Scottish wanderings - part 3

Saturday June 17 - Durness to Loch Maree

Loch Maree from our cottage ... a pity about the low cloud

While the rain continued overnight it had eased off by the time we left Durness. We were heading south along a stretch of coast that had been raved about in all the guides I had read. We were hoping for some clear weather ... perhaps it would happen.

Yes, it was raining!

 Saturday was obviously a day to get out on your bike, whether the pedal variety or motorised, regardless of the weather. We came across numerous bikes throughout the day. Some were singles but most were in groups. As many of the roads we traveled were single lanes, with their passing spots, it added another dimension to the days driving.

Some of the bikes we came across were part of an iron man event. There were also quite a few support vehicles for the competitors. Later we were to learn that the event started with a swim in a very cold loch. As there was rain through most of the day it was not the best of conditions to be tackling such a grueling event. They obviously breed them though in Scotland!

The coastal route had plenty of sea lochs and many sections of landform made up chiefly of tortured, exposed rocks.

I am sure that the lochs would have looked great if the sun was shining.

Small settlements were tucked up against the slopes here and there.

Still, Jen and I enjoyed what we could see of the rugged land and seascape.

 Many of the old forts and castles were sacked and destroyed over the centuries. Sometimes it was the rest of clan wars while the folks from down south did their bit, too. This is just one of the ruins we came across standing on a point.

We reached Ullapool in time for lunch and checked out their fish and chips which were reputed to be excellent. They were OK.

Ullapool is not a very big place although it did boast quite a few pubs and other eateries. The harbour front was lined by a row of buildings and there were boats in the protected harbour.

Our lunch spot

The highlight of the afternoon was Corrieshalloch Gorge and Falls Of Measach. This was a spectacular mile-long gorge and waterfall.

At 61m deep, Corrieshalloch Gorge is one of the finest examples in Britain of a box canyon. The river which carved this channel through hard metamorphic rock plunges 46m over the Falls of Measach.

There was a suspension bridge a little way downstream from the falls. From here it was possible to look down into thes spectacular, steep-sided slot gorge. The bridge was limited to a mere three people at a time and was extremely bouncy.

Meltwaters created Corrieshalloch Gorge shortly before glaciers left the area. It is 60m deep with near vertical walls and in places it is very narrow, only 10m across at the lip. The inaccessible ravine supports a rich and varied Atlantic bryophyte flora. The River Droma flows through the gorge in a series of waterfalls, the largest of which is the 46m Falls of Measach. Further downstream, there was a viewing platform which provided an excellent vantage point looking up towards the falls.

The bouncy suspension bridge across the gorge

After checking out the gorge we headed towards Loch Maree, our overnight spot. As the weather had been ordinary which really discouraged walking around in the incredible landscape we headed towards Loch Maree.


We stopped for a cup of coffee in the small settlement of Kinlochewe where there was not much more than the servo which also had a small cafe and micro store. Supposedly there was also a settlement about 10 miles from our Loch Maree accommodation but that proved to be shut when we went and checked it out. So much for being able to stock up on foodstuff locally!

The Loch Maree area boasts some impressive reserves however, with the weather being rather inclement, we decided against tramping around in the rain and instead headed for our cottage on Loch Maree.

The cottage was next to the Loch Maree hotel. The hotel has had a number of famous guests including Queen Victoria. I don't think that we will be added to their list of famous guests.

We ate dinner at the hotel with a view of the loch. Low cloud hung over the slopes on the far side of the loch and rain continued to fall.

We were entertained by the appearance of a lone deer later in the evening. It stayed around for ages before wandering off. It was an animal with attitude!

 As we have wandered around the highlands we have been able to glimpse the majestic landscape. More often than not low cloud has obscured all the the bottom of the closest ranges. We kept being optimistic that we would get a fine, sunny day so that we could get some decent photos to show off the raw, rugged landscape that we had been traveling through.

Scottish wanderings - part 2

Friday 16 June

Today we had a lot of driving to do. We were travelling from Inverness through to Durness, which is near the north west tip of Scotland.

Some of the seagulls we came across today were huge

 With Jen at the wheel we headed off. The navigation system had a number of idiosyncrasies which were to cause us the odd problem until we worked them out. If the road we were on went around a bend the system still showed the directional status as straight ahead. The result was that we sometimes took the straght ahead road which was the incorrect one. That is exactly what happened as we were attempting to leave Inverness. Still, it was not all bad. We saw bits of the city we would not have otherwise seen. The port was interesting and not originally on our schedule.

The bridge leading out of Inverness was impressive. It spans the Moray Firth.

Having successfully left Inverness we headed up the coast on the A9 which was not a really big road even tough it had a low number.

Our first stop of the day was at Dornoch which boasts a church with some impressive stained glass windows.

In the church yard was a stone that dates back to the mid 1500s and was used as a tailor's measure.

The tailor's measure is in the bottom right of the photo

The village has a connection to an Irish evangelist who came to convert the local heathens around 600AD (I think).

After a refreshing cup of coffee it was on the road again.

We did stop at Golspie intending to have a quick look at Dunrobin Castle but decided that the price was not right and we still had a long way to go for the day. Externally it was a pretty castle.

The were a heap of visitors to the castle as this line of motor homes attest.

Our lunch stop was in the town/village (don't ask me how to determine if a place is a village or town) of Helmsdale. We actually ate in a cafe that is listed as on of the six top fish and chip places in Britain. We didn't have fish and chips as all we really wanted was a sandwich.

On leaving Helmsdale the navigation system decided to send us along the A897 as the route to our next target. By the time we determined that it was not going to put us on the more major road along the coast we were well on our way to the north along a one lane road. Once we worked this out it was rather interesting. The one lane roads have lots of passing places and most can be seen in advance as they have sign posts announcing them as passing places. It turned out to be an interesting drive once we got used to dodging and weaving our way along the road. We had to contend with motor cyclces, bikes and cars.

There was a surprising amount of traffic. The road meandered along a valley with a waterway which appeared to have quite good fishing as there were quite a few people playing with rods. From time to time we also came across shelter were people were lounging around.

The scenery was quite pretty even if the windscreen wipers were getting a workout. It just kept on raining! Sometime the rain was a light drizzle. At other times it was heavier.

We also had to contend with sheep. Often there was no fencing along the road. There were cattle grids to stop the sheep moving from one farm to the next but they were free to roam along and across the road.  As there were a lot of lambs around we were constantly slowing for ewes and lambs to get off the road.

We also came across cattle wandering down the road.

Apologies for the windscreen wiper in the middle of this photo

We had seen a train line running along the valley and we came to on of the stations serviced by the line.

The the track crossed the road there were boom gates and warning signals.

The station house has been taken over by a conservation project that overseas the Forsinard Flows, one of the last great natural landscapes in Britain. The blanket bog is one of the world's rarest habitats. It has taken some 8000 years for the deep peat soils to grow. We spent some time chatting with the ranger on duty comparing these peat bogs with those I had seen in Yorkshire.

When we hit the north coast we were west of Thurso and decided not to visit the Scottish home of the Queen Mother. Instead we headed west towards Durness and our overnight stop.

There were some stunning views along the coast and some lovely white sand.

We were staying at the Balnakeil Craft Village which was just beyond Durness. The weather was atrocious so apart from doing a quick walk around the village and having the most decadent hot chocolate that I had had in a very long time we decided we had had enough bad weather for the day.

Fortunately the village boasted a restaurant and it was right next to where we were staying so our food needs were well catered for.

Scottish wanderings - part 1

After finishing the West Highland Way I caught the bus from Fort William to Glasgow in order to collect the car we were going to use to tour the north of Scotland. The bus traveled along the A82 through or near to quite a few places we had visited during our walk. The sun was shining and I regretted not carrying my camera. Be thankful as there would have been a heap of photos of mountains and lochs. The other positive was being able to see the route before I drove it later in the night. It did help.

The bus terminated at the city bus station and I was quickly on another bus heading for the airport. By the time I got to the Hertz desk it was very quiet and I got served without a wait.

Having been duly issued with a car, one with built in navigation, I set the destination to Fort William and headed out of the airport. While it was 9 o'clock at night it was still quite light and I did not need the lights, yet. The biggest problem was having the indicators on the left and the windscreen wipers on the right. That problem was overcome when it started to rain.

Before it got too dark I stopped to work out how to turn on the headlights. Once I actually found the switch it was OK and I set them to auto which was a sensible setting for we tourists.

I finally pulled into the carpark at the B&B a little after midnight. It had been a long day.

Jen had suggested a late breakfast time slot for the next morning which was a good decision. After breakfast we finished packing, threw all our gear in the car, locked it and walked down to the High Street so that we could formally complete Jen's walk with the obligatory photos. Here they are again ... just in case you missed them.

In keeping with most of the days we have been in Scotland it was raining!

We returned to the B&B and headed out of Fort William in the direction of Inverness. This took us up the Great Glen passing Loch Lochie, Loch Oich and then Loch Ness. We kept crossing over waterways but did not see any vessels using the locks.

Our first stop was going to be Urquhart Castle. This is just another ruin. It was built, knocked down and rebuilt many times before being abandoned. It was really cold as we walked around the site and were pleased to return to the warmth offered by the car.

View over Loch Ness from the Urquhart Castle site

On leaving Urquhart Castle we headed into Inverness and our B&B which turned out to be one of many in that area of Inverness. Most were full. It was only a short walk into the business centre. By the time we set out it was still chilly but the sun had broken through.

I cannot recall seeing so many churches in such a small area. The folk of Inverness must have been much in need of salvation to have poured so much money into the numerous churches that we came across. Here are just two ... I'm sure you don't want to see them all!

The River Ness runs through the middle of Inverness. It is crossed by a number of bridges including some that are pedestrian only.

... and don't miss the two churches in the background

We did a turn through the central business district and stumbled on the castle. This one was relatively modern and definitely in use.

There are paths along both sides of the river and these were being heavily used by pedestrians and cyclists.

We had been informed that many restaurants offered good deals for pre-threatre dinner. We, ignorant ones, thought that this seemed a bit odd in a relatively small city only to discover that they had a huge arts centre which had multiple live shows running as well as cinemas.

We opted for dinner in one of the local cafes. Perhaps this was not the best choice. Meals came with potato (mash or chips) and vegetables. The only catch was you had to pick one from peas, carrots or beans. Carrots was a good choice. Jen picked beans. When her meal arrived she was surprised to discover that beans were of the baked variety. One should never assume. Jen had been looking forward to some green beans!

The next episode will cover our journey to the far north coast.