The Free Upgrade

When we went to pick up the rental car this morning we found we'd been upgraded to a Merc. I'm not sure either of us were over excited, it looked a bit sleek and low for the Highlands but we set off and I wasn't very happy about the way it was performing. Then I got a report on the dash about not selecting reverse, I thought I'd better check that out. I pulled in - no reverse. Switched off, switched on and got reverse. Pulled away up the road and a warning about transmission malfunction lit up the screen. We pulled off by a posh gated entrance by Loch Lomond, we were only a half hour into our journey.

John phoned the rescue number and after a bit of 'pillar to post' got the RAC who said they'd be there between 1.30 and 2.30 (it was 10.30 at the time). The rescue came a little quicker than that and loaded the car, trying not to scrape the front off it as he pulled it up. He took us back to Glasgow Airport where they offered us a blue Mercedes but we said thank you, we'd rather have something more basic. We now have a Hyundai SUV which seems much more suitable and got us up to the Highlands without further trouble.

We're settled into our hotel at Kentallen on the banks of Loch Linnhe and I've added an extra of Kentallen Pier where the steamers used to come in to meet the railway and one of Black Rock Cottage with a campervan!