Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: October 2019

Highlands Holiday - Homeward Bound

Today was the start of our journey back to Cumbria and we decided to break our journey with a night in that holiday hotspot...Fort William! We were both up early and were treated to a rather nice sunrise so before starting to pack the car I took a couple of photos of the view I had lived with for the past week. I lost count of the number of times I photographed Badachro harbour but each one meant something special to me and always will.

We made a couple of stops on the way down, one being a visit to a great little cafe at Lochcarron for some lunch. It was pretty basic and run by a couple of local women but the food was excellent and no-nonsense food, something which is getting rarer to find these days. Even though the drive was only just over a hundred miles, it seemed to take an eternity. We finally arrived at the Alexandra Hotel in Fort William late afternoon and hastily made a beeline for The Grog and Gruel and then The Nevis Inn for a couple of pints before going back to the hotel for some food and a chill. We did venture out later but just for a stroll to gett some air as the hotel was so warm.

Fort William never changes much, its not the prettiest of places and can get a bit rowdy but it is convenient as a stop-over. I did notice that there were a few more shops and eating places than the last time I visited which can only be a good thing.

Our final leg was just a straight drive back down to Cumbria. We stopped at a nice cafe called The Golden Larches at Balquhidder which we will ceratinly return to before hitting the M9/M80. I was sad to get back but happy if you know what I mean. I was certainly looking forward to a few quiet and relaxing days at the caravan.

We'd had a great week up in Wester Ross and, as we did with the Somerset holiday. We did everything we intended doing and a bit more besides. Sometimes the weather played ball, sometimes it didn't but what would you expect for October? Our holiday let was perfectly positioned right on the edge of Loch Gairloch and we had an ace pub in the village, plus daily visits from herons and the occasioanal visit from a flock of sheep. On one occasion we even had a colony of seals come to say hello!

Highlights of the holiday? Getting drenched twice at Mellon Charles whilst taking photos, sitting outside the Old Inn in October getting eaten alive by midges, sitting inside the Badachro Inn after our days out, our walk to Loch Clair in Glen Torridon, going over "The Pass of the winds" to visit Lower Diabaig, visiting the World War II Arctic Convoy site on Loch Ewe, the many sandy beaches we explored, the many rainbows we saw, the many cups of coffee and pieces of carrot cake we consumed, our daily heron visits, our encounter with the seals in Shieldaid Bay, the many laughs we had together and last but not least, Blacksmith's Cottage and the delightful village of Badachhro.

Sunrise, Badachro

Early morning stillness

Decaying leaves, Loch Maree

Beinn Eighe Woodland Trail

Loch Maree

Laithach, Torridon

The Torridon Hills

Eilean Donan Castle

Loch Loyne

Rainbow, Loch Loyne

Highlands Holiday - Beaches, more rainbows and fireworks.

A much quieter last day. We decided to stay local and visit a few of the beaches and, from what I remember, I think it stayed dry all day which was a holiday first.

On Thursday I had been down to Red Point Beach and taken a photo of a VR letterbox built into a wall which seemed completely out of place. I told Sal when I got back and, being a notorious "letterbox geek", she was insisted on getting a photo of it for herself. On the way down to Red Point, we stopped off at Opinon Beach which was another beautiful sandy beach.

Again, the weather across on Northern Skye looked atrocious so I'm glad we picked this area for our holiday and not over there. I love Skye but haven't been there for a number of years due to the increase in it's visitors. I recall the island putting out a "no more visitors" request a few summers ago as the island was completely full and had no accommodation left. The North Coast 500 Route seems to be causing a stir in that respect as well, especially up in Sutherland. We have visited Wester Ross twice this year and didn't see any problem but then again, we did go outside the busy months of July-August.

So enough ranting and back to Opinon where a good walk along the beach and headland certainly blew the cobwebs off us but once again we raced the showers back to the car. On this occasion I think we very narrowly won. I drove a few miles down the road so Sal could get her pic but we didn't bother getting out of the car, it was a case of winding down the window and sticking the camera out!

Morning coffee time was quickly approaching so we headed up to Gairloch and to the excellent Mountain Coffee Company which we had visited earlier in the week. I do recall having some rather scrummy carrot cake there but can't remember which day it was. Knowing us though we will have had a piece on both days.

After our coffee stop we carried on up the Gairloch coast, right to the end of the public road at a settlement called Melvaig which I first came across eight years ago due to its Inn. My, how time flies. If I remember correctly, it had been sign-posted in Gairloch and, after checking it out on the Internet, I decided that it was just too good a place not to visit. Melvaig itself was just a scattering of crofts but the Inn was something else. It was set in an elevated position looking across The Minch to The Isle of Skye and The Outer Hebrides plus it also had great views up and down the coast. It didn't have the appearance or the feel of a normal pub as it had old record sleeves covering the walls, loads of books everywhere and ornaments scattered all over the place . It was like somebody's front room gone wrong! I have put together a small collage of the pub as words can't really do it justice and I know that Sal will be interested in seeing it as it was back in the day.-


Melvaig Inn

The Inn had been converted into a house which was owned by the same person who had the pub. I think the pub just got too much and too expensive for him to run so rather than sell it on, he had modernised and converted it.There was still a car park so we parked up and headed down to the rocky beach. As per usual, the weather looked awful on Skye but we were treated to a nice bit of sunshine and a bracing breeze which made for a very enjoyable stroll.

We then returned to Gairloch and went to have a look at the only beach we hadn't visited, namely Gairloch Beach. When the tide is fully out, it really is a beautiful sandy bay. The Visit Scotland website describes it far better than I could so I will simply quote them -

"Nestling on a bay overlooking the Minch and surrounded by mountains and moorland, Gairloch Beach is a spectacular and secluded beach. A safe, sheltered sandy beach with a backdrop of dunes, Gairloch is popular with families. Take in stunning views of the nearby islands from the sandy shore, not to mention awe-inspiring Scottish sunsets from its westerly position. This wide stretch of beach is practically untouched by travellers, and the sand’s smoothness is offset by the rugged backdrop of wild heather and jagged rocks."

I can certainly vouch for the sunset as I was treated to a cracker on my first visit there which I have included below -

Gairloch Sunset 2011

We spent quite a while on the beach as this had been our last day and I think we both wanted to prolong it as much as we could. Sal went and visited the old graveyard which backed on to the beach and I just had a stroll along the sands until she joined me.

Unbeknown to us, we were witness to some very clever antics by one of the hooded crows which were scavenging on the rocks but we didn't realise what it was doing until Sal got back home and edited her photos. We couldn't understand why it was continually flying a few feet in the air, landing on the rock and taking off again but on closer inspection of the photo she took, it was picking up and dropping a shell with the hope of cracking it open for the food inside. People tend to dislike corvids but they are very clever and canny birds.

Reluctantly we set off back to Badachro but the weather Gods had one last surprise left for us. As we got out of the car I turned round to have a look at the Loch and was blessed with the sight of a rainbow perfectly positioned over the bay. It was quite gloomy but I managed to get a couple of photos which will always serve as a reminder of that special moment, that special place we stayed and that fabulous holiday I shared with Sal.

Our final bit of excitement was a firework display on Rock Island late that night. No light pollution and a perfectly still Loch made for a great display, it's just a shame it didn't last longer.

Opinon Beach

Sand Dunes, Opinon Beach

Opinon Beach

Melvaig Peninsula

Melvaig

Looking Out To Sea

Melvaig Rocks

Storm over Skye

Melvaig Shoreline

Gairloch Beach

Beachcomber, Gairloch Beach

Gairloch Bay

Feeling Blessed

Badachro Rainbow

Highlands Holiday - Red Point, Torridon and a hidden gem

Thursday promised to be the best day of our two remaining days so, with the sun shining, we decided to head down Torridon way and maybe have a walk to Loch Clair and then just take things from there. We then would have three options; we could go to Shieldaig on the coast and then do a circular route back round to Loch Maree; we could drive on the coastal road to Applecross but we would need sunny weather for this, or we could go over to Lower Diabaig which is an old fishing village at the head of Loch Torridon. Sal had been to Applecrosss and driven part of the Shielbaig road so the obvious place would be Lower Diabaig.

Whilst Sal was getting ready, I jumped in the car and paid a quick visit to Red Point Beach. I only drove about nine miles but the difference in the weather was quite marked. Looking across to the North West, it was ok but there looked to be some terrible weather over on Skye and behind me, Torridon didn't look too promising either. I just managed to walk down to the beach, take some photos and get back to the car before the heavens opened. Fortunately it was only a quick shower and the weather was nice again by the time I got back to Badachro.

Sal was ready for the off so we jumped back in the car and headed for Loch Maree. Our first port of call was Victoria Falls, named after Queen Victoria who used to come and spend her summers in this area. They were quite spectacular but the sun was directly in front which made it nigh-on impossible for us to get a good shot. No visit to this area would be complete without the customary photos of Loch Maree and its Munro "Slioch" which is Gaelic for The Spear and, as the sun was still shining, we both got some belting photos of both.

It was then on to Glen Torridon. We parked opposite the track to the Coulin Estate which, if followed its entire length, goes through some fabulous mountain scenery but we just walked down to Loch Clair and as far the bridge separating it from Loch Coulin. We hadn't really done any walking so far in the holiday so I thought it would do us both the world of good, and it did.

We started off in nice bright weather but I could see the rain clouds building up over the hills. Past experience in the Lakes has told me that weather can be very localized and that proved to be the case. We did get a few spots of light rain but nothing compared to what seemed to be coming down less that a mile away across the other side of the Loch. The autumn colours were fabulous as were the views of the high Torridon hills.We both thoroughly enjoyed our little excursion.

The word "coffee" kept being murmured on our walk back to the car plus we were both getting a bit peckish so we headed straight to a great little cafe which was incorporated in with the local Torridon Stores. We both gave the cappuccinos and bacon butties 5 out of 5 which ranked them up there with the very best. I think our only other two 5 star coffee shops are the one at Lanercost Priory in Cumbria and the one at Ripley Castle in North Yorkshire.

Fed and watered we set off for our final destination, Lower Diabaig. The narrow road followed the right hand side of Loch Torridon before rising up in a series of zig-zags to a pass named Bealach na Gaoithe which is Gaelic for The Pass of the Wind. The views back across Upper Loch Torridon and over to Applecross were stunning even though they were hampered a bit by the cloud and rain squalls sweeping across but on a clear day I reckon you could see for mile after mile.

The road then continued towards Loch Daibaigas Airde where we had even more superb albeit terrifying views. If you are afraid of heights then I'd recommend not to look down to the loch as the it is far, far below the road and it looks a pretty sheer drop! Talk about vertigo!!

The rest of the journey down to Lower Diabaig was pretty uneventful apart from a nice rainbow momentarily appearing. The place itself consisted of a lovely collection of cottages dotted on the hill-side along the road which eventually lead down to the pier. There was lots more evidence that in the past it had been quite a busy fishing village and I think a few locals still fish from there but it is mainly oyster fishing. There was old fishing huts boarded up and also one or two run down cottages that were just screaming out for a bit of tlc, it was such a shame.

I think most of the houses and cottages must be holiday lets as I have been there three times now and have hardly seen anyone at all. Infact I think I've seen more herons there than people; one was stood at the water's edge fishing for its dinner whilst we were there and I've seen them on previous occasions as well.

Our drive back was by the same route and we were both really glad to get back to Badachro and just chill-out. I think this may have been the longest day of our holiday and we had crammed a lot in it.

There are two thinks of note about Lower Diabaig -

1/ There is a shipwreck just offshore called The Dayspring which broke its moorings during a hurricane in 2005 and ended up in Lower Diabaig.

2/ It has its own Pub and Restaurant called Gille Brighde at the old schoolhouse which gets good write ups but for obvious reasons it is closed Oct-Apr.