North West day 8 - Home

After breakfast we started our journey home. We decided to go via the Culloden battlefield just outside Inverness to make use of our new NTS membership.

We got the guided tour headsets and had an interesting wander round the museum and battlefield.

After this we headed back down the road home.

North West day 7 - Kinlochewe

On the way back down the peninsula we stopped to look for otters at a couple of likely places but didn't see any. We stopped at the picturesque village of Badachro.

We drove on to Ben Eighe near Kinlochewe, where there are a short woodland walk and a longer mountain walk marked out. First we went with Amber round the woodland walk, then left her in the campervan and did the mountain walk ourselves.

It was quite quiet, though we met a couple of other walking groups. Up at the highest point of the walk is a spectacular plateau with many small lochs.

At the bottom we took Amber for a short walk to the shore of Loch Maree.

We then went to Kinlochewe and had a pint at the Kinlochewe Hotel, before going down the road a bit to wild-camp in a car park just off the road. It would have had great views to Loch Maree if the visibility had been better.

North West day 6 - Gairloch

We decamped and drove on to Gairloch. We drove around the village and coast for a bit looking for somewhere we could have a cooked breakfast, eventually settling on the Sheiling. We both had the full Scottish breakfast, which was very good.

We found the tourist information and saw that we had time to go for a circular walk before a wildlife boat trip in the afternoon. We parked at the pier and walked over a headland to the beach.

Then we went inland through some woods, before finally following a river back to the campervan.

We then left Amber in the campervan while we joined the boat trip. There were only four other people on it. We saw Celia the grey seal in the harbour before we left, then some porpoises as we headed out to sea.

The guide pointed out a golden eagle in the distance, but it was so far away it could have been anything. On the rocks we saw shags,  cormorants, skuas, gannets and lots more grey seals.

After about 2.5 hours we headed back.

We walked round the few shops in Gairloch village, then drove far out the peninsula to Redpoint beach. Amber ate something here and was sick for about the next half hour.

Just back from the beach we found a great wild camping spot in a car park with a great view. We had stew for dinner and watched some television, we picked up a good signal here.

North West day 5 - Poolewe

We went for a run before breakfast, about 20 mins up the River Ewe.

After breakfast we drove to Inverewe gardens. We had a quick look round ourselves before a guided tour started, which was very interesting.

We decided to join the National Trust Scotland, so had our entry fee refunded.

After our visit we went for a coffee and scone in the gardens' cafe.

We'd read about a smokehouse at Aultbea, so we drove there to see if we could buy some smoked fish. Unfortunately it was closed. We then drove up the peninsula on the other side of the loch to Cove where we went for a walk on the beach.

We then went for a pint at the Poolewe Hotel, before going back to the campervan for dinner - pasta with sauce, cheese and oatcakes.

North West day 4 - Poolewe

We first took Amber for a walk along the sea shore then in the woods next to the camp site.

There was a charcoal burner next to the path.

We came across a frog.

Later we left Amber in the campervan and went for a walk round Loch Kernesay which was in the hills behind the camp site. Weather was a little cloudy. After reaching the end of the loch we went across to where the River Ewe runs down a glen towards Poolewe.

At the bottom where the river meets the sea loch there were loads of mackerel thrashing about. Later we went out to a bird hide on the sea shore that we'd seen earlier, and sat for a while watching the birds. We saw more than 20 herons, a sandpiper, some curlews and goldfinches.

After this we went for a drink in the Poolewe Hotel then back to the campervan for dinner - chilli and rice.

North West day 3 - Poolewe

The sun was out again this morning when we got up. We went for a short walk with Amber first, and had a good view of the hill ahead of us.

We then left Amber in the campervan and set off to climb Stac Pollaidh (612m). The higher we got the better were the views until we got to the top where it was absolutely stunning. Looking north was the Inverpolly National Nature Reserve.

We indulged in a bit of scrambling too.

We then drove on to Knockan Crag, where we walked up around the crag then visited the visitors' centre which describes all the rock formations. There were great views back to Inverpolly where we'd climbed earlier.

We drove on to do some shopping in Ullapool before continuing to Inverewe camp site in Poolewe. The camp site is right across the road from the sea shore. After setting up we went for a run then showered. Dinner was a barbecue - venison burgers, pork and pepper kebabs.

Later we played dominoes  before going to bed.

North West day 2 - Achilitibuie

After breakfast we intended to go on a boat trip to the Summer Isles, but unfortunately they weren't running that day. Instead we drove to the pier at Altandhu and went for a walk. They weather was beautiful and sunny.

As we walked round the deserted coves we found an interesting wooden shack. Don't know its history.

A constant feature throughout the walk was the great view of the Summer Isles out in the bay.

We then drove along the road as far as we could go along the peninsula, to the village of Reith. We walked round the loch, seeing some rock climbers on the cliffs on the way.

We had our lunch there, then drove back to the spectacular Achachaird beach, where we went for a walk then sat reading for a while.

Later we went for a pint at the Summer Isles Hotel, before leaving Achiltibuie and heading out towards our wild-camping spot for the night. We intended to climb the hill Stac Pollaidh the next morning, so parked in its car park. It was next to a loch so was in a very nice setting, but unfortunately there were a lot of midges around so we had to sit in with the doors closed in the evening.

Dinner was some ham hock in tomato sauce that we'd brought from home, with sauteed potatoes.