Wigtwizzle - Norman Smith's Travel Blog.: loch ewe

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Back in Wester Ross

Back up in the North West Highlands for our yearly holiday. We couldn't find any suitable accommodation in the Gairloch Area so we booked three nights at The Loch Maree Hotel and then moved on to Balmacara which is near The Kyle of Lochalsh. I thought this would be a good opportunity to let Sal visit The Isle of Skye.

These shots are from our first full day. The first two photos were taken from outside our hotel. The dark foreboding photo of the Loch is taken from above Poolewe as we made our way to Mellon Charles and The Aroma Cafe. We learned that this would be our last visit there as they were selling up and converting the whole building in to a luxury holiday let. Such a shame as a visit there used to be one of the highlights of our holiday but I can understand why.

Firemore Beach on the Loch Ewe peninsula was magnificent as usual, it is one of the hidden gems of the area. It is very rare you meet anyone on the vast sands, I think there may have been a couple walking their dogs the day we went but no-one else in sight for as far as the eye can see.

After a rest back at the hotel, we had a drive out to Opinon Beach in the evening. I love this beach with its views across The Minch to The Isle of Skye and The Hebrides. No two visits are ever the same.

Loch Maree

Loch Ewe from Melon Charles

Firemore Beach

Opinon

Opinon Beach

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.

Poolewe to Cove road

Firemore Beach

Camas na Muic

Firemore Beach

WWII Arctic Convoy site

Cove

WWII Arctic Convoy site

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.