“Noo, whaur are ye headin’?” he asked once we and our rucksacks had squeezed into the front of his van.
“We’re making our way to Kyle of Lochalsh,” I answered, “so if you could drop us off anywhere in that direction, that would be brilliant.”
“Aye, weel, but that’ll present a problem,” he said with a wry grin. “Seein’ as ye’ve been walkin’ in the opposite direction. The best I can dae is let you aff at Kingussie.”
It was the signpost on the bridge at Spean Bridge that had confused us. Instead of taking the road leading west and then north, we took the one going east, back the way we had come. But it didn’t matter. The farmer gave us a history lesson on the way to Kingussie, pointing out the places where Bonnie Prince Charlie had hidden after Culloden. And it was Friday night at the hotel in Kingussie, where a good time was had by all! The next day we set off for Culloden Moor.