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Night 1: Ross Shire: Altguish Inn

The Altguish Inn is on the far side of nowhere. We were so annoyed by the time we got there! Fortunately a nice Scottish man in a kilt at another hotel helped us find our way. There is no way we would go back to the Altguish Inn. It was very far from Inverness and kind of scary all around. It was not what you would think of as a hostel at all, there were no self catering facilities (you had to order dinner and pay for it or drive 45 minutes to some other restaurant), and a full Scottish breakfast was provided. The water in the bathrooms was brown,and there was no way to buy water, so we were just thirsty all night and didn't even brush our teeth in the morning. There were no showers, only tubs! Also, it was freezing (snowing pretty hard) and the bathroom heaters did not work.

Night 2: Torridon: Scottish Youth Hostel

This hostel was exactly as advertised. It was cheaper than staying in the local B&B or hotel, and it was fairly clean and comfortable. Normally, the dorm rooms are male or female only, but they made an exception for us because it was very slow. This was the only place we stayed with a lockout time. There was only one restaurant in the area and no grocery store to speak of.

Night 3: Inverness: Travelodge Inverness

What can I say? It was a Travelodge. No restaurant, but it had a private, moldy shower; a TV, clean sheets, and stores near by. (Washcloths in Europe are apparently considered toiletries, so bring your own!) We did learn that if you book at least a week in advance you can get REALLY good rates at many Travelodges. Too bad we didn't know that about a week sooner!

Night 4: Stirling: Travelodge Stirling

Again, just a Travelodge, but with a cleaner bathroom. This one was hard to find. It's off of the "services" exit from a gigantic roundabout that joins 2 motorways together (M9 and M80 I believe).

Night 5: Edinburgh: Budget Backpackers Edinburgh

This was one of the safest, best organized hostels we saw. The room was clean and there was internet access at 1 pound per 30 minutes (could be worse). Breakfast was not free, but we left long before breakfast was served (only 30 minutes after our roommates got in from partying). One wierd thing about this... most of the bathrooms were shared male/female. We'd never seen anything quite like that before. The doors on the bathroom/shower stalls completely covered the openings, so it wasn't bad, just strange.