Day 121  Kilchoan to Craignure

 

 Date: Saturday 22^nd September 2012   Distance: 33.16 Miles

 

I did wake at 2am to silence and another sky full of stars, some seeming to flash on and off. I wondered when I heard the news the next day if I had seen bits of space debris falling through the atmosphere. It had seemed too long an interval for a normal “twinkle”.

 

We slept even longer here and had breakfast at 8.30- the only guests. There were lovely blue skies and sunshine when we left for the lighthouse and the most westerly point. We thought it would be a cinch. We never got to the very end because we ran out of time. The Kilchoan ferry left at 11. 45 and we didn’t want to cut it too fine. It was 6 miles out and hard terrain, having to walk some of the hills. We decided to stop when we could see the lighthouse a mile away. It is open April till October also the exhibition and tea room. The first tour is at 11am and you need to book by telephone and arrive 15 minutes beforehand. It costs £5 for adults and £ 3 concessions. Children under- 5 can’t go up the 152 steps and 2 ladders and I think if we had visited we wouldn’t have wanted to after the hills we had climbed that morning either.

 

We have noticed that all north Scotland cemeteries are located outside the villages and towns, often on hillsides looking out to sea. Kilchoan’s is in a remote spot in the hills, small and enclosed within a stone wall and with no shelter nearby if the weather turns bad.

 

We had passed the most westerly hotel, quite modern and probably the reason for the cars that passed us early in the day. Opposite is a community garden project. Beds of Brussels sprouts, greens and even strawberries, some red still, in pots and standing on gravel, all look well tended and a stall for self service is positioned by the road there. It is quite a monument to the way remote settlements of people rely and work with each other.

 

Curly horned sheep, donkeys and a few caravans, one anchored down against the wind with thick rope and a craft shop advertised at the junction for the lighthouse were the other things of note.

 

Despite our panic we arrived at the ferry early and nowhere to buy a drink (you could get something at the information centre that looked closed to us as we went by.)

There was a good view across to Mingary Castle, a 13^th century shell only. A lady from a large camper van was dangling her legs over the quay painting the rocks and sea as she waited. We heard the noise of the ferry long before it arrived. The water was flat and calm.

 

We were all let on, cars very close to the sides( not a very big boat) and the bike. The back of the boat closed and the loudspeaker announced that we should read the safety notices. It felt like we had started to move but then the back opened up again to let on a girl who’d just arrived in a fluster. As the doors closed again the tannoy repeated the instructions then a driver hemmed in by other motorists decided he wanted to get off. It was quite a shuffle to let him out. He parked then ran back to the boat and the departure routine got underway again with an expectation of impatience from the tannoy.  Seconds later a family arrived in their car and the doors were flattened once again as they all piled in. At last we could leave! The crew must be very patient or mindful that they need the revenue.

 

It was a very smooth crossing in sun but very chilly. The fare was £9.30 because we were advised to get an inclusive ticket to Tobermory and then from Craignure to Oban.

 

We both needed a hot drink to warm up and it was lunchtime, but Tobermory, with its freshly painted houses in cheerful colours, was inundated with tourists. Children like to come and see the location for Ballermory, the TV programme. We ended up at the pier cafe which had its door wide open and we didn’t get warm until we started on the hill out of the town past the distillery.

 

An old man was walking up, picking and eating blackberries as he went. Progress was slow as he had to keep sitting on every available bench. We didn’t cycle up much of it and I felt sorry for elderly residents who lived at the top though there would surely be buses.

 

We came to Aros Park viewing platform, sign-posted 50 metres off the road(A848) when we had gone just one mile from Tobermory. Aros Park was developed by the Allan family from 1874 till 1959 and looked beautiful from where we stood at the top of a waterfall in the tree tops. We could see the Sound of Mull, back to Ardnamurchan and Tobermory  Bay. Autumn seemed to be arriving early and colours would soon be stunning judging by what we could see. We were hoping all day to see eagles- any variety- but we hoped in vain.

 

Not much further on the Salen Road is Mull Theatre, probably the smallest theatre in Britain. It used to be called Mull Little Theatre when it was first built, from an old coach-house in Druimard Country House Estate in 1966. Now it looks like it is a warehouse officially made dark in colour to merge with the woodland setting .It’s great that Mull has a theatre and it sounds like a vibrant place with exciting productions.

 

We stopped in Salen for coffee at 3pm. By Mull’s standard it is quite big with stone cottages, stores and a post office. The CoffeePot, run by “outsiders”, provided a seat in a sun trap out front and we were joined by the proprietor’s brother who was on a flying visit from his home in the Midlands. He said we should visit the Ross of Mull with its moorland and white beaches. From there you can take the ferry to Iona and it did sound tempting. Maybe another time!

 

The wind was against us and the road rather tedious though we enjoyed the seascape. EU money had been spent here making the roads rather sterile and with odd areas of single track maybe for traffic calming at ferry times or just for something to spend the money on. No wonder graffiti said they were roads making Scotland less wild.

 

We reached Craignure just after 5. The only place to eat in the evening is the inn where we were staying. Bob was disappointed that there wasn’t real ale although they had some in bottles that was OK. I had haggis, new potatoes and whisky sauce and Bob by default, fish and chips. Bob was impressed with the bike shed.

Two pleasant girls were serving, one Scandinavian who was in deep discussion in Nordic with a customer. They do put us to shame with their command of English though and she wanted to talk with everybody- an intelligent lady! This was unlike the table of loud mouthed fellows from the Lakes who said they’d seen us earlier and I wasn’t peddling, reiterated several times to be embarrassing. That was bound to get me riled- touchy, I know. Then it was, “ Are you writing a book?” I need to write notes before I forget...Most people from Scotland have been really interested in what we are doing and in the tandem.

 

 

Sunday 23rd

 

Our bedroom was at the front of the pub and people seemed to burst into raucous laughter when leaving, well into the night. The bed was the least comfortable of the break this time so sleep was restless.

 

We woke to lovely warm lighting over the hills as the sun came up. It was a quick breakfast as the ferry was at 8.45. It was only minutes away though and we were let on well before departure. The large ship( this time) adhered to the timetable! We met up with the brother in law from the Coffee Pot in Salen who was in snazzy motor bike gear with a mean machine, all silver and black. I wondered if he had the job of advertising for the cafe as he spoke to a lot of people but then he seemed a nice genuine sort of guy.

 

As Craignure receded we passed by Duart Castle on the cliff top, dating from the 13^th century but restored in 1912. Further along is a castle- like folly on the beach.

It was very noisy on the boat because the crew had emergency practice. We were told to ignore all the instructions like” abandon ship” and bells going off. We enjoyed watching them spectacularly jettison water from the stern of the ship.

 

It was a pleasant calm crossing with no wildlife in sight- probably too noisy! There were good views of Eilean Musdile Lighthouse.

After 45 minutes we landed at Oban with time to kill before the train back to Dunbarton so we rode past the Distillery not realising it was open from 9.30 am and out to Dunollie Castle. It is an ivy clad ruin up a rough slippery track with a notice saying you are advised to keep away from the building as bits have recently fallen off. The views were good. Then we rode another 3 miles down to the end of the road and then back for some refreshment at café that made their own chocolate. 

 

Bikes were let onto the train first and Bob and I both carried a wheel. The train official looked at us strangely but it was only when one of the crowd we were negotiating through, shouted” Oh look its a tandem” that the guard said “If it’s a tandem it’s not allowed on the train.” Luckily the other guard was more reasonable and could see Bob knew how to stow it properly so the short panic was over.

It was nearly 3 hours on the train and then another 4 and a half to get back home.

Day 120 Lochailort to Kilchoan

 

 Date: Friday 21^st September 2012   Distance: 42.01 Miles

 

Bob and chillied cheese didn’t mix and he got up a lot through the night. I was really grumpy when I woke for the umpteenth time at 3am but then I looked out of the window. As I rubbed the condensation it revealed billions of stars, a real treat for one who lives in a light polluted area and I was grateful for being awake! This is the first time we have seen it properly dark for months.

 

It was a really tasty breakfast and not at all greasy. The 19 year old chef has a good future ahead of her. We had stayed here before about 15 years ago and it was a disaster. They charged us twice and we had great difficulty in getting our money back. That man has gone and it is company owned now but the same nearly happened again. Record keeping hasn’t improved and they didn’t know we had paid electronically. Attitudes were much better though and it was quickly sorted. They have kept the stuffed animals but apart from that it is a nice friendly place with several family members involved in its running.

 

The water is faintly coloured and even more “peaty” in the loo cistern. It comes straight from the hills and is filtered for their use.

 

Breakfast was very sociable as we chatted to the couple of reps for liquid oxygen. Apparently oxygen is pumped into salmon farms to help production. I told them about the bubbles we’d noticed in the water at Kyleakin and they said that it was unlikely to be oxygen but thought like me it might be methane or volcanic gases.We left later than usual as we’d not woken till 8am- very unusual!

 

It was a sunny start with a bite to the air. We passed a deer, dead by the road looking unblemished but probably killed by a car or lorry. We were told that every winter people wreck their cars knocking them down as the deer come down from the hills looking for warmth. Perhaps they should drive with more care.

 

We passed the salmon farm on Loch Ailort and it seemed to have quite a bit of technical equipment. Eggs are often sent from Norway to salmon farms we were told and another guest at the hotel from Spain was a marine expert working here.

8 miles away we passed the next Inn and a lady with her purchase from the Smokery shop there. We had seen beautiful views across to Eig and Rhum and then later along the side of Loch Moidart we passed the 7 Men of Moidart. These are beech trees planted to commemorate the7 men who helped Prince Charles to reinstate himself in Scotland( albeit for a very short time). They are looking quite the worse for wear now.

Moidart as a region has few actual inhabitants. I just love the name. It makes me think of Lord of the Rings and some of its terrain is just as impenetrable. Someone described the roads as “adventurous.”

 

We went up a 1 in 10 hill with pine trees chopped back from the road at Drynie Hill. This was a pattern in some western highland beauty spots where the roads had been widened losing some of their charm- to be sterilised with EU money as some graffiti, on road signs, deplored.

 

 

There was single track some of the way and very pretty to Ardshealach where we stopped at the Highlander cafe for lunch. There was only room for 10 people and when 4 elderly ladies came in to find no seats available 2 people rushed their lunch feeling obliged to leave. It was a shuffle round so that everyone could sit with their friends and the stream of customers was constant. We moved out as soon as we had eaten and I started writing notes for the day when I had to make use of the umbrella stowed with the waterproofs.

 

It rained on and off for some while after and Bob put on his cape. The weather behind looked awful and was closing in. We came into Ardnamurchan at Salen and then it was gorgeous views along Loch Sunart. All along this area duck egg green lichen thrives on the trees making them look hairy.

 

Later at Glenborrowdale we looked for a hotel we had stopped at for shelter from the rain once. We remembered it well because an over-laden canoe had worried several of us, particularly as there were children in it. Now there is no jetty to see or hotel though the building is still there as a house we were told. When we stopped at Nadurra, a visitor centre, instead for a break, we found the same lady working there as had owned the hotel and lived in the house. A person with strong social conscience she now does 30 mile school runs and runs nature walks up at the lighthouse. A lady of leisure, sitting at one of the cafe tables said she had seen us putting on our capes and wanted our endorsement of the fact that it had rained as no one believed her.

Nadurra is a lovely little place with grapes growing in a room festooned with antlers of all sizes. A suntrap, it had exhibits that we didn’t have time to see and boasts sightings of golden and white tailed eagles from the centre car park. Even pine martens have been known to prowl the centre grounds in daylight but unfortunately not when we were there.

 

There was a digger taking chunks out of the mountain to build a house or wind turbines maybe. The men there waved across and said it was downhill all the way after. Well it wasn’t, but the last 3 miles were like a roller coaster and quick.

Continuing on from the excavations we came across a lot of highland cows with their calves holding up traffic and looking ready to bolt in any direction. It was hard to negotiate our way round them. We’d had several episodes of spooked sheep but we have become practised at herding them to the side. These animals were really big and wild eyed.

 

We gave the cow warning to 4 cyclists who passed us- that was 5 cyclists all day- arriving at the Kilchoan Hotel at 5.30. No places to eat round and about but the hotel did take-away fish and chips, in paper wrapping. We ordered ours for 7 as they were busy with orders till then but it was still a while till we got ours and we were starving! Because of this we missed the sunset. The previous night by all accounts had been spectacular. At £6.50 each, our fish was certainly tasty and we went to bed at 9.30 after a little evening stroll for the remnants of sundown, bats and the last of the dusk chorus.

 

Our room was very warm. We were surprised we couldn’t find record of us staying here in the  1990s. On show were all the guest book records going back to the 50s.

The bed was comfy but I woke a few times to the sound of singing and guitar music- Apparently another impromptu folk evening. I would have liked to join in but couldn’t stay awake!

Day 119 Malliag to Lochailort

 

 Date: Thursday 20^th September 2012   Distance: 18.72 Miles

 

We had an early breakfast at the Premier Inn Dumbarton to catch the train from Dunbarton Central to Mallaig. It would be a long journey of 5 hours. We’d left the car at the Inn after travelling up Wednesday night. Close to Glasgow, the place is near mud flats and huge plugs of rock ideal for hunting birds. Last time we were here we thought we had seen an eagle on the cycle path though this was some years ago. We have got quite blasé about Buzzards and know it wasn’t one.

 

We bought tasty baguettes from Greggs the bakers, noticing that a lot of shops were boarded up, then caught the 9.36 train without the usual panic. Though the driver advised us that most seats in the carriage were booked we found some there so we could keep an eye on the bike. Ours were booked for the other end of the train- a draw back when you buy tickets from home.

 

We were more interested in the view today which even in drizzle was beautiful and there were the occasional deer along the way. A chatty party from the Midlands got on for Fort William immediately replaced by another lot from down south. These had a rep who talked to the whole carriage pointing out the viaduct at Glenfinnan, which we saw and because of the winding route, we also crossed. He gave us some photo postcards. Perhaps they had missed the steam train which runs from Fort William to Mallaig.

 

There was a continual queue for the loos and the refreshment trolley continually blocked the aisle. This must have made it difficult for a larger number of us were quite elderly.

 

Our bakery products from Dunbarton were delicious and then we arrived just after 2 at a less lively Mallaig than last time, as it was a weekday. No harp music today!

We wasted time while I queued at the one ladies loo on the station then we were off on the old Fort William road alongside the sea waving to the steam train as it passed. A mile out and we could ride on the cycle path but traffic had seemed calm and patient anyway.

 

Morar was pretty with the river coming down to the sea loch like rapids. This is all that is left , after taming by hydro-electrics, of the once famous waterfall. There were plenty of dog walkers on the white sandy beach probably because there were places to park.

 

A lone lady golfer was playing on a small hilly course. Further on a small white house looked like it doubled as the golf club. Arisaig Hotel made us coffee and tea and we sat by a huge vase of lilies, taking care to position the cups away from the dropping pollen. It looked like the oldest member of staff had to run all the errands upstairs and down and I felt sorry for her and guilty for requiring her to wait on us!

 

A man who’d been staying there came in, in his Burberry walking gear, to retrieve his luggage. He complimented us on the tandem and said he was going home to London via the sleeper from Fort William, tossing up whether to get there by bus or the train ride that we took. “Haggis and a bottle of wine tonight,” he said.

On the road side as we left Arisaig a large section of vertebrae lay in the long grass. Too big for sheep and most likely deer ,they were picked clean and weathered white, unnoticed by the car drivers though probably killed by one.

 

At one of the viewpoints we stopped to half-heartedly help someone look for glasses lost 2 months before. Then we walked down to the Prince’s Cairn, a small monument commemorating an event on the same date as today- 20th September but in 1746.It is also our Wedding Anniversary.

 

The Cairn marks the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie and his companions embarked and sailed for France and exile. It was on this same loch, Loch nan Uamh, that they had arrived in July 1745. The views were lovely full of islets and promontories and we could see right out to sea for the first time since Mallaig.

 

Along the route we have noticed more fungus, the bright fly agaric, red and white perfect for illustrating children’s fairy stories, earth and puff balls and some that looked like flesh pink sherbert flying saucers. Others looked the texture and colour of suede while another spotted fungi had exploded to appear like a volcano exuding its black centre.

 

It was a very steep climb the last 3 miles but then we had only cycled 19 today at 8.2 miles an hour.

 

Lochailort Inn had a welcoming coal fire. Bob had bottled beer called Terror of Tobermory after the man who ran an anti submarine warfare school in the 2nd world War. I had an unusual lamb curry and broccoli that was very tasty and Bob had a steak reputed to be 8 ounces but was definitely much larger. This was followed by a bread and butter pudding, fairy cake sized, with a hazelnut ice-cream while Bob had a plate of cheese and biscuits to send cholesterol levels sky high and unusually spicy.  The food here is not boring and the chef seems to be a girl just out of school too.

 

A group of deer stalkers came in to warm themselves by the fire, steam rising from their trousers. They were mostly talking about killing squirrels but you could feel the adrenalin and the younger ones were congratulating the older woman for her fortitude. We hope they didn’t actually shoot anything though.

 

 

Day 118 Kyleakin to Mallaig

 

 Date: Friday 3^rd August 2012   Distance: 22.6 Miles

 

A prompt breakfast with no small talk and we were off by 9am It was back towards the bridge then up beside the open sea until we turned left to the road parallel with the mainland. We passed the ale connoisseurs from Strathecarron who were perusing a map atop their car. Across the water there were fine views of the mainland.

 

We were lucky to notice a cyclist negotiating a gate to what looked like a cycle path. It was- unofficially -and would take us to nearer our destination at Armadale saving us the stream of cars and lorries heading for the ferry there. The path was lovely but you could still hear the traffic. Back on the road there were sea lochs and views across, then a helicopter parked in someone’s garden.

 

Plans were to visit Armadale gardens and go on the later ferry giving us less time to wait for the train in Mallaig. Luckily as we saw the ferry was in we decided to go for it and we realised Bob had the wrong times, when the boat left immediately. We might have missed the train if we had relied on the times he had. It took long enough to cross to drink a cup of tea and there had been no charge for the bike.

 

 

Mallaig was buzzing! We had lunch at a lovely cafe called the Tea Garden on an upstairs patio while a girl played Scottish tunes on a violin, on the street opposite and later haunting harp music. Two hours later she walked by carrying her instruments home. Such stamina.

 

We were really pleased to see the German family now joined by their eldest son. They stopped and chatted and we at last exchanged email addresses. They must have been on a few of our films from the bike camera. The odds were stacked against us seeing them today so we were lucky. They would be taking a few days cycling back to Inverness.

 

We watched the steam train leave for Fort William regretting that we couldn’t take the tandem on it. We still had some time to kill so we visited the little heritage museum but it wasn’t a patch on the others we have seen, everything being very dated and tired looking. I was asked to fill in a questionnaire rating the exhibits and to my shame I couldn’t tell the truth. It was mostly photos and the video of wildlife was so amateurish and old it had spots across the film and jumped while a banal commentary crackled over it. I hope someone was braver than me.

 

Our 5 and a half hour train journey was beautiful with endless mountains for it followed the West Highland Way and stopped at every station, some on summits hence the slow pace. The train soon filled with rucksacks and walkers. It is only 180 miles to Glasgow!

 

We arrived at 10pm where we stayed in a city Premier Inn carrying the tandem upstairs to the conference room for the night. Next day we travelled home.

Day 117 Shieldaig to Kyleakin

 

 Date: Thursday 2^nd August 2012   Distance: 41.87 Miles

 

It had been a sticky night. We had breakfast in the main house with other visitors- German again. The venison sausages were lovely.

 

Our bike was stored in the outside games room along with items later to become part of a raft for the son to race on at Sheildag at the weekend followed by a sheep shed shuffle so named because it’s a dance in a sheep shed. They usually start at 10 pm and end around 5am. What stamina!

 

Ten miles on route we stopped for drinks at Kishorn seafood bar and the girl there said it was her dad’s sheep shed. There was a loch before Kishorn and it looked like the carnivorous plants have flowered here and butterflies decorated the marshy sides of the roads.

 

Riding to Loch Carron along the village front we met a man hanging his washing on lines on the beach. He warned us to take care on the roads that he deemed unsuitable for bikes because of the traffic.

 

Someone passing drew our attention to the shape of a man’s face formed by the top of the mountain. We saw this for a long way when we looked back. He also said the loch had many otters-a sign of clean water but then all the lochs have looked pure to me.

 

At the Strathecarron Hotel we met a couple from the seafood bar, seemingly ill matched by dress, age and type but enjoying the local ale. It still surprised me how often we saw some people across this part of the country but we do stick out like a sore thumb.

 

Bob had been all for putting me on the train here as I had such griping pains in my stomach- too much rich food probably. Carrot and coriander soup seemed to do the trick- that and a little rest.

 

We left for roads with extremely tall pines and as we walked yet another hill I could hear crunching sounds coming from the tree lined edge. This followed us for some way and as I walked I kept scanning the foliage for movement. I had heard a similar noise from hedgehogs eating snails in our garden. Certainly not noise from squirrels I wondered if it was pine martins.

 

 

 

 

Cars rushed by us more and more as we drew near the Skye Bridge. It was not how I remembered it nearly 15 years ago. Perhaps taking away the toll has made it busier. It was certainly bustling with tourists, many Italian, in Kyleakin.

 

The B and B was hard to find- only because instructions were to go right at the youth hostel. We learnt later the hostel had been replaced with a block of flats some years ago. If we had been looking for the name, unpronounceable, of the house, we would have found it as there were signs.

 

 

 

We were ten minutes later than I had said because discomfort had slowed me down. Arms akimbo we were greeted with “so you’re here then” which wasn’t the most welcoming thing to say. Her front garden was dotted with ornaments, gnomes, deer, fairies and the path was small and angular but Bob manoeuvred the bike carefully. She was cross that we wanted to put it out of sight and was very precious about her wall that was hotch-potched with cement. We had asked about the bike and she seemed fine with it on the phone. After being told off for being awkward when we chose a time for breakfast- the information sheets she gave us were different so we mentioned it-I was ready to find somewhere else. The room was nice however and whatever was bugging her had got better by morning. We decided she might have had some sort of OCD as she kept patting things and setting things straight. We were upsetting her equilibrium obviously. Her husband spoke to us after breakfast and he was lovely.

 

This was the worst place for midges so we daren’t open the window at night. We walked round the village and I thought there must have been lots of small fish in the water here because of the bubbles coming to the surface but when we looked there was no life at all just air seemingly coming from under the gravel at the bottom. We wondered if this was volcanic - surely not. We did see garden rubbish dumped in the water and widespread usage maybe could create methane. Dead jellyfish floated on top of the water further along. This was in complete contrast to Gairloch’s rich sea-life. Trolling the internet has not shed any light on the gas bubble phenomena, as yet.

 

We ate at Saucy Mary’s which doubled as a bunk house. Saucy Mary was reputed to be a Norwegian princess from the now ruined Castle Moil. She hung a chain from her castle in Kyleakin across the narrow channel to the mainland in order to extort tolls from the ships passing through.

Day 116 Gairloch to Shieldaig

 

 Date: Wednesday 1^st August 2012   Distance: 39.16 Miles

 

It was a buffet breakfast and quiet at 8. They catered for European Internationals well with cold meats and peanut butter and traditional English breakfast without the haggis. This place encourages motorcyclists and it was in a specific workshop for them that we left our bike overnight.

 

We left in sun but with a 20 mile an hour wind. Along the roadside was a 1 metre diameter green pipe taking water for the hydro- electric power stations and a small loch on the right was also for electricity purposes. Nearby we met a man walking his dog with a carrier bag full of very large ceps. He believes this area to produce the best in the world and guards their precise location. As we spoke 2 RAF jets flew low overhead.

 

Not far down the road Bob suddenly shouted out and swerved, telling me to jump off. I wondered what was wrong but then he said “Quick take a photo!” He had narrowly missed crushing a lizard under our back wheel with a couple of centimetre to spare. It played dead for a little while then moved sinuously to the grass cover at the side of the road. Normally they would have shot away rapidly but it was cooler today with the wind.

 

We were soon in coats with rain and hail but then it was warm again. Constantly changing it rained yet again and it was against the wind for some way. It was a beautiful ride despite the stream of traffic that caused us to move into passing places. We rescued a brown and orange butterfly from the middle of the road identified a s a meadow brown from a butterfly chart that we later bought at the Beinn Eighe Visitor Centre. This was great for kids having lots of hands on exhibits and it was free. We watched a lesser spotted woodpecker on the feeders then left for the Kinlochewe hotel about a mile away for lunch.

 

The landlady here had seen our German family now joined by the eldest son. We knew he was coming over and a family of 6 on bikes has got to be rare out here so we were sure it was them and it was good to hear that they were still going strong! The land lady felt sorry for them in the rain and on the windy hills.

 

We arrived at the Torridon Inn at 3. A sign said that muddy boots and wellies were welcome while children played games and people chatted- it seemed a very relaxed place and we thought it a shame we were only there for afternoon tea.

 

After 36 miles we arrived at Sheildaig, a lovely village beside Loch Torridon. The B and B, Kinloch was about a mile away. Here we had a whole floor of a house to ourselves with a fabulous view through a picture window so who needed a TV?

 

The sitting room faced a special island that has a heronry, a white tailed eagle’s nest and the trees have been used in the past for poles for drying fishing nets. Owned by the Scottish National Trust it is possible to see otters so we sit scanning the loch, sky and island after a lovely dinner cooked by our host (I coveted and was given the lentil soup recipe) until it is too dark to see. Two seals criss-crossed the waters all evening and a bat feasted on the midges, the worst so far, it looked like rain but was thousands of the little biters. A few seconds was more than enough time outside. There were countless birds in and out of the rowans and on the under -side of the bracken for either insects or the seeds. We stayed at the window till the sun set.

Day 115 Badbea to Gairloch

 

 Date: Tuesday 31^st July 2012   Distance: 29 Miles

 

We had breakfast at 8.30 after another night of no stars. It was a sociable breakfast with chatty hosts and a beautiful sunny day. At 10 we left with a 180 metre climb to start with. A cyclist on a recumbent went by with impossibly narrow wheels. Minutes later he came back asking if we were OK, because we were walking. Nice of him but a bit embarrassing!

 

This area reminds me of Switzerland with green covered hills and houses dotted on the hillsides. Distant views of some quite high mountains seen across sea or lochs are lovely and though not so many as yesterday there are still some powerful waterfalls.

 

At last there are a few cafes and shops that are open. We carried on to Aultbae beside Loch Ewe for a lunch of macaroni cheese at the hotel there. We sat watching whelk pickers expertly or ineptly throwing the molluscs into buckets. These are bought by the “whelk man” who in turn sells them to the pubs.

 

The sun has brought out lots of dark brown butterflies with pink spots on the bottom of their wings then dragon flies and 2 lizards. We cycled on past Inverewe Gardens owned by the Scottish National Trust. We were going to visit but it looked extensive and would take out too much time. Instead we stopped at Poolewe for the indoor Market in the village hall, full of home grown, home made things, not forgetting Sid the tortoise whose reptilian charm drew children to pet him. While we sat with a tea the artisan baker offered me the last cheesy beery loaf for free as they were on the point of closing. Kind of him, we took it and put a donation in a charity box (for Cairngorm reindeer) eating it later and deciding that cheese and beer in bread don’t really go together.

 

I managed to buy some butterfly cards that helped us identify the ones we’ve been seeing in the area and we think they belong to the hairstreak species, the pink spots I saw were maybe orange.

 

We arrived in Gairloch after a surprising number of steep ups despite Bob saying it would be an easy day. At the fringe of the village we visited a very small museum (£7 between us) I was intrigued by the flat pack pulpit from the 1800s, perhaps the first flat pack ever. Once rebuilt it would be the centre for 2,000 people, out in the open, offering prayer, gospel and hearty singing twice a year and people would think nothing of walking 25 miles to it, it was such a great occasion.

 

There were some small working models of rural machinery like the mill and the pictish stone with a fish used as the symbol for the area, Wester Ross.

Further on we came to the harbour. The pier has many bill boards claiming ever larger amounts of sightings of whale, dolphins, eagles and puffins from their particular boat, as they vie for tourist trade. One claimed 2,000 sightings of puffins- who was counting?

 

 

 

 

The Gairloch Highland Lodge is actually mapped as being in Castletown. From our bedroom window we had  a fantastic view across Loch Gairloch and out to the mountains beyond. The Old Inn back down towards the village is connected in some way to the hotel and we were given a voucher for 10% off our dinner. The menu had a lot of fish dishes but I chose venison terrine with oat cakes and venison stew with dumplings which was too much for me but very nice nonetheless. Bob played safe with fish and chips.

 

The water in the loch is so clear you could see to the bottom with small fish the colour of goldfish or black.  A seal swam under us and the pier at a touchable distance, snorting and as big as a walrus. Another starless night and the wind howled.

Day 114 Ullapool to Badbea

 

 Date: Monday 30^th July 2012   Distance: 31.44 Miles

 

We slept fairly well on the high soft bed. Breakfast was served upstairs and we ate with 3 others of which the 2 oldest never spoke leaving all conversation to the younger German lady who was persistent in her questions of which we couldn’t answer, not being local. It was a lovely breakfast of porridge then a full Scottish with eggs from their own chickens and a wonderful lemon curd made with their eggs too.

 

Bob took the old wheel apart to be put in metal recycling from the house but retaining the expensive dynamo. We learnt that the house had been built by very talented builder family members. A glass dome let light into the kitchen and there are windows everywhere with views. It was built for their retirement and great- grandchildren photos are wallpaper for the computer. The lady seemed little older than me but she said they all have children young in their family!

 

We left at 10 stopping at Leckmelm Garden a little down the road. There was an honesty box for £3 per person and a sign saying to let them know if you see a red squirrel as they are being reintroduced. It’s a lovely smallish garden with a giant sequoia and several Cyprus with some rhododendrons not yet gone over. No one else in sight was probably why I managed to see a squirrel about to go on a nut feeder. It went back up the tree out of sight but I left a message in the honesty box.

 

As we left the garden for the road our German friends were out of shouting distance in front. Later they noticed us and stopped for a chat but today they were cycling what we had allocated 2 days for- they were riding to Gairloch, nearly 60 miles away. We were worried for them as we were ready for our stop at Badbea.

 

Today was a day of waterfalls and lush green and trees. There were several waterfalls before turning off the main road towards the gorge- National Trust of Scotland. It is unmanned again with honesty boxes and a wobbly suspension bridge for only 6 people at one time crossing the beautiful gorge and fall.

 

Some of the numerous waterfalls were near small hydroelectric plants. There was a splendid fall near the B and B.

We spotted a common butterwort, a carnivorous plant!

 

There was nowhere to stop for tea or loos and we found ourselves the object of several people’s photographs. Near another small waterfall we smelt petrol and heard a motor. We assumed it was powering the mobile phone mast!

 

My nose was in good order for later I smelt disinfectant and as we got down the hill a farmer was dousing his sheep by the road and said as we passed that he approved of our transport.

 

We passed another pub that said it was open all day but in fact opened at 6.30. Then there was a hostel and several B and Bs. Our “ Easter Badbea” was quite a bit further on. There had been a 1,000 foot long climb and 2,000ft over the day. Despite a lot of cloud we were like lobsters. The area here seems to have a lot of brown butterflies we wanted to identify.

 

Lovely people at the B and B are into growing their own produce in the 2 greenhouses hydroponically. I was so impressed with the taste of the dinner they gave us especially the tender young pea pods, that I want to try it for myself. We had salmon from the salmon farm on the loch. The garden backs on to the loch and was a lovely peaceful place if you can bear the midges. They like Bob too much so we didn’t see any sea otter as we didn’t stay long enough.

 

We learnt that Tim Rice of Lloyd Webber fame owns land from Dundonnel and he disapproves of wind farms.

Day 113 Lochinver to Ullapool

 

 Date: Sunday 29^th July 2012   Distance: 33.49 Miles

 

Breakfast was at 8 and we were surprised at how many people had been secreted by the building. The dining room was full. We were sat on our own in the sitting room with a view of the loch. After filling in a little sheet to say what we wanted for breakfast it came and was mostly good apart from the undercooked sausage. They would have made a packed lunch but we decided to buy from the local shop.

 

I was surprised how much shelter could be got from trees with small leaves or pine needles when it decided to shower again. Mostly we were on a single track with passing places but it was less steep today. At midday we had been caught up by the German family of 5. The oldest boy noticed he had a puncture and proceeded to turn the bike upside down and began the mend. Later in the trip we learned that they had hired the bikes which we thought a bit risky when they were doing hundreds of miles. We were beginning to enjoy our encounters and brief stilted conversation and thought they would catch us up again but they didn’t until we got to the Ulapool sign. They had punctured again and had a leisurely time in the sun by the loch near Ulapool later in the afternoon.

 

We had our sandwiches on a rock by the road but there was nowhere to prop up the bike. We’d been carrying the old wheel in case... But the new one seemed good and we’ll ditch the old tomorrow keeping the dynamo. We were back to speeding downhill! There were just hills and water. A car park for walkers would have provided a seat -too late. Car drivers were mostly polite and patient calling out that we must be very hardy and “good on you!” Even our German patriarch said we had his respect- perhaps he thought we were really old! Anyway they cycled further than us with their entire family and in good humour despite sometimes awful weather.

 

Just before the main road, on the right, fell a huge waterfall and then a campsite on the shores of a loch, where we bought a hot drink and snack. People had built towers of rocks, cairns, in imaginative ways rather like sandcastles in stone. We were told that our destination was another 2 hills up and then a mile up a steeper one which seemed a bit discouraging. A huge lorry load of fish went by spraying us and 2 walkers with fishy water as it went. It spilled out as it climbed the road and we smelt fish for ages as it went over clothes and bike.

 

We met our German friends by the bridge over the falls as we came into Ulapool. They would be staying in the Youth Hostel which they found better than the previous 2 places as it provided them with hot water in their own private bathroom they said later.

 

We had to travel on a bit out of town 3 miles following the sat nav into the Braes to a large white house called Tamarin Lodge. The bike went in the garage, through which we went to get to our rooms on the first floor. What a modern architectural gem. We had a bedroom, dressing room and lovely bathroom and lovely views. A taxi took us back to town and Tescos for food for the next day which would be remote again. The trip cost £4 wherever the pickup wanted to go. Tescos were selling off all sorts of goodies and I bought 2 Danish pastries for 12p.

 

We walked to one of the eating places on the harbour front passing the German family going into the Indian Restaurant. We went to the Arch Inn where we were a bit disappointed. Bob had massive fish and chips but my dish, more expensive too, was meagre with hardly any potato or vegetables. They did bring me more crushed potatoes though.

 

The taxi back was driven by a man instead of the earlier lady and he is leader of the local pipe band and he said that they played at Durness and 2 of their number are world class in their accomplishment.