Fort William to Dingwall

Another bright but very cold day dawns at our caravan site at Onich and Terry drives me the 8 miles into Fort William. In case you might think that this is cheating, I used these miles as a payback for adding 8 miles on leaving Inveraray due to a navigational (ie navigator) problem!
The ride from to Dingwall retraces the same route that we took in 2007, through very scenic areas including the Caledonian Canal.
I recall a recent episode of Coast that looked at the construction of the canal, pointing out that its timing turned out to be too late to make it a great comercial success due to the emergence of trains. A fact that stood out was that the navvies who dug the canal by hand, needed to demonstrate that they could dig a full 12 m3 every day. Amazing.
I was expecting a fairly easy day and followed the western shores of Loch Ness in dry weather and quiet roads. I overlooked however, that immediately after leaving the magically named Drumnadrochit, there is a gruelling hill that sees me again failing to stay in the saddle. It doesn't matter. I am past feeling shame at this stage!
The Dingwall site is almost empty and how it justifies a £24 a night fee beats me. What is notable is that on the other side of the site, a lightweight tent is pitched and a hardy and cheerful couple of pensioners seem to be enjoying themselves in this decidedly cold venue. What fantastic resiliance!