Week 4. Down the West Coast and onwards home

Day 16. Gairloch to Arisaig. 100 miles aprox.

We headed off towards an anticipated highlight of our road trip - the road along Loch Maree. The cognisenti think this loch is more picturesque than popular Loch Lomond. It is stunningly impressive in size, surrounded by pine forests, but quite inaccessible. The area is renowned for wildlife such as Pine martins and Golden Eagles.

We took a walk around the shore to give Millie a break from being in the van. Photos cannot really capture the size of this enormous area of water.

The majesty of Loch Maree is more explained by this viewpoint.

After the magnificence of  the Lochs and Hills, which unfortunately today were shrouded in cloud, we decided to detour to the seaside village of Plockton. Travelling 7 miles off piste on a single track road with several hairy pass bys (why is it that SUV 4x4 drivers: Range Rover man I’m looking at you, will NOT take their vehicles even an inch off the road?) at passing places we finally arrived. What a find - a very pretty village reminiscent of a Cornish fishing village with a climate to match today.  

Perusing and rejecting the two or three pubs for lunch Carol had her eyes set on moules marinière or equivalent. Fortunately the Plockton Inn provided and we had a lovely lunch: Moules Marinière, chips, and a magnificant Seafood selection. We could have been in Cornwall or even France..

Sadly Graham has captured my disgusted look whilst eating stuff I really enjoy - the kids always tease me about it! Sorry! The food was  delicious - C .

Onwards to the Skye bridge and on to Armadale to the ferry to Malaig. The scenery between Plockton and Lockalsh is lovely. Not as brutal as the Highlands but gentle, curving ups and downs with whitewashed cottages dotted between the bends. Eventually we arrive at the bridge.

The bridge to Skye is actually two bridges joined by an island in the middle. The first one is unmemorable, second one isn’t too bad but could have been better, don’t you think? Built in 1995 the bridge toll was no cheaper than the ferry it replaced. Boycotts and non payments by locals forced the Scottish Government to pay off the debt in 2004 and scrap the tolls.

We had a tea break at Armadale Castle tearooms but regretted that when we saw the lovely tearoom at the ferry terminal. The cake/biscuit thing we had was awful, even Millie didn’t like it. Service wasn’t too great either. Also several gift shops at the ferry in which Carol bought a lively langoustine sculpture and a craft pottery salad dressing jug. Both will look great in the much anticipated Dorset holiday lodge we hope to enjoy next year.

Larry the Langoustine decorating the van.

A short ferry crossing with stunning views of Eigg, Rum and mainland Scotland - the weather calm and warm. We saw both seals and harbour porpoises.

View from the ferry with Eigg and Rum in the background. Eigg on the left, pancake, Rum hilly but hidden in cloud.

A short drive to our campsite just outside of Arisaig. We stayed here 8 years ago on our very first campervan trip and the views and the beach are just as glorious as we remembered, even if the campsite then was a third of the size.

Nearly sunset on the beach accessed from the site - tide very much in.

Day 17. Arisaig.

A day off driving for Graham today enabled a lovely lazy start to the day with a leisurely breakfast, taken outside in the sun.

We strolled down to the beach - with the tide out it spread for miles broken by rocky outcrops. Skye, Eigg, Rum all seen on the horizon.

We spent a couple of hours on the beach, gathering shells and chasing Millie. Millie goads you into kicking something in to the air and then leaps to catch it. Anything; sand, water, mown grass cuttings. Her mouth was full of sand at the end.

We ate lunch al fresco with the sun still showing it’s face and decided to walk in to Arisaig village.

It was a bit of a trek to be fair - a couple of miles sharing a single track road with traffic - mainly 4 x 4 ‘s or motorhomes. Up hill most of the way we eventually got to the village - a single row - a hotel, a coffee shop, a Spar shop and a restaurant.  Still, the Spar had a French chardonnay and sold ice cream - the ice cream we enjoyed sitting on a bench overlooking the bay. Back the same route we passed the harbour where sightseeing and wildlife day boats can be taken for day trips. Last trip we managed a day trip to Eigg - this time we nodded as we passed by and made our way back along the same uninspiring road back to the site.

The pub we walked to last time had shut, turned into a posh house or holiday lets. The other big difference was traffic - more of it. This area is rightly VERY popular and we noticed more traffic while we were walking. Parking could be a real issue if you’re not booked in - day trippers may encounter problems if this sign is anything to be believed, although in truth we never saw any problems.

We managed a pre dinner drink al fresco before the midges arrived,  and with rain forecast overnight packed away the outdoor chairs and table and retired to the van for dinner. Watched the footy on telly - hurrah ! - we got reception to watch the exciting Poland v England game. 

We thought the ref a tad dodgy and Poland were dirty *******s. Well we would wouldn’t we.

Day 18. Arisaig to Fort William. 51 miles.

It had rained quite heavily overnight and was still doing so as we set off for our day’s travel. We were sooo lucky having sunny weather for our one day in Arisaig.

We drove steadily on more normal roads - no more single tracks as we head back into more populated Scotland. Passing by several lovely lochs and hill views we didn’t stop until Fort William. Fort William has two attractions (ignoring Ben Nevis for a moment): Neptune’s Staircase and an M & S Food-hall. Oh we are going to dine in style for our last few dinners! Got more wine and nice nibbles too…

Retracing our steps we went back to Neptunes Staircase - a dramatic series of 8 locks on the Caledonian canal. Graham was so looking forward to a long walk along the tow path ogling the yachts but it was chucking it down, grey, and empty. A friendly lock master informed us that a yacht would be coming by in about 15 mins, so after a quick sarnie and cup of tea in the van we headed back out with the rain easing a little.

Feel free to skip the next paragraph!

Neptunes’s Staircase (for those that don’t know) is a series of 8 locks, one immediately after the other, overseen by Thomas Telford between 1803 and 1822 on the Caledonian Canal which links the Atlantic Ocean to the North Sea via Loch Linnie and Loch Ness thereby saving the need to circumnavigate the UK. Incredibly the canal and its locks was originally conceived as a job creation scheme to help stop emigration from the Highlands. I say incredibly because I imagined the route would have been in great demand by commercial traffic, but no, the route has almost only been used by tourists with a specially constructed with a “ye olde inn” as a stop off point.  The locks were initially badly built and an engineers report criticised the masonry contractor arguing that the contractor thought the locks would never actually be used. Around 180 years later they were finally drained in the 1990’s and under the threat of demolition, a cost effective solution of 25,000 tons of grout was used to plug leaks amongst other stone related repairs. As the locks emptied we could see fountains of water squirting out of the walls beneath our feet, as though the stone absorbed water when full then gave it up to gravity when empty.

You can still see the foundations of the hand-powered wheels next to each lock - now electro hydraulic powered. Yachts do not have to de-mast as they pass through two bridges, still original 1820s constructions, (one railway and one road - main road into Fort William!) at the entrance to the staircase and then proceed through all 8 locks in one sitting. An hour and a half going up, or an hour going down, standing in the rain holding a wet and cold rope. Entrance is free, but you pay to use the canal network. Eg. £23 per metre for a week’s sailing. Not bad!

View from the top.

Ben Nevis is now invisible.

We know from our experiences in Hull Marina lock, it’s damp and cold at the bottom

But a lot nicer at the top. It only took about 7-8 minutes to balance the water level from the lock above.

After 50 minutes the yacht was moving into lock No 4. Bet it’s kettle on and rubbing hands when they get to the top.

Light rain forecast for tomorrow as we wend our way down South to Callander.

Day 18 , Arisaig to Gartmore nr Aberfoyle. Aprox 96 miles.

Today was a typical Sottish Highland day; moody, misty and rainy.

The view of Ben Nevis was uncompromising

We travelled through Glen Coe (unfortunately no pictures as it was engulfed in cloud) and beside Loch Linnie, the terrain becoming less hostile and more fertile.

After 60+ miles almost all downhill, we called in at Killin for a coffee and cake stop, and walked up to the Falls of Loch- which was a rather low key waterfall experience observed from a narrow road bridge where campervans, coaches and 4 x4 ‘s trundled by,

Onwards to our stopover at a Copeland Camping in the Forest near Aberfoyle

We walked the 2 miles into the Aberfolyle village along a disused rail line. There were several mountain bike trails, - in fact a mountain bike weekender was advertised commencing this evening - The Duke’s Weekender - which didn’t seem to have kicked off yet as all was very very quiet. 

In Aberfoyle we found a gift/ Scottish large shop which proved to be  more volume tourist products rather than Artisan stuff we anticipated. Ah well that saved us a few bob.

Back to the van for a cuppa , followed by a M & S Chicken Kiev supper - luxury!

Day 19. Aberfoyle to Cotherstone aprox  188 miles.

A pretty straightforward journey via mostly motorway lasting about 3.5 hours. Even from the M74 the views were stunning.

Doe Farm campsite, our stop for 2 nights, has access to a public footpath along a disused railway line to Cotherstone with lovely views of rolling hills and through fields of sheep. After a day in the van Millie relished the walk - especially a great chase with a local collie en route.

The footpath goes over a disused viaduct, the Balder Viaduct, built in 1860s over the river Balder. So it was in use for about 100 years before the Beeching Axe fell.

Back to the site for another M & S supper and a watch of the US tennis open on the tele.

The next day we headed out to High Force to walk along the river Tees, a popular walk from High Force waterfall to Low Force, where there is a tea shop in the Bowlees visitor centre.

This small suspension bridge just below Low Force was built in the 1830’s - they built them to last in those days !

And here our holiday ends. Tomorrow the short hop back home to Beverley.

Highlights:

Braemar - especially the drive up to Inverness over the Lecht ski centre

Orkney - there is so much to see in Orkney; war history, neolithic remains, shell hunting!, fauna and flora, plus a laid back friendly atmosphere

Tongue - amazing scenery and beaches around  the surrounding villages, especially the Bettyhill area.

Arisaig - amazing scenery and beach.

Plockton - a delightful village with an almost Cornish feel.

Lowlights:

The roads - my God the road surfaces are terrible. We’re surprised our tyres and crockery survived.

Lairg - we enjoyed the salmon leaping but not much else. We stayed 2 nights, 1 night too many.

The popularity - the NC500 and Covid combined to make this trip very busy with rental motorhomes everywhere. Mostly dashing around trying to cover 500 miles in 7 days.

Wick - we drove in to find somewhere for lunch …and promptly out again … oh dear ….appeared run down and depressed, as we were, forced to eat a van lunch in the queue for the ferry. 


Approximate mileage:

Changing the battery wiped the trip memory but we reckon is was about 1800 miles round trip. (Including an extra round trip to Thurso to buy a battery)

Costs for 23 nights

Campsites: £585

Ferries      : £206

Fuel          : £290

  

 

Week 3. Across the North and North West Highlands

Day 11, Weds 1st September. Back to the mainland.

White rabbits!

We reluctantly board the ferry at St Margarets Hope en route to Gills Bay.

Not before stopping over at the beach at Churchill Barrier 1 to continue our search for the elusive GBs.  Again sadly no success.

Once off the ferry we motor through spectacular scenery although shrouded in mist. Very atmospheric but a bit disappointing not to see the top of the many hills.

We stopped off for a lunch break at Dunnet beach …. Carol had read that GBs can be found on the North East part of the beach. So we had a search ….and ta da !! Graham found 2 of the little beauties ! Our dreams have been fulfilled…

We continued on over heather strewn moors with rather misty views of sea and hills. 

Stopping frequently at passing places for other vans, cars and motor bikes. Last time - 8 years ago it felt like a solo trip across the wild frontier - this time a bit like a convoy. The tourist board have got a lot to answer for creating the NC500!

 And views of lochs…

We arrived at our site for the night at Tongue on the Kyle of Kinloch - the place was packed out to the brim with campervans and tents. Even on the grass verges in front of reception. On the bend of the road the vans and bikers roared by until late evening when thankfully all was quiet…until 8am the next day. The campsite is a stopover for most folks. It’s in a good location but surrounding paths are marked private and the beach  is not the greatest.

Day 12 . Kyle of Tongue. Sutherland.

Today was predicted to be HOT. So, as there were no walks accessible from the site we decided to drive to a nearby beach at Torrisdale - a surfers beach apparently - and have a picnic on the beach. We found a parking space next to a remote cemetery overlooking the beach, next to a sporty BMW. However as we walked over we discovered a river between us and the main beach, crossable now but when the tide comes in we would be cut off. We decide to give up and drive back to the viewing area we spotted earlier.

We cheerfully greeted a man parked next to us, who confirmed the viewing area was the place to be as there were bridges across the river. We jumped in the van and….. click. No activity at all when turning the ignition. Several attempts later it was clear we need roadside assistance and made the call. 

Stuart, our new friend stayed with us for a chat. He has been here since May 21st and goes back to his job at Warwick University next week.

He is spending 3 months in a hotel nearby in a suite - pay in the University sector must be pretty ok.

We waited and waited…

Actually the time passed quite quickly. It helps when you have nice weather and a nice place to walk. Stuart kept us amused with his stories on travels, and a couple from London in a 1972 classic VW camper stopped for a while. The chap was an electrician working for London Underground and brought out his multimeter, diagnosing a faulty battery whilst his wife had several cuddles with Millie. He had all sorts of equipment in the VW as it breaks down regularly. Last event was a throttle cable breaking, fixed with some cable ties. Unfortunately he didn’t pack his jump leads.

Meanwhile the sun appeared from behind the clouds and it felt pleasantly warm….just right for a walk on a beach and lunch by the van.

Two and a half hours later a man from the local garage pitched up. A man of few words he diagnosed battery trouble and got out his engine defibrillator and got it going. We rang round, and rang round (most garages said at least a day to get a battery) and located an auto parts store with a suitable battery in stock. With advice to not stop we headed to Thurso with gusto for a new battery as they shut in 2 hours.

With all this going on we almost missed the BMW guy getting out of his car. Have to say his car looked mightly suspicious with the windows all steamed up ! He’d been asleep after driving up here through the night and woke up when the mechanic arrived.

The upside of returning to Thurso was it was great to revisit the scenery we missed due to the mist yesterday - It is a nice drive. 

As an aside, do you know what was the vehicle we saw most of on our traverse (3 times) of this section of road?

Tesco Delivery Vans - loads of ‘em.

What would we do without Google?

Carol googled the make and model of Fiat to get the right battery rating, googled the address of the store, and googled the quickest route.

Once the battery was fitted - I hesitated about putting the socket set in but glad I did - we had to dispose of the old one. Google again showed the recycling centre was only a mile away, on our way back as it happened. This was a bit different to our local tip where you queue round the block to be let in, we were the only visitor and were in and out in 2 minutes.

Weather in Thurso was cold. A biting wind. On our way back to Tongue however it brightened up so we resolved to complete our goal and visit a beach. Farr beach was nearer and closer to walk to so we pulled into the car park and enjoyed half an hour or so de-stressing to the sound of the waves and the gorgeous sights. As an aside, do you remember the sights of Durdle Door in Dorset in the papers showing a queue down to the beach and people being turned away? Well feast your eyes on Farr Beach - empty.

A more leisurely drive back to Tongue we had to stop to take a pic of the beach at Bettyhill. There are literally loads of places to stop and gasp at the views, but you can’t stop at every one. This, however, must be in the running for one of the best beaches in the UK.

All in all, not too a bad day, given our van problems. Also, England footie on the telly trouncing Hungary 4-0.

Day 13, Friday 3rd Sept. Tongue to Scourie.

Just over 50 miles to drive today over the top of Scotland. Most of the road is single track with passing places with towering mist covered hills, sea locks and beautiful sandy beaches - this is a drive and a half! Seemed to take forever as we had to stop often at passing places to allow vehicles to pass - at one point it looked like a trail of ant like campervans forging their way on the NC 500… and lots of motorbikes and a few dedicated cyclists. Not much else to say except to let you look at the photos.

To go west 1.5 miles on the coast you have to do a 12 mile detour round Loch Eriboll, the deepest sea loch in UK, sometimes used by the Navy (inc submarines). It is stunning in the flesh, much better than the picture suggest, bordered by Ben Arnaboll (230m) and An Lean-Charn (520m)

The road is single track. All 12 miles of it, with a convoy of rented motorhomes all stopping to let each other pass. Here is the road to give you an idea.

At the end of the loch is Durness with a myriad of beaches surrounding. The water is freezing. Graham could only stand it for a few seconds.

Durness itself is home to Sango Sands caravan park. It has grown in popularity this year a hundred times since our last visit 8 years ago. There is a gift / cafe / chocolate shop in which we planned to have lunch. No chance. The car park was chokka, so we turned round and picnicked a few miles further on the Kyle of Durness. View both ways. Pretty.

We resolve not to stop any more and head to our next stop at Scourie, a campsite we’ve stayed at before with (another) stunning view over Scourie Bay. This is our view from the van. I mean, come on!

There is a lovely walk straight from the campsite round the west headland which Graham did with Millie while Carol undertook laundry duties. If you do come to Scourie please do this walk. It is truly lovely. Here are some pics.

View South

View North to Handa island

View back to our campsite, with Ben Stack (723m) in the background. You can just make out the campsite.

Day 14. Sat 4th Sept. Scourie to Gairloch  90 miles.

Another spectacular drive along the top of Scotland and then beginning to drive down the West coast. 

First point of interest driving along Loch Assynt with the peaks of Ben More Assynt massif - a wilderness of mountain, moorland and mist.

We passed the ruins of Ardveck Castle. A Macleod stronghold from 1597 which fell to the Seaforth Mackenzies after a siege in 1691. (See later Inverewe for more on MacLeod vs Mackenzie).

Further on we stopped at Knockan Crag visitor centre near Elphin highlighting this area is one of the most important geological sites in the world. In 1859 the theory of thrust faults was developed by geologist James Nichol. Proving that older rock is pushed upwards meaning the top of a formation is not formed by the newest rock. There is a little display and examples of the rock layers. There was a small trail which Millie enjoyed for a while before being thrust into the van for further travel!

Progress is slow, one of the reasons is having to stop at each beauty spot - you have to pick and choose or you’ll be all day. Here’s a couple at Kylescu showing Loch a’ Chàirn Bhàin and Loch Gleann Dubh

Our road. South of Scourie the roads improve dramatically, room for two cars to pass without having to pull over. There are a myriad of car parking pull offs, most well occupied. But these people are Munro baggers - estate cars and 4x4s rather than tourers on motorbikes or in motorhomes.

Ullapool is green and pretty and had a gentile feel. Lots of nice houses with green manicured gardens, an oasis after the barren mountainous landscapes we’ve driven through. Sadly we didn’t stop at the viewpoint so here’s a library shot (ack: Duncan Macpherson). Ullapool is near the mouth of Loch Broom. This picture is taken rounding the bottom of Loch Broom so Ullapool is out of sight.

We move from Sutherland into Wester Ross after passing Ullapool. We have a choice of routes; north and anticlockwise or south and clockwise. We go anticlockwise and it’s a bit of a drag, skirting forest and moorland over pot-holed roads, through Poolewe and finally into Gairloch, which is actually a series of little villages spread out along Gailoch Bay (with quite a long walk between).

After a long drive we walked to the beach to stretch Millie’s legs, stopping at a viewpoint showing the church with a view of a hill which is the oldest rock in the UK. It’s the one with biggest hump nearest the centre of the picture.

The campsite is located next to a hotel and bar. A coffee shop, bookshop, small grocery shop and local butcher within a few minutes walk which we take advantage of.

And a Fish and Chips shop - Fish suppers all round tonight!

Day 15. Gairloch.

We know it will rain later today so set off fairly early for Flowerdale Bay past the old pier and harbour. As we headed along the coast path Carol spotted these wildflowers - she’d not seen them before

They’re Wild Sweet William, Saponaria officinalis as Carol’s new botany app informs. They have a lovely scent and appear to grow abundantly here along with the orange Montbretia.

There is a well laid out path through the Gairloch estate to the Flowerdale waterfall - a 1.5 hr round trip through woodland and by babbling braes.

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Carol had a peak at the waterfall from a distance but was happy for Graham and Millie to climb up the steep bits like mountain goats to take the obligatory photos. 

We headed back and, as we had already walked the 2 miles to the car park at the start of the walk (instead of driving like sensible people), looked for a coffee stop to rest Carol’s legs. Coast Coffee at the harbour - shut, The Old Inn at the car park - shut, walk back to the golf club - shut (honesty box for visiting golfers), walk further back to Gairloch museum and café - shut. We managed to just get in to a café at the tourist centre along with everyone else as the rain belted down. And it stopped to allow us to walk back to the site before it started lashing it down again … the rest of the day was spent in the van planning our next few nights travel. Sadly the plan to visit the Isle of Mull next week will not materialise - both Mull and the ferries are full! 

Day 15. Gairloch,

Today is garden visiting in the morning with a beach for Millie in the afternoon. A short 3 mile or so drive to Inverewe (pronounced Inverroo) Gardens and House. House shut during Covid. Once built by Osgood Mackenzie and now owned by the National Trust. The Mackenzie Clan were (generally) good eggs, (except for decimating the whole of the MacLeod clan completely in the 1400s and taking all their land in a family revenge thing), and were opposed to the clearances. By all accounts the garden is a feat of perseverance taking 20 years for the pine trees to do their job as a windbreak (and therefore block the view).

The garden was not cheap, and the NT shop less so (which didn’t stop Carol). A  small bottle of Wester Ross gin and a couple of jars  of preserves hardly causing a run on the bank ( C) .

The garden was typical of the type for Victorian plant collectors bringing plants and trees back from all over the world. For Graham, it was “a bit samey - pathways and overgrown plants/trees blocking out the vistas”. Ironically we are showing you the vistas. For Millie it was just boring (no sticks!), so we had a good walk round the pine forest afterwards where she could be let off the lead.

The tall trees walk

Giant Eucalyptus

 Distant view of Poolewe village.

Views of the walled garden with estate grown produce- we couldn’t go in as it was a dog free zone.

On Mon and Tues the pop up Bothy Coffee is the only place for refreshments, it  didn’t get good reviews so we head off into Poolewe. Carol had spotted a sign “Seafood” next to a cafe so we went off in search. The car park could hold about 4 cars and was advertised as “historic house tours” with a cafe taking second prominence, almost as an afterthought. We wandered tentatively inside “Do you take dogs?” “Yes no problem - inside or out?”. Well, what a surprise. A lovely oak panelled snooker room with quality food, and us the only patrons, although after we sat down a few other customers arrived,. Delicious trio of salmon salads for both of us followed by coffees with a delicious chocolate brownie.

Pool House is an upmarket B&B 300 year old house overlooking Loch Ewe with a varied history, once the home of Osgood Mackenzie before he built the bigger pile up the road. By tripadvisor reviews it is amazing, confirmed by our experience. Here is our table. The lovely server offered Millie a doggie biscuit - Millie was impressed.

On leaving the weather worsened but we continued with our plan to visit “The Big Sand”. Basically a large beach 3 miles from Gairloch with a campsite where we could have stayed but chose Gairloch centre. The big sand turned out to be private to the campsite and a bit like a holiday camp. Glad we didn’t stay there, we turned round at went to the big beach in Gairloch near the golf club and played chase the ball with Millie. If it doesn’t look warm it’s because it wasn’t but there were still 3 people swimming. 

Tomorrow we travel further south, to Arisaig via Skye.