Week 43 - 4th to 10th Aug

Monday 4th - day 282

Another slow start, due to bad weather, well that is our excuse and we are sticking to it! As has been typical all this week, by lunch time the clouds were lifting. We had said that if the clouds were high enough we would try the Kishorn Pass again, but the distance was too far, and the clouds still too low to risk it, so we headed back towards Skye to visit Dunvegan and the west side of the island.
We were hungry by the time we arrived, and having packed only a cold supper went in search of food. We saw a sign saying “Oldest Bakery in Skye” and assuming that it held all the charms of its pronouncement we entered. It didn’t take long to register the plastic table cloths and heavy odours, but it took a little while to really register the level of filth, the kitchen was dark brown, floor to ceiling!! The cutlery was fairly dodgy, and Chris’s cup went back, but fortunately the food looked presentable and my jacket potato tasted quite reasonable, though Chris’s steakwich looked a little suspect it has to be said. We tried not to think about our surroundings, ate as quickly as we could and left, hoping that we would not soon feel ill! But surprisingly (and happily) there were no ill effects!
We were of course too late to look round the castle, but the grounds were open til 8pm, so we enjoyed a leisurely walk round some lovely gardens, and strolled by another lovely loch side, until it was time to move on round the island in search of our next meal stop!
We stopped at a view point overlooking the wide panorama of the coastline across to the Cuillins, which were now uncapped, and there in all their glory. We enjoyed a slightly warmer and midge free al fresco supper, and felt satiated in every way as we returned to the car for our last lingering looks across glorious Skye, before making the journey back home.

Tuesday 5th - day 283

After a week of miserable mornings we have woken to glorious sunshine, but we are leaving Sheil Bridge today for Ullapool, still it is a good day for travelling! And as we left we were able to see the peaks of the five sisters that had been missing all week!
After an easy 2 1/2 hour drive across country we arrived in Ardmair Point. The site overlooks the sea, and faces the sun, and looks absolutely splendid in the glorious afternoon light.Once we had settled in we took a bottle of Pesada Del Rey, a bottle of olives, two chairs and a fork, and went and settled ourselves on the beach, bliss. We only left it to return for a plate of roast lamb!

Wednesday 6th - day 284

Unfortunately we have to spend the day organising details like removal quotes and inventories for our new tenants, boring but necessary. It also has to said that it is quite nice to have a day at base in the midst of all these miles of Scottish touring! We did though need some supplies so popped into Ullapool before the shops closed. I had a very distant memory of Ullapool being dingy, cold and wet, but not so, it was thriving. There was an abundance of serious craft shops, smart cafes and an eclectic pub/gallery/bookshop/hotel, outside of which was a sign saying “Excellent Trad music” here tonight. Well that was a sign not to be ignored so at 8.30pm we returned to the Ceilidh Place to hear Bruce Macgregor and Mark Clements of the Blazing Fiddles (plus guest from Co Clare, who played a blazing squeeze box!) absolutely rock the rafters. They were fabulous, so good they got a standing ovation, led unknowingly by my husband who stood to take their photo!!
He had a good night, as on his way to get our intermission drinks from the bar he snuck out to get a shot of the sky at dusk as well - glorious!

Thursday 7th - day 285

Well, the “red sky at night” theory proved right today, we have had lovely weather for our trip to the road to the Summer Isles and a walk round Achnahaird Point.
We drove the long cul-de-sac, past Loch Lurgainn, and Stac Pollaidh. I had few memories of this little mountain, but whatever I thought I had remembered, I was wrong!! It is an “island” mountain, as it stands alone, but I thought it had a flat top, but in fact it was as craggy as the Cuillins, just not so majestic!
We drove on to the long beach at Achnahaird, past a camp site that had twin axle touring caravans in situ – and we are concerned about driving up to Durness on the coastal road, which looks twice as wide on the map!
We parked up by the beach, and took the path up to the headland. It was very reminiscent of the Cornish coastal route, except that off the path the ground was very boggy. We searched in vain for a glimpse of a Sea Eagle, but only saw Seagulls!
Back at the car park we carried on down the path to the beach. There was a strongish wind, which made it a bit cool, but it was fabulous, with wide golden sands and sparkly blue sea, and one family were enjoying it all to themselves (except when we turned up!)
Our next stop was to take the road to Achiltibuie, which offers the best views of the summer Isles, but before we got there, we came over a summit on the road and saw this!
The picnic box was full of goodies ready to go on the barbeque, we just needed somewhere lovely to set up, so off we went in search of a sunny spot, which was out of the wind!
We found the perfect spot back at Loch Lurgainn, and sat in splendid isolation, until 3 cyclists came to the next bay along, and set up their tents, before going for their evening wash in the loch, but we were far enough apart to keep their modesty in tact – just!
We were on the case as well, determined to stay warm and midge free, I lit my first camp fire, using the local dead wood and a match - and guess what, it burst into life, and stayed warm until we left. The chef set up the barbeque next to the fire and we were able to use both to keep the food warm – which made one of us particularly happy! We feasted on the food and the view, until the fire was too cool to dissuade the midges. Finally, smelling strongly of burned fire wood we drove home in the most golden light which ended in a glorious sunset.

Friday 8th - day 286

We went south of Ullapool today, after popping into Boots for more Midge bite soother cream! Chris had also heard that North face will be replacing his worn out walking boots, which was good news, so we went to have a coffee in the “Frigate Coffee House” overlooking the harbour, very nice too!
We planned to drive over to Gairloch, some 57 miles away. The bad news was that we would spend much of the lovely day in the car, but the good news was that we were again in for a treat with the views along the way.
Our first stop was however a little disappointing. Years ago I had visited Corrieshalloch Gorge, and had a memory of a wild, ferocious, deep and beautiful waterfall, but the lack of recent rain, and the presence of 3 coach loads of Spanish tourists, all queuing to pass along the suspension bridge, 6 persons at a time, made the whole expedition a long and disappointing affair!
Our next stop was Gruinard Bay, where we decided to stay and enjoy the wide golden beach, so with picnic box and blanket in hand we found a quiet spot to sit and enjoy the view. After a lovely lunch and a little recovery period(!) we decided to take a little exercise, as you can see Chris took to it like a duck to water!
Finally we decided to move on to check out Gairloch, we passed through yet more spectacular scenery, too big to really be able to capture its majestic splendour on film, to arrive at our destination by early evening. Gairloch was a lovely little whitewashed town overlooking the sea, but we didn’t stop as we wanted to get to the end of the peninsular. We never made it to the end though as we passed an interesting camp site, where the tents were all set up amongst the sand dunes, beyond which was one of the longest and most inviting sandy beaches we’ve seen – called, interestingly – Big Sands! We drove down to park the car amidst the dunes overlooking the beach, with thoughts of strolling down the sands after our pot of tea. However as we sat there in the car, we watched people midge swatting as if it were an Olympic sport, and some were using specialist equipment – a green netting over their heads, so I chickened out of the stroll, I have been bitten enough already! Finally we made our way back home, past countless motorhomes and several tents who were enjoying the joys of camping wild in Scotland- and it is making me think……

Saturday 9th - day 287

The whole of the UK is under a heavy rain cloud today, which gave us a good excuse to stay in, just what we needed I think! We did not quite do nothing though, I had bought a highlighting kit rather than pay for the services of a hairdresser, and lovely Vidal Minton spent two hours pulling my hair through a bonnet. I had encouraged him – many times- to grab clumps, not wisps, and when I washed off the dye, the effect was blond …….. all over!!

Good job it is not red like the last time, but it can hardly be described as highlights now! Oh dear! We decided to eat at the Seafood Bar in Ullapool – a combination of saving petrol and hairdressing money had made us feel affluent – and headed off to town to show off my bright barnet!!!
The restaurant was full with a one hour waiting list, so we went upstairs to their Tapas Bar, and enjoyed a selection of small fishy dishes and Haggis, lovely.
To help dinner settle, we took a stroll round the harbour and beyond as the sky was now clear and the evening fresh and dry.

Sunday 10th - day 288

Hallelujah, the lovely weather is back with us, which is just as well as we touring again today, down to Torridon (some 160 miles round trip!). But it was so worth it. Unfortunately there are no short cuts down these long valleys, and scenic routes and we had to make the return trip past Gruinard and Gairloch, so just as well they were so worth seeing again!
We drove past Loch Maree and down Torridon Glen on the look out for Deer or Eagles, and we saw neither (actually we did see several deer - one of which crossed the road in front of us, but on the way home) but at one of the many stops to look at the view, we saw two birds of prey land by the river quite close to us, and fortunately they stayed long enough for us to identify them as a pair of Goshawks, which are apparently quite rare.
The landscape was stunning and very atmospheric as dark clouds scurried across the craggy mountain tops. There had been rain in the Glen, but it was over as we drove through, and by the time we had wound our way up and over the last spectacular hill pass to reach Diabaig our final destination, the sun was shining, making the sea very sparkly. We sat overlooking the beautiful little harbour round which a cluster of pretty whitewashed houses were settled, to drink our tea. Having sat for too long we took a stroll along the front, and although we were truly miles from anywhere, in a little hamlet that will be quickly cut off in the snow, there was a lot of activity on the water, as a couple of boats came in while we were there, and several young people, in wet suits, were having fun diving off the harbour wall. It all felt a bit bizarre really, and I could not quite get to grips with how people would manage to earn a living or even live their lives so far from anything. Still they were living in a truly beautiful spot, whatever the challenges.
We had as usual packed the picnic box, and on making our return to the car decided to look out for the next perfect stop. If only we had known how quickly we found it we wouldn’t have stopped for tea!
We had to zigzag back out of the village up the steep sided hill, which had provided the beautiful views on our arrival, but we were unprepared for the panorama facing the opposite direction as we reached the top, and someone had kindly put a picnic table out for us, so we just had to make use of it!
The evening light glowed across the loch and over the mountains, and we sat, in splendid isolation, and enjoyed this magnificence all to ourselves.
There was just enough wind to prevent the midges from bothering us, which was a bonus, and we sat until ready to make the two and a half hour journey back.