Out & About: Snowed in at Inversnaid, Scotland

Been away to Scotland for a few days and what an adventure, got caught up in The Beast from the East. Went once again with our favourite coach company Lochs and Glens, we got picked up at Ripley Market Place then headed north, the bad weather had already cut in so we travelled across the M62 and onto the M6 with a couple of small stops on the way. We ended up at Gretna Green for our late lunch stop then pressed on and after a couple more stops we arrived at our destination The Inversnaid Hotel which is on the east bank of Loch Lomond.Quickly got into our rooms and we had a fantastic view from the window. For those that have never been to Inversnaid I'll explain a little of what happens here. Normally after the coaches have been emptied of all passengers and luggage the drivers will take the coaches on a longish drive around the loch and park up on the other side ready to take us out on day trips. The next morning the passengers would all be taken over the loch in a ferry to join the coaches for a day out. Then in the evening we come back the same way over the loch in the ferry. Been here several times and it works really well. Unfortunately due to the weather it was unsafe to take the coaches around and they were then stranded in the Inversnaid car park for the duration of the holiday. It was always to dangerous / impossible to get the coaches out so we were snowed in for 3 days.
The staff at the hotel were fantastic arranging entertainment, quizzes, bingo and a trip around Lock Lomond on the bigger ferry. It snowed on and off and most of Scotland was snowed in. Lots of folks took the opportunity to have a walk along the West Highland Way that runs past the hotel and the Arklet Falls alongside the hotel were stunning. At one point the staff were sent across the loch to bring in supplies because nothing was getting in or out of the hotel via the very steep access road. They kept us fed, watered and entertained. This was the first week open of the season and a lot of the staff had just met each other, one of the girls from New Zealand hadn't seen snow before and went out in her flip flops making a snowman with some of the other staff. Mary and Pat joined in and helped them. When the time came to come home home the staff had to hand carry all the luggage down to the ferry and get it onto the coaches on the other side of the loch.
Look out for the wild goats and birds i managed to snap and on the way home a full size Spitfire in a front garden in Moffatt.
Finally i apologise for some of the photo's looking very similar, they were shot in different light conditions, different times of the day or night.