hans and then drive him to the trailhead and pick him up later.
We decided on an early dinner and thought the Arrochar Tearoom might be open, but no, so we instead went to the dining room of a pub nearby, which turned out to be a good move. Ben Arthur's Bothy had a relaxing lounge/dining area overlooking the water. Very nice atmosphere too. We ordered some drinks and dinner and settled in. The TV was playing "Vintage TV" video hits from 1983-1985 and we reminisced and enjoyed the old video clips and styles.
Hans with his "good enough" beer - a pint of ice cold Tennets. It looks empty here but by 7pm there was not a free table. Very popular.
Our dinner was definitely more than "good enough" - delicious indian curries, home made hot chicken for Hans and medium veggie for Di. Huge servings, delicious and good value. Two thumbs up from Di for finally getting a decent curry in Scotland.
We thought that a football match of Chelsea versus Bayern Munich would be broadcast at 6.45pm and waited patiently after our meal. The staff then told us the broadcast started at 7.45pm and with a big day tomorrow we opted out and went back you hotel for some blogging in the reception lounge area.
All fine with wifi and relaxing in the lobby but we kept laughing as today we had first gone back to the 80's at the pub then in our hotel we returned to the 70's - with background music playing loud old disco hits, with ABBA, Cliff Richard and Village People's YMCA featuring. Better than yesterday's 50's and 60's from the crooner. Di sung along and did YMCA arm movements. No photo evidence is probably a good thing.
Then another "entertainer" started and she ass not good. We soon had enough of the "music", went back to our room and switched on the TV and what was on... Football!!! Bayern Munchen vs Chelsea. Gotta go. Good night.
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