Loch Ewe and The WWII Arctic Convoy Site

"Where Loch Ewe opens up to Mother Sea,
at Cove, still stands this crumbling concrete testament
to world war two and all those brave-heart men
who dared to face the elements, the enemy

In their so fragile ships, they left these shores,
last sight, these wounded rocks of Wester Ross;
last sounds they left behind - the crying of the gulls - as they
sailed north to Russia and the Arctic wars

Although this place of peace now holds scant trace
of what had come to pass those years before
and rust away as may the swords
we shall recall the poet's words:
We shall remember them

Long after all the blood and all the bedlam;
long after time has healed this wounded rock
and all war's echoes fade away."

~Poem by Bryan Islip~

A cloudy day, so we decided not to travel too far and just to go to the WWII Arctic Convoy Site at Cove which is situated at the top end of Loch Ewe. The village of Poolewe is the next one up from Gairloch and then it is just a case of following the coast road along the peninsula to its end at Cove.

You have some stunning views across the Loch. North to The Summer Isles and Coigach hills, and east to An Tealloch and the hills of Loch Broom. Part way along the road is a superb beach at Firemore called Camas na Muic. The weather had brightened up a bit so we spent quite sometime exploring it and taking photos.

Then it was on to Cove and the Convoy Site. The weather had drawn in and it was starting to rain a bit but this only added to the atmosphere and wildness of the place. It is so easy to envisage what the poor servicemen must have gone through whilst trying to get provisions through to the Russian people who were being starved in to submission by the German army. Many lost there lives on all sides and there is now a monument to the soldiers.

It is a very sobering experience standing next to one of the pill boxes, which are still scattered around the area; looking out to sea, and reflecting on what these brave men must have endured in such adverse conditions.

Never have the words "Lest We Forget" felt more apt.