Scotland, Day 5: Fort William, Ben Nevis, Lunch at Cluanie Inn, Chocolates of Glenshiel, Eilean Donan Castle, Arriving in Portree (Isle of Skye), Bosville Hotel

September 1, 2025

Travel day today – we’re on the road for just about 3 hours (125 miles), going from Glencoe to Portree (Isle of Skye). A lot of it was highway driving, A82 – A87.

A brief stop at Fort William – a lovely, quaint little town. We mostly walked along a cobbled streets, popping in and out of local shops.

Outside Ben Nevis distillery. We were not expecting much, given our experience last time – but it’s still a favorite of Liz’s. So we wanted to give it another go.

We stopped in to Ben Nevis the last time we were in Scotland, but it was such a depressing experience – I completely left it off the blog.

There were fairly basic offerings, with not a lot of specialty bottles or drams to speak of. The person who served us was polite, but not really interested in engaging all that much.

It felt like arm-wrestling with someone, to try to either talk or discuss their whisky. Folks didn’t seem excited or into their whisky – it felt like they were there as a chore, selling pours to all the tourists who came in. While it was a mix of folks, my sense is the staff treated everyone who stepped up to the bar as though they were a tourist/novice.

As much as we love Ben Nevis, this second visit seemingly solidifies our sense of the place: there’s not much point in visiting the distillery.

After a long leg, we stopped off at the Cluanie Inn for a late lunch.

After almost 2 hours of driving, it was only when we returned to the car after lunch that I realized I had my mouse stuffed in my back pocket.

The very small, very cozy, and very popular Chocolates of Glenshiel.

Something that was weird at first, but I got used to: switching gears in our car using a flip button. It took some time to adjust, but I actually miss it now that I’m back home in the states.