Tale end of the Highlands May 2012 - Click on photos to see the full size

-I had waved off Jean & Bob, and my car was packed and ready to leave after them. I had decided to stay on for a couple more days because I always find it very difficult to tear myself away from the Highlands. I had been able to book a room at The Priory Hotel, Beauly, where we had eaten High Tea the day before, but they would only have a room available for two nights.

I stopped just before leaving the village and looked back across the fields at the houses and the snow capped mountains. Despite Jean & Bob having left some 15 minutes before me, they passed me as I was taking the photo, so must have taken a wrong turn and had to turn around to get to Inverness.

Beauly is only a few miles from Kiltarlity, so I decided that as I could not check in until after 3pm, and it was then only about 9am, I would go to Inverness and fill up with fuel, and have breakfast.

There is a good view of Kessock Bridge from the road to Inverness, beside the Beauly Firth (it becomes the Moray Firth beyond Chanory Point where it is almost met by Fort George from the south bank of the Firth) .

However, this view is from a tiny track to the north of the bridge looking south.

I had decided to get fuel at Morrison's, and as I waited at the traffic lights, Bob & Jean came out of Morrison's Filling station - and took the wrong turn again. This time there was nothing I could do about it, so they would end up having to go round the city again to get to the A9 and their road home.

I had decided that since the weather was still being kind, I would try to go over the Pass of the Cattle again, so I set off for Applecross.  It is a wonderful route, through some lovely lonely country and beside some lovely lochs - but then, to me, all the lochs are beautiful!

I stopped to take a photo of Dulnain Bridge, as I am always in awe of the men who built these lovely bridges with very little by way of mechanical help and would have only had hand tools and horse drawn transport to get to and from their work and to carry the lovely granite they used to built them.

Dulnain Bridge

Soon I was beside the Loch Luichart, and it was a blustery day so the water looked decidedly choppy.

Loch Luichart - the railway track to Kyle of Lochalsh runs beside this Loch

There was still a fair amount of sunshine around, so my fingers were firmly crossed as I headed down glorious Glens towards Lochcarron along the A890. It looks much wider in the photo than it is, as it is single track with passing places. Happily there are plenty of passing places, but occasionally some fool will park in them and make life difficult for other motorists.

Driving down to Lochcarron, through the Coulag area

Loch Carron just before entering the village

Strathcarron came into view and the delightful village that is strung along the northern shore of Lochcarron. The Clouds were now building up, but the patch of sunlight through the clouds sparkled on Loch Carron. I was planning on stopping at my favourite sea-food restaurant at Kishorn. I have rarely had such wonderful seafood as they sell there. Normally I have Squat Lobsters, but today I was to be very disappointed. They had not got enough and wanted to keep those they had for their version of the mixed seafood platter. At £27.50 I was not going to be buying that! It is designed for two to share anyway, and being on my own it was definitely a no-go area! Instead I settled for the most delicious bowl of Cullen Skink soup it was my good luck to taste. Followed by smoked salmon what more could I want? Well, really I wanted Squat Lobster, but I was very happy with what I did have.

Bealach na Ba - Also called The Pass of the Cattle

The road is one of few in the Scottish Highlands that is engineered similarly to roads through the great mountain passes in the Alps, with very tight hairpin bends that switch back and forth up the hillside and gradients that approach 20%. It boasts the greatest ascent of any road climb in the UK, rising from sea level at Applecross to 626 metres (2,054 ft), and is the third highest road in Scotland.

The weather decided to be difficult now. Whilst I was in there, chatting to a lovely couple who joined me at my table as the place was packed out (there are only 7 tables!) it started to rain. There is no point at all in driving over the beautiful Pass of the Cattle (Bealach na Ba) in poor weather, as I had found out on the last time I went over, about 3 years ago. The incredible view back over Loch Carron and out over Skye are denied to you in poor visibility. It is the highest Pass in the UK, but to enjoy it at its best, good visibility is really needed.

Reluctantly I decided to turn around and head back to Beauly. By now the rain had arrived in earnest, so it had been a good decision.

I got to the Hotel, and although normally all the parking area around the hotel is full, I was my usual lucky self, and managed to park right outside the door. In fact, I got the same lovely bedroom I had had last time I was there, which overlooked the square, and now that there was free Wi-Fi as well, the picture was complete. In no time I had downloaded the photos I had taken that day and caught up with all my friends emails and my other friends on Twitter.

I had been tempted to have another High tea, but having had a good breakfast, then a sumptuous lunch, decided that just a simple main course would be fine that night. I had ordered the Dover Sole Meunier, but the waitress came back and told me they had none left (it was all of 7pm!!) and would I care to have the haddock instead?

I really don't think I have ever had a greater contrast between two meals in my life! It was dreadful. Dry beyond cardboard, and coated in some anonymous coating that was neither batter nor breadcrumbs. My guess it that it had been gathered from the bottom of a bird-cage! I resolved not to fall for that again. The restaurant was crowded with about 20 golfers there for a weeks golfing holiday, plus various other guests, so I really felt a bit nervous about complaining, but complain I did. I am a firm believer that if you don't tell them if something is bad, they have no chance to correct it. I do always compliment them on the good service they give, so I feel quite justified in complaining when things are bad.

I was back up in my room, now grasping a nice large glass of red, and onto my laptop, where I spent the next few hours happily tweeting.

I did wonder what the breakfast was going to be like and have to say it was superb. I could not have wished for more choice and it was all beautifully cooked (perhaps the breakfast chef is not the same one as had been on duty the night before)!

From the top of the Struan, looking East over the Dornoch Firth & bridge

Sunday morning and I decided that after the abortive trip to the Falls of Shin on Friday, I would go there instead. The weather was pretty bad, but since the Salmon would not be running for another couple of months, I would not be going down to the see the Falls, but just having a wander around the Harrods of the North. 

The River Shin, above the Falls of Shin

After a pit stop for a sandwich and a drink, and with rain falling gently all around, I decided to go onto some roads I have not been on for about 5 years. I headed toward Lairg, but instead of turning right into the village I turned left across the moorland. It was wonderful. So empty and as someone once said, if the weather is good, you look at far distances, but if the rain comes, you look in much more detail, and I did just that. I rounded a corner, and noticed this lovely little Bridge over the Cassley river that tumbles over Achness Falls. They are lovely, and in the rain looked to have a good amount of water coming down.

The River Cassley tumbling over the Achness Falls

The River is down in a deep gorge here

Primroses in bloom on the banks of the River Cassley

A small bridge below these falls carries the road I was driving, and the banks of it had lots of wild primroses in bloom on it. It was like seeing dots of sunshine captured for anyone to enjoy who took the time to stop and look.

My next turn took me toward Oykell Bridge, as I had rented a cottage near there a few years ago, so it would be lovely to see it again. The views of the Kyle of Sutherland are breathtaking, so I have got to include a couple of photos of them. In spite of it being misty, and giving everything the look of having been painted in watercolours, it is still very lovely.

The Kyle of Sutherland looking West

I was fairly high up by now, and on a back lane which leads from Invercassley to Achnahanat.

 The Kyles of Sutherland looking East, where it goes down and empties into the Dornoch Firth at Bonar Bridge.

I had hoped to get some photos of Carbisdale Castle but it is shrouded completely in scaffolding at the moment, so is obviously undergoing extensive restoration. It is currently some sort of Youth Hostel, but I am not sure if it is the property of the YHA but it has a fascinating history.

Carbisdale Castle

The castle was built between 1905 and 1917 for Mary Caroline, Duchess of Sutherland, the second wife of George Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, 3rd Duke of Sutherland, whom she married in 1889. She is better known as "Duchess Blair" because of her first marriage to Captain Arthur Kindersely Blair of the 71st Highland Light Infantry, who died in a hunting accident in 1883 near Pitlochry. The marriage was not well liked in the Sutherland family. When the Duke died in 1892 his will, in favour of the Duchess, was contested by his son and heir Cromartie. In a court process that followed, the Duchess was found guilty of destroying documents and was imprisoned for six weeks in London.

Eventually, the Sutherland family came to an agreement giving Duchess Blair a substantial financial settlement. Furthermore, the family agreed to build a castle for the Duchess, as long as it was outside of the Sutherland lands. The Duchess employed a firm of Ayrshire builders and work started in 1906 just outside the Sutherland lands in Ross-shire. It was located on a hillside to be visible to a large part of Sutherland, especially the main road and rail line which the Sutherland family would have to use to travel south. Thus it became known as the "Castle of Spite" as it was widely considered that the Duchess located the castle there to spite her husband's family and the settlement agreement. This is further supported by the fact that the castle's tower only has clocks on three of its four faces - the side facing Sutherland is blank, supposedly because the Duchess did not wish to give the time of day to her former relatives.

My route now took me through Ardgay, and then back over the Struan to Dingwall and Beauly. There is a wonderful Viewpoint on this road of Dornoch Firth, and looking back up towards Bonar Bridge

Dornoch Firth looking toward Bonar Bridge

This viewpoint is usually quite busy, but on a windy and, as the Scots so descriptively call it, a dreich day, there was just one couple on a motor cycle. They turned out to be French, so having offered to take a photo of the two of them together, we had a few minutes chat. It was their first time in this part of Scotland, but they had fallen in love with it completely, even in the rain. It just goes to show, no matter what mother nature decides to give us, she never hides her beauty of her own accord unless she decides to cover her face with her veil of mist.

I had enjoyed a wonderful day, and arrived back at my Hotel in perfect time to get ready for dinner. I decided that I would give them another chance, and had a splendid dinner which more than made up for the dismal meal I had had the night before.

I was on the road home after a good breakfast, this time of a great mmoist Finnan Haddock and 2 poached eggs, and as I had promised to prepare a practical quiz for the Women's Rural Institute that night, it was just as well that the hotel was full for the rest of the week or I would have been tempted to stay, regardless of what the weather forecast said.

I had had a wonderful holiday, and as soon as I got home I have already booked the same delightful holiday home for next year and Jean & Bob are as keen to join me as I am to go. They are wonderful friends, because holidays together can mean the end of friendships if there are any chinks in them, but ours is very strong and I cherish them both.

A Week in the Highlands

I booked on line, and it can always be a bit of a risk. I have had cottages that have been, to put it mildly, 'tired', others that were superbly situated but lacking in equipment, and yet others that were a bit of a disappointment. This one, through Cottages4You, was indescribably beautiful. Only 11 miles from Inverness for shopping, but very close to some of the most magnificent scenery Scotland has to offer.
I had arranged with my friends from Scarborough, Bob & Jean, that they would go up in their car, and we would rendezvous at Perth. We were going to meet at Morrisons, as I would want to fill up the car with fuel and that is where I always fill up.

I arrived at least 2 hours before them, so having filled up, I decided to do a bit of shopping at Aldi and Lidl, and then meet instead at Tesco, where they would want to fill their car up. I tried Jean's mobile phone. Switched off! I tried Jean's 2nd Mobile - also switched off! Knowing that Bob would also have his as he usually leaves it in the car, I tried his. Switched off! Eventually I drove to Tesco and sat in the cafe with a view of the car park entrance. My phone, my new phone rang. and rang. And rang. I could not figure out how to answer the darned thing! I pressed everything that could be pressed, but no. Nothing worked. In the end, I looked for the call log and found their missed call. I rang them! They were at Tesco, Perth. Not the same Tesco Perth as me! Transpired there are at least 3 Tesco's in Perth, and we were sitting in two of them. Telling them to stay put, I asked in the store I was at for the post code of the other one. After many strange looks, I was eventually given the post code. I was all of 5 minutes away. Theoretically at least. Obeying the voice of my Sat nav, I turned right when she told me to. I had Tesco diagonally opposite me as I sat at the traffic lights. Sat Nav told me to turn right so I did, expecting to see the entrance to the car park.
Wrong! this took me on a slip road behind Tesco, and before I knew where I was I was heading south on the A9. Drat - now I had to drive to the M90/A9 interchange a few miles south, go round the roundabout and back north, leaving where I had got on! Now it was easy to go into Tesco's car park, so I found Jean sitting laughing in the cafe. Bob had gone walkabout, but he too had a good laugh when I told them of my slight detour!

Soon we were refreshed and on our way up toward Inverness. We called off for a comfort stop, as the coach drivers so delicately put it, at Ralia, the only Rest area with a cafe on the whole of the A9, and one I had always used when I was towing the caravan with my husband on our annual trip up to the Highlands.

We found the bungalow very easily, as Bob had looked at Google Earth, and traced the lane from the main road to where he assumed the bungalow was. At least, it was an assumption, as when google Earth took their photos, the bungalow had not been built.

Going inside it was a revelation. What a superb property, and beautifully decorated. The owner had even put fresh flowers for us, and there was milk and tea and coffee there too, so we were able to have a drink quickly. Jean had made a casserole, and before long that was heated up and we were sitting down to a wonderful evening meal, before setting about getting our laptops working.

The bungalow had Wi-Fi, and after a couple of phone calls to the owner, she arrived and sorted out the WEP key for us and we were happily tweeting and emailing all and sundry. This was luxury at its best as far as the three of us are concerned.

Sunday morning dawned with blue sky and wall to wall sunshine. The cows were in the field next to us, curiously looking over the fences at us, with their calves at their sides. We could not believe just how quiet and peaceful this place is and had all slept like logs.

Setting off for Inverness, and the Black Isle, I turned the wrong way, and we were halfway to Drumnadrochit, on Loch Ness, before we knew it. As we were passing Urquhat Castle, where there was some event on, and looked very busy, Jean asked how far it is to Skye, as she had always wanted to go there. No sooner had she asked than we were on our way there. Turning right at Invermoriston, and stopping every few miles to take photos, we thoroughly enjoyed the journey. We had a little stop at Eileen Donan Castle to take photos, then again a few miles further on to take the first photo of the Skye Bridge.

Where we stood to take this picture there is a lovely memorial seat to a young man, and I am always moved by the wonderful words engraved on the plaque.

After crossing the bridge we were getting ready for some lunch, so we stopped at Broadford at a restaurant I have used before, and had a good lunch, and a little rest, before setting off back. I decided to take them to see Plockton, as it is a pretty village, but very busy on the weekends. It is where Hamish McBeth was filmed, but since neither Bob & Jean, nor myself had seen the series it really was not the reason I wanted to take them there.

As we left there, we came to the tiny village of Duirinish where we stopped and admired the superb herd of Highland cattle grazing freely on the village green. I love Highland Cattle, and to get so close to them as this was something of a real treat for me. They seemed totally at ease with people and indeed came almost nose to nose with us.

I had half thought we may be able to drive over to the Applecross that same day, but the weather and time were against us, and since the whole point of driving over the Pass of the Cattle or Bealach na Bà as it is called in Gaelic, is to see the glorious views both back over Loch Carrann, and over Skye and Raasay and Scalpay, so we decided to leave this for another days treat.

Monday and the weather was again superb, so it was a good day to go up Glen Affric, only a few miles from where the bungalow is. It is a beautiful Glen, with the winding single track road, and heavily forested with lots of birch and of course, the ubiquitous pine trees. The river Affric runds down the length of it, tumbling over Dog Falls near the bottom end of it. There had not been a lot of rain, so the falls were not as dramatic as I have seen them many times, but during the winter of 2010/11 there was tumultuous water which had washed away the supports to the bridge carrying the footpath to the other side of the Glen. This has been replaced, but still looks like a raw scar - time will, no doubt, soften it so that it does not look so unsightly, but at least it has been mended, so it is a tribute to the maintenance work of the Forestry men to care for such important structures.

These information boards are so well done that it is always worthwhile photographing them because I always forget what I read a week or so later!

Last time I went up Glen Affric it was possible to drive right to the top. Now there is a car park, and the rest of the Glen is only accessible to those on foot. Fine if you can walk, but not funny for those who are now denied the pleasure of seeing that bit further up such a glorious Glen. Oh well, I suppose some people just don't see things that way, so I am glad I had the chance a few years ago.

It is Chisholm Country, and the clan sold most of the timber for use in the shipbuilding trades. From the top, there is a trail called the Chisholm Trail (or at least it was when I went up there a few years ago).

Coming back down Glen Affric, it was still early enough in the day to show my friends the wonderful Glen Strathfarrar. This is a closed, private Glen, and is unsignposted. There is a sign to Piper Major Willie Ross's Cairn, but that is all. The story of this wonderful Piper is to be found here http://www.pipetunes.ca/composers.asp?pg=Details&composerID=22 and is well worth reading. I love the sound of the bagpipes, and even though I was not born a Scot, my paternal Great-Grandmother was, so I reckon some of her blood must run through my veins too.

Glen Strathfarrar is one of the most peaceful Glens, mainly because you have to get a permit from the gatehouse to drive into it, and it is stunningly beautiful.

Further up the Glen we saw our first deer. What a lovely sight they make. About 40 of them all grazing together, a few young stags amongst them.

We came across this tree with its rather curious mishaped branch and I was trying to work out exactly how it had grown into a circle without any apparent need to do so - you can usually see why trees have grown into certain shapes by the objects that have obstructed their normal straight growth, but this?

We had had a wonderful day, and still the weather was holding up, but it was getting colder, and of course the mountain tops still had snow on them.

Wednesday dawned and although a little cooler, it was still fine. The forecast was for showers later, but there was so much to see, that we were determined to make the most of it. A little shopping in Inverness Tesco, and we were ready to set off for the Black Isle. The view of Kessock Bridge is always one which sets my pulse racing, being, as I see it, the gateway to the North, and all the wild country I love to see up there.

I had seen Dolphins in the Kessock Bridge a few years ago, so decided to drive down to where we had seen them first. there is the Dolphin & Whale watching visitor centre there, near the new RNLI station, but it was closed until June. This should have reminded me of something, but didn't.

Whilst driving down to the shore line, we saw lots of lovely blue bells, and Jean got out to photograph them. A man in a van stopped and told her that if we drove down a very narrow track beside the Firth, we would see lots more than those. Of course, we just had to do it! It was indeed a narrow track, but the reward was well worth the effort.

We hoped to see Dolphins, and a friend had told Bob that the best point to see them is off Chanory Point. I stopped just in a layby to get a photo of Dalgetty Bay, as it looks so lovely.

 We sat at Chanory Point for quite a while, but alas, there were no dolphins to be seen, and I am sure it is because it was a little too early in the season for them, as I seem to recall that they come from about June onwards, and this was May, and a cool May at that.

On to Cromarty, that village famous for its name being given to a Shipping Area, and one most people know, even if they don't actually know where it is. It is a delightful village, and has a very interesting history. One of its most famous sons is Hugh Miller, the Geologist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Miller and anyone interested in Geology is likely to have heard of him. His birthplace, a lovely heather thatched cottage, is now a museum and stands near to the Courthouse, which has also be restored to provide an excellent visitor experience as a tableaux, with sound effects, of a Victorian court room bears witness to.

Leaving Cromarty behind we drove along the north side of the Black Isle, where we could see the Oil Rigs being worked on at Invergordon, with the backdrop of Ben Wyvis with snow on her tops.

Joining the Cromarty Firth, and the bridge across to Dingwall, we hoped to see the seals hauled out on the rocks near the bridge. As we were also near to the Storehouse of Foulis, it seemed a good place to have a break and look at the shop there. It was by then almost 6pm, as we could see from the sundial in the grounds.

 The shop was closing, so with one last stop to look for seals, felt it was time to head back to the bungalow for dinner.

 We had done a lot of travelling in the previous four days, so decided to wait indoors to see if the weather would improve. We each had our laptop, and so I got busy with sorting out photographs and straightening them up - and missed this one! Digital photography is simply magic in that it is possible to straighten photographs after they have been taken, but I don't change anything else. Colours remain as they were taken, and on dull days, it means that they are not such bright photos as would otherwise be the case.

These ladies and their children were our daytime visitors - it being still too cold to let them say out overnight, they would emerge about 9am and be called back in about 7pm. It was funny to watch them, because their field surrounded the bungalow, and we would suddenly see one of the 'girls' head off in a different direction, and in no time at all, they would all have followed. Talk about sheep keeping together, well we now know that cows do exactly the same thing. The black & white cow was washing her calf for quite a while - it was lovely to watch the way he would turn round for her to make sure she got to the whole of his face!

Friday came along, and there was no improvement in the weather. However, Bob had decided that he had enjoyed his day indoors, so was more than happy when Jeanie & I went off out for a few hours. We were going to go to the Falls of Shin, but first decided we would go and see the House of Beauly nearby. This was originally called A Taste of Scotland, and sells exclusively local made goods and is wonderful. It has been expanded a lot since the days when it first opened and we would call in for a browse and a snack. We wandered around for a while then made for the cafe for morning coffee. I don't eat cakes, but I am a sucker for Paté, so as it was almost lunchtime, that is what I had and it was stupendous! Home made and simply superb, served with a lovely side salad too. Sitting in the cafe, I noticed this sign in my line of vision in the shop, and on closer inspection of it, just had to take a photo as it is without doubt one of the nices 'Graces' I have seen in many a long year.

I only had my phone camera, so if the words are not as clear as I would like, they are: For Food that stays our Hunger, For rest that brings us ease, For homes where memories linger, we give our Thanks for these.

After our pleasant time at Beauly, we set off for the Falls of Shin. I know the way. I've been there lots of times. Carry on at Garve as though going to Ullapool and it is about 3 miles after the village that you turn right. WRONG! We did, however, notice this waterfall, so managed to pull the car onto the side of the road to get a photo.

After a few more miles I felt that we might be on the wrong road. Arrival at Loch Glascarnoch confirmed this! This place is often cited as the wettest place in Scotland on the Met office reports, but today it was just grey. On a lovely day, the water looks like sapphire, today it looked less than that.

We turned around there, and headed back to Dingwall and since the weather was just not improving at all, and indeed there was a hint of snow in the showers, it seemed that our trip to the Falls of Shin was not going to happen on this trip.

As we headed back south, we were to the north of Ben Wyvis, and she had even more snow on her tops than the view from the south, which is the one we usually have.

I wanted to show Jeanie a particularly interesting monument in Dingwall, which is by the Station. We had a coffee in the Station Cafe, a beautifully decorated establishment, that has divine home cooked food.  Like most of the wonderful cafes and restaurants in Scotland, soup is unsurpassed anywhere else in the country, and here was no exception. However, as I had booked a table for 6pm at the Priory Hotel, Beauly, there was really no chance to sample the food for ourselves as it was now 4pm.

After leaving there we took these couple of photos of the Memorial to the Seaforth Highlanders.

The journey back to the Bungalow was done in less than half an hour, so we had time to change and be at Beauly in good time for our High Tea. I have been going to this Hotel for High Tea for more years than I care to remember and is one of the few places I have found which still serves a traditional one, with toast and preserves, a hot course, then a cake stand filled with wonderful selection of home made cakes and goodies.

After our meal we could not manage to eat all the cakes, so the Hotel very obligingly packed the ones we could not eat ready for us to take with us. They were home made meringues, Chocolae brownies and scones.

Back at the bungalow we had to get our packing done as we all wanted to be on the road early the following morning. I had decided to stay on for a couple of days longer and had booked into the Priory at Beauly after we had had our meal, so I only had a short distance to travel to go there.

We had had a wonderful week together, and our friendship is still strong. I had never more a moment thought there would be a problem, as we have spent many weeks in total in each other's company, and the fact that we had out laptops with us meant that we could stay in touch with everyone we want to and I could keep tweeting, which is something I love doing.

We were all up early the following morning, and with the house now back immaculate as we had found it, we locked the door, put the key where we had been asked to put it, and I waved them off on their journey home.

My couple of days I shall write about in my next blog.