Robert Hampton

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30th December 2010

Twenty Ten – again

What a year 2010 was! It had twelve months, each consisting of at least 28 days. On some of those days I made blog entries. Here are the highlights.

I began the year in January fretting about an alleged Crystal Maze remake starring Amanda Holden. This story fortunately turned out to be utter bollocks. Ginger people again proved that (yours truly excepted) they have no sense of humour or perspective. Britain experienced a deluge of snow, and Merseyrail impressed everyone by soldiering on throughout, a feat which they would surely repeat next time we experienced awful weather… right?

I finally joined the Wii owners’ club, just as the console stopped being cool. My rekindled love for video games did not result in me getting rickets. I also celebrated my first Twitterversary and cautiously welcomed the iPad.

I also took time to blog at length about a US comedian no-one has heard of over here, illustrating my post with YouTube clips which have now been removed for copyright infringement.

In more serious matters, the Haiti earthquake occupied people’s thoughts as a humanitarian catastrophe unfolded in the devastated country.

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15th June 2010

Glasgow-ing home

Friday morning, and time to prepare to head home. There was time for one last indulgence, however. My train wasn’t until lunchtime, so we had a couple of hours free: just time for Nuno and I to take a spin round the Glasgow Subway. I dropped my suitcase at Glasgow Central’s left luggage office — where the world’s most bored-looking attendant asked me sleepily if I had explosives in the case — and headed for the underground.

Glasgow Subway ticket

No messing about with complicated prices here, just a simple £1.20 single fare to any station.

The subway originally opened in 1896. Although refurbished in the 1970s, it has never been expanded beyond its original circular route, and doesn’t completely fulfil the transport needs of modern Glasgow. There is only one direct interchange with National Rail (at Partick) and many important parts of the city are not served.

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14th June 2010

Steamy Business

Jacobite TicketOn Thursday it was time to say goodbye to Knoydart and head back to Glasgow. We boarded the morning ferry at Inverie Ferry Terminal (a fancy name for a small hut containing a bench and a toilet).

The boat deposited us safely back in Mallaig just before 12 o’clock, and we immediately headed back to the station to work out our plan of action. Our goal: secure a place on the Jacobite steam train to Fort William. We had tried to book tickets online but had been told they were all sold out. The web site did offer a slim ray of hope, however: some tickets are sold on the day by the train crew. I therefore wanted to meet the train as it arrived from its inward journey.

We had about half an hour before the train was due, so I took the opportunity to have a look around, as our rushed connection on Monday afternoon had left no time to explore. I was pleasantly surprised that Mallaig station, despite only serving five trains a day, had a fully fledged station building with toilets and a staffed ticket office.

I was just relieved to have shelter from the rain, which was coming down rather heavily at this point. While Nuno hunted for somewhere to leave our luggage, I sat observing as the lone ticket clerk dealt patiently with a procession of foreign tourists who needed to get to London (impossible unless they stayed somewhere overnight or had sleeper tickets, as they couldn’t reach Glasgow before 9pm, well after the last London train would have left).

I wasn’t the only one making use of the station facilities, as some seagulls had decided to nest on the track! The rails they were using appeared to be disused, thankfully.

Seagull on the line at Mallaig station

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12th June 2010

The Englishman who went up a mountain and came down a mountain
Posted by at 4.46pm | Out and About | 1 response
Ordance Survey Map of Knoydart
Image produced from the Ordnance Survey Get-a-map service. Image reproduced with kind permission of Ordnance Survey and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland.

Before visiting Knoydart, the idea of heading straight up a mountain would have horrified me. Check out that map! Look how close together the contour lines are! I remember school geography lessons – that means it’s steep.

When Nuno first suggested ascending Sgurr Coire Choinnichean, I will admit I felt a small shiver of anticipation. However, three days into my Scottish adventure, I was in the mood to try just about anything. We’d walked to Folach falls the day before, and I felt fully ready for something more challenging.

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9th June 2010

Pride Comes Before the Falls
Posted by at 8.05pm | Out and About | No responses

Walks around Knoydart

Knoydart is an excellent place for walkers, hikers and Munro baggers to explore. Once the confines of Inverie are left behind, you are soon in wild country with the only signs of civilisation being a few dirt tracks used by the rangers, and the occasional deer control fence.

Deer Control Point

The Knoydart Foundation had helpfully supplied a leaflet showing some of the walks available from Inverie. The Folach Waterfalls, at a “moderate” seven and a half miles return, seemed like a decent way to spend an afternoon (i.e. the picture in the leaflet looked good) so Nuno and I set off, armed with sandwiches, water and sundry snacks.

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28th May 2010

Scotland on Sunday
Posted by at 8.59pm | Out and About | 4 responses

Tickets for journeys around Scotland

I think it’s fair to say that I’m not well-travelled. Some people have world maps pinned up on the wall, with a mark on each place they’ve visited. If I did that, it would be confined to the UK, and would involve mainly those places that are reachable with a Saveaway ticket.

So when my friend, Nuno, invited me up to visit him in Glasgow, with a trip to the remote Highland peninsula of Knoydart thrown in, I couldn’t say no. What better way to expand my horizons and experience some new places and sights?

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