QA British Isles Voyage

[Megabear2]

I've not ventured out of my nice quiet little cocoon yet, having just enjoyed a room service breakfast.  However Accuweather, Weather.com and the BBC are encouraging me to believe I'm about to face the tempest with heavy rain all day and afternoon thunderstorms threatening 40mm of rain in an hour and a possible flood risk!

 

This is going to be a VERY interesting day ... I'm on a ship's tour leaving 9.30am and returning 4.30pm which takes in Loch Ness and Inverness.  Looking on the bright side if I get washed away on Loch Ness I might be able to thumb a lift back to the ship from Nessie.

 

On the other hand, being a good ex Girl Guide I'm going prepared with my trusty OAP bus pass, you know just in case ....

 

Edited May 29 by Megabear2

[Mareblu]

The forecast is indeed ominous, and the skies as we glide into Invergordon are dark and threatening.  It’s rare for us to cancel a tour, but we’ve done just that a few minutes ago.  Before driving south and boarding in Southampton, we spent a few weeks in the Highlands, and we’ve done that frequently over the years, as I have ancestral ties to this beautiful, haunting land.  We made an executive decision to skip the deluge today.

[Megabear2]

26 minutes ago, Mareblu said:

The forecast is indeed ominous, and the skies as we glide into Invergordon are dark and threatening.  It’s rare for us to cancel a tour, but we’ve done just that a few minutes ago.  Before driving south and boarding in Southampton, we spent a few weeks in the Highlands, and we’ve done that frequently over the years, as I have ancestral ties to this beautiful, haunting land.  We made an executive decision to skip the deluge today.

Excellent choice I feel.  However I've never been to Scotland, in fact nowhere north of Harrogate and that's been very rare so I said to myself let's have a go and see just what our Scottish friends get hurled at them by nature!   The flash flooding risk is the most worrying though ...

 

It's scheduled to be over by 6.00pm ha ha.

 

 

Edited May 29 by Megabear2

[Host Hattie]

Oh dear, good luck for today everyone. I hope you don't get too wet !

[tiggis]

44 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I've not ventured out of my nice quiet little cocoon yet, having just enjoyed a room service breakfast.  However Accuweather, Weather.com and the BBC are encouraging me to believe I'm about to face the tempest with heavy rain all day and afternoon thunderstorms threatening 40mm of rain in an hour and a possible flood risk!

 

This is going to be a VERY interesting day ... I'm on a ship's tour leaving 9.30am and returning 4.30pm which takes in Loch Ness and Inverness.  Looking on the bright side if I get washed away on Loch Ness I might be able to thumb a lift back to the ship from Nessie.

 

On the other hand, being a good ex Girl Guide I'm going prepared with my trusty OAP bus pass, you know just in case ....

 

Sadly, an English OAP bus pass isn’t valid in Scotland (and vice versa, of course)😢

[Bell Boy]

Ref; Diamond complimentary Lunch 

Question;

For those onboard Queen Anne at present have you been offered this perk ( it wasn't offered on the Maiden which was quite understandable) 

If so, which venue of the alternative restaurants is being offered .  

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Excellent choice I feel.  However I've never been to Scotland, in fact nowhere north of Harrogate and that's been very rare so I said to myself let's have a go and see just what our Scottish friends get hurled at them by nature!   The flash flooding risk is the most worrying though ...

 

It's scheduled to be over by 6.00pm ha ha.

 

 

Scotland is stunning in all weathers IMHO. You loved Orkney and the scenery there, whilst lovely, isn’t a patch on the West Highlands. Not even remotely. I doubt we will see much other than distant (murky) views over the next 2 days and by far the best views are inland, so I’d venture to suggest that what you see today may be the most scenic of the cruise - even in poor weather. You won’t go as far as the most scenic parts of Scotland, but Loch Ness is still beautiful and you won’t regret going on the tour. As they say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! Enjoy. 

[Megabear2]

19 minutes ago, tiggis said:

Sadly, an English OAP bus pass isn’t valid in Scotland (and vice versa, of course)😢

Typical! I recently watched a wonderful film with Timothy Spall where he went from Scotland to Cornwall using his bus pass.  In my case it was a joke but I do recall him not having money to pay a fare at one point. 

 

Actually down in my part of the world I've seen Scottish bus passes accepted, and to be truthful and non political as it's the UK government subsidising them to local authorities it seems totally correct.  Incidentally I do use mine in Wales regularly. 

 

Shore experiences tell me the tour operators have "no information" on the exciting weather reports I showed him on the Internet, so it's on ... watch this space guys, it could be a wild ride!

Edited May 29 by Megabear2

[Megabear2]

15 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Ref; Diamond complimentary Lunch 

Question;

For those onboard Queen Anne at present have you been offered this perk ( it wasn't offered on the Maiden which was quite understandable) 

If so, which venue of the alternative restaurants is being offered .  

Yes, I had mine the day before yesterday in Sir Samuel's.  Very nice  but quite a lot of pay extra items, more than I've seen before.

[Pushpit]

3 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Typical! I recently watched a wonderful film with Timothy Spall where he went from Scotland to Cornwall on using his bus pass.  In my case it was a joke but I do recall him not having money to pay a fare at one point. 

 

I live right by the border in Scotland, and my nearest town is in Scotland. Yes the two systems are different, and to be fair there are different qualification criteria between England and Scotland, and the passes are not inter-changeable. There are some special arrangements for buses which cross the border (of which there are very few).

 

As for rain today, yes there may be some thunder, and sharp showers, but the rain radar doesn't show anything too terrible at the moment. Invergordon is relatively sheltered.

[majortom10]

52 minutes ago, Bell Boy said:

Ref; Diamond complimentary Lunch 

Question;

For those onboard Queen Anne at present have you been offered this perk ( it wasn't offered on the Maiden which was quite understandable) 

If so, which venue of the alternative restaurants is being offered .  

I asked that question on Cunard's Facebook page and was told Verandah, Kings Court Alternative dining. Of course we all know there are none of those on QA except of course Cunard Customer Services. So I thought I will get definitive answer so e mailed CWC and they have not even had the decency of a reply.

[Megabear2]

33 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

I live right by the border in Scotland, and my nearest town is in Scotland. Yes the two systems are different, and to be fair there are different qualification criteria between England and Scotland, and the passes are not inter-changeable. There are some special arrangements for buses which cross the border (of which there are very few).

 

As for rain today, yes there may be some thunder, and sharp showers, but the rain radar doesn't show anything too terrible at the moment. Invergordon is relatively sheltered.

How does Inverness look?  My guide just told me it will be interesting as he looked at the sky ...

Edited May 29 by Megabear2

[Pushpit]

1 minute ago, Megabear2 said:

How does Inverness look?  My guide just told me it will be interesting as he looked at they sky ...

Well as Brits you will know that the word "interesting" often means "not interesting", and "very interesting" means "that's a load of rubbish".

 

As of 09:35 hrs BST, there is no rain near Inverness, but a small shower to the north of the Black Isle. So I'd say the risk of a shower during the morning, clearing up later. If there is a rumble of thunder it may be just electrical rather than convectional. (More noise than rain).

[LifeonMars]

1 hour ago, Bell Boy said:

Ref; Diamond complimentary Lunch 

Question;

For those onboard Queen Anne at present have you been offered this perk ( it wasn't offered on the Maiden which was quite understandable) 

If so, which venue of the alternative restaurants is being offered .  

Sir Samuel’s for lunch or Evening meal in Tremonto  or Aranya . 

Edited May 29 by LifeonMars

[Mareblu]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

Scotland is stunning in all weathers IMHO. You loved Orkney and the scenery there, whilst lovely, isn’t a patch on the West Highlands. Not even remotely. I doubt we will see much other than distant (murky) views over the next 2 days and by far the best views are inland, so I’d venture to suggest that what you see today may be the most scenic of the cruise - even in poor weather. You won’t go as far as the most scenic parts of Scotland, but Loch Ness is still beautiful and you won’t regret going on the tour. As they say, there’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing! Enjoy. 

I couldn’t agree more.  West Highlands, my spiritual home, is absolutely stunning, almost ethereal.  We’ve just spent a week in Oban, followed by a few days in Fort William, and finally, a week in Pitlochry.  I weep every time I leave.

Edited May 29 by Mareblu

[safarigal]

Well it’s a rainy day on Culloden moor, but that somehow makes it even more meaningful ☔️

[BigMac1953]

To quote Billy Connolly:

 

"There are only two seasons in Scotland; June and Winter."

[Selbourne]

Well I’ve just returned from a wander around Invergordon, a place that I have driven through a few times but never stopped. There are some fabulous murals on a number of buildings. The best was the railway station entrance but I couldn’t photograph it due to the position of the sun (yes, the sun was out and it was a quite warm 16 degrees). Originally I intended to catch the 1131 train to Inverness but had decided against it due to the weather forecast (and it’s a place I have been countless times). Just as well that I did, as the train was cancelled and the next one was at 1610 😂 The one in the photo is going north to Wick. 
 

I don’t have a religious bone in my body, but I was quite touched by the sign in the church and the sight of loads of the ships crew huddled in a corner of the church on free WiFi whilst some lovely ladies gave them free drinks.

 

Having wished that I’d left my coat on the ship as I was so warm, it started raining just as I walked back up the gangway of the ship, so my timing had been perfect 😅

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 29 by Selbourne

[exlondoner]

When there are only three trains a day, it is a bit mean to cancel one. More worrying still would be the thought it might have been the one back that was cancelled.

[Selbourne]

4 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

When there are only three trains a day, it is a bit mean to cancel one. More worrying still would be the thought it might have been the one back that was cancelled.

Yes, that very thought had crossed my mind too. When returning to the ship, I stopped to thank the lady who’d given me the town map and told me about the station mural, and she said that they advise people not to use the trains as they are too unreliable. That must come as a shock to the Japanese passengers on board, as over there they consider a train to be delayed if ot leaves 30 seconds after the scheduled time!

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, Selbourne said:

Yes, that very thought had crossed my mind too. When returning to the ship, I stopped to thank the lady who’d given me the town map and told me about the station mural, and she said that they advise people not to use the trains as they are too unreliable. That must come as a shock to the Japanese passengers on board, as over there they consider a train to be delayed if ot leaves 30 seconds after the scheduled time!

Still the train journey from Inverness to Thurso/Wick is well worth doing, just not when one has a ship to catch.

Did you have time to visit the interesting small museum?

[Selbourne]

2 hours ago, Mareblu said:

I couldn’t agree more.  West Highlands, my spiritual home, is absolutely stunning, almost ethereal.  We’ve just spent a week in Oban, followed by a few days in Fort William, and finally, a week in Pitlochry.  I weep every time I leave.

How lovely. I have been lucky enough to tour all of the Western Higlands at length multiple times and I can honestly say that the whole area west of Loch Lomond out to the coast (Oban, Mallaig, Kyle of Lochalsh etc) is, in my opinion, the most stunning part of the world that I have ever visited. Mile after mile after mile of the most stunning vistas that I could never tire of. Sadly, it’s not possible to see the best of it from the sea but hopefully this cruise will give those who’ve never been there an appetite to return for a land based holiday. 

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Still the train journey from Inverness to Thurso/Wick is well worth doing, just not when one has a ship to catch.

Did you have time to visit the interesting small museum?

I didn’t go to the museum but I have travelled by train to Thurso and Wick several times since the 1970s. It’s a nice journey but not a patch on the rail journeys to Oban, Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Much as I am a railway fan (and have travelled all those rail routes several times), by far the best way to see the Western Highlands is by car, as you can stop at your leisure to take in the ever changing views - all of which are breathtaking. 

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I didn’t go to the museum but I have travelled by train to Thurso and Wick several times since the 1970s. It’s a nice journey but not a patch on the rail journeys to Oban, Mallaig and Kyle of Lochalsh. Much as I am a railway fan (and have travelled all those rail routes several times), by far the best way to see the Western Highlands is by car, as you can stop at your leisure to take in the ever changing views - all of which are breathtaking. 

Yes, the west coast lines are even nicer. The trouble with the car is that, for now at least, someone has to drive and concentrate on that, and can’t enjoy the scenery in the same way. Whereas with the train everyone gets the views. 

[Megabear2]

Loch Ness, watching the clouds roll in.  Clear one way, the other ...

 

But there is sun as well.  A lovely little waterfall but I passed on the photographs as right in the middle a cluster of plastic bags.