Cll - Sunday, November 18, 1984 - North Shore News EE teaver) | Se | Accommodation at the station Convenient béd and breakfast READER asked me how to make advance reservations for B & B accommodation. There are several ways but I’ve found our method to be the cheapest and best. After 6 p.m. you can make a long distance call for just 10 p. | call the tourist office in the city we’re heading for and explain what I want - price, location, twin beds, etc. They give me a couple of possibilities and 1 phone myself. This way, | can ex- plain to the landlord (or, more often, landlady) our time of arrival -1f your train is a late one, you don’t want them to let your room go! Since we would be arriving in Inverness about 11 p.m., | forewarned our landlady and Our room was ready at Arran House. More about that later. We took a late afternoon train from Carlisle to [n- verness, making sure that the train served meals. On this run, the offering is ‘‘High Tea’’ and it’s quite well done. For £5.50 we had a choice of the grill (egg, sausage, ham, etc.) or fish with roast potatoes or salad Tea, toast and dessert are included An excellent bottle of wine was yust £4 74 Our arrival in’ Inverness gave us a pgreat chance to make total fools of Ourselves! I'd requested a B & B near the station but since it was late, cold. rainy and we had bageage, we decided to take a cab Careers in Travel TRAVEL TRAINING CENTRE we tO eegan cy dd (HO4 OHI 146 20-3 s Wine Connoisseurs! Inquire about our unique (Cultural Vin | tage tour to turope \ Lapenene the ultimate Buunos (law to taster (anada | Call uy tor detail : 4 Ski Inasbruk Av total Meal Dwks $1,269 | Wh sprechen Pubumme Deutsch Fragen Swomean Ye noch Manusto hysy Sotec ing between 7-9 pounds. B & B with shower and toilet 1s just £12 per person, £10.50 using communal facilitues. The rooms aren't travel-wise We waited in line, loaded our bags into the cab and gave the driver the address. ‘Well, I'll drive you there if you like,*’ he said, ‘‘but it’s just over there,’’ pointing across the street. Red-faced, we unloaded our bags and started walking, providing a good laugh for everyone else in the cab queue. Arran House 1s at 42 Union St you can see it from the station. We paid £7.50 each for our twin room. It has a few dis- advantages - six long flights of stairs to chmb and only one bathroom (toilet and shower in one) for 16 lodgers. No showers are allowed bet- ween 7-10 a.m. for obvious reasons But: If | ever return to In- verness, I’ve found a great B & B. Write this down where you won't lose it Whinpark Hotel, 17 Ardross Street [V3 SNS, Tel. Inverness (0463) 232 S49. With bags, vou ll need to take a cab from the station ws through town and across the Ness Bridee but we walked there in the daytime It also has a@ restaurant, rated as one of Che best in the ats PEeSCPVaAlIONS ate essen tial, soomuch so thal we never could petin The meal prices aboon the OC tranpe mean by Barbara McCreadie large but they're bright and cheerful and each has a color TV. There's a great little pub nearby - The Glenalbyn, just at the far end of the Ness Bridge - we had a lot of fun there one evening, meeting a group of people trom Van- couver, Kelowna and Washington D.C. If you want to meet fellow travellers, the Glenalbyn is the place One of Inverness’ big at- tracuons is nearby Loch Ness. Daily tours leave the bus station (gust around the corner from the RR station) every day at 10 am. £1.60, buy your tickets on the bus Tour takes 2'2> hours and stops at the ruins of Urquhart Castle - bring your camera - it’s lovely. It was blown up by the Jacobites during the "45°" (Bonnie Prince Charlie's run tor the throne) to prevent the Hanoverians from using it The tour bus also stops at the Loch Ness “‘Nessie™’ museum on the way back worth a visit if)? vou'’re ain terested iM sea MONSters } was most interested in visiting some Scottish woollen mills most of them are down ain the Border Counties but Pringle asin Inverness: You tH need acab it’s quite a way out of town - about a $5 ride. I'd come to Scotland with the idea of getting super- cheap fine wool sweaters at the mills. Forget it! Scottish mills can’t compete with Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong so they don’t even try. If you’re the type who buys $200 sweaters in Canada, you'll get a bargain at the mills - the same sweater for $100. The mills concentrate on quality - classic styling and high quality wool. Brian bought himself one sweater at Pringle’s - $60 and saw the same one here in Canada for $135. 1 got all the sweaters 1 brought home for the girls and myself at Marks and Spencer’s and at some dis- count shops in the Borders. Anyway, back to Pringle Mills - their cheapest ladies cashmere sweater was £42.50 and up to £75. Men's lambs- wool started at £22 and cashmere was £78 and up Coats averaged about £100, skirts and kilts from £23 up for plaids, £20 for plain Yard goods is about |: the price you'd pay in Canada but since it’s only the highest quality, you'll understand the prices. If you knit and sew, look for packages of dyed-to- match fabric and knitting wool - erght balls of wool and one skirt length is £12. anex.- cellent buy for talented people In general, shopping in In verness is boring. There are numerous tourist shops with the inevitable kilts, tams and all the garb to turn Joe Blow into Joe McBlow instantly Tt you've seen one, you ve seen them all I'm grateful | didn't heed some bad adsiwe and save omy shopping for dn verness'’ Edinburgh is much better More about Liverness, Culloden and © hinese food neat Column Club Vied Titan tert ct ave WN OTE N aN a ptrtts pootlitie dort vont ashok too soure Ccmachtis rate vt Sve da Vevtrn Wotlheou cae byes. cotpat © lub Med vacation Pat take Chat) Ned pea coptaze s puast oti thin, Hreart Chey weet t Cake anyone «dye: Pe ee 0 trom y cathe s Nite rn Poreecay bre thee satay ds ee ee prre grated fost verti vane ties thratay tee ec dapery Viabettts be epee Ne lab NV ad thre y wadl poe take ee ee ee re a SO 0 0 a roa CWC pUEEN TT eititre tetal fare cc ertagele ede drei S$SO a Se rive tile cd obey woatae Phe vy Wo arse re dy en ee ee fbeota Cure crn agre verte tes rr darby be vera Nocatee ctave td otar tery ort SPE ETR* GH Stotpiae bes ceonmterrt Pty veer tyeatit rae Lugspye © ocppvce dient bereueds Pre opet anny AD AN FTEAEEY SPO ES ae CV bbe a ye Pee geatas Pde oe te bs Pos dopo Cobre mse Ee tryed Cn tote atibeetgvacatas be se PN bbe tas ne all yveugt trae lageenton © lub Med i ae 0 crihettusberrtie rt Woon see © hats NV tas see ter all these he tarts * pty beasive Nate urtnety pot Vesuer abt farre cetred va bbeages charter Dba premarin Crate withoubimitedd wane Naptithy cites Bharti a NV i : alae aed y ee Oe VYeourr all oN taeda \ font thee dee cond abbies Aras bs Club Med Caaptitnee tat atacd Spree ts abe FIN TEE NS wel Yin Barden of carthily del 9 ity als diay at 112 OO 268 LOO toll free? 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