On Saturday October 5th I spent 12.5 hours driving to Gairloch with countless picture stops of phenomenal scenery, and a 2.5 hour exploration of Applecross. I arrived in Applecross via the Pass of the Cattle which is this steep single track mountain road with hairpin turns and a sign at the start warning people against this route if they are novice drivers! It was absolutely marvelous!!! And super fun to drive on actually, because there were plenty of passing places, so no anxiety when coming across other drivers. Their single track roads are really well designed and I absolutely LOVE driving on them! It's such a remote, exhilarating experience. I feel like I've gotten the best of both worlds by walking about 150 miles over 10 days and then driving over 500 miles in 3 days. Two completely different ways to see and experience the country and I adore them both!!
I digress! Back to Applecross!! Arriving from the Pass of the Cattle meant that I got to see a birds eye view of the bay. It was low tide when I arrived and I had the stunning pleasure of seeing an expansive bay of RED sand!! It was exquisite!! Walking around the area on their many walking trails, I saw a deer who stopped for about a minute and we just looked at each other from only 20 or so feet away. :) Splendid!! I also desperately tried to see an otter but no luck. :/ I really want to see one eating a fish, lying on its back in the water. Is that asking too much??!! :) I stayed about 5 minutes at a place labeled "fish trap" in the bay but no luck. Realizing how slim the chances were of that happening, I decided to move on. :)
My goal was to make it to Gairloch before sunset but I failed. ARG silly days getting shorter. :/ Dusk set in around 6:45 and it was pitch dark by 7:30 pm, when I arrived at my B&B. It is about 5 miles outside the main town on a single track road with no lights, which I hadn't researched first, and I was very grateful for my GPS companion. :) The owners of the B&B are absolutely delightful and we chatted for over two hours my first night. I was their only guest and it actually felt a bit like couch surfing, minus the money!
Sunday, October 6th I drove up to the Assynt Peninsula and had the incredible luck of having sunshine. And I don't just mean a wee bit of sunshine. I mean SUNSHIIIIIIIIINE!!! Glorious, magnificent, warm you in a tee shirt in October kind of sunshine. :) The day also included countless picture stops, and other more significant stops at the Falls of Measach (walked a lovely little 1 km trail to explore the slot gorge and crossed the suspension bridge - designed by the same engineer as that of the Forth Rail Bridge!), hiked to the top of Stac Pollaidh and ran to the top of Knockan Crag with stops for pictures and reading some signs. I wasn't able to be thorough with my sign reading because I had a dinner reservation at 8pm at a restaurant in Gairloch that my hosts had recommended (and even made for me!!) and I was running a bit late. But I took pics of a lot of signs to be able to read them later. :)
I made my dinner reservation and had exquisite scallops that were hand-dived nearby and a halibut from the North Sea with a bunch of fresh veggies (really truly fresh! The baby spinach was raw and asparagus and broccoli barely steamed! Perfect!) Topped with a tomato-balsamic sauce it was amazing!
This morning I had to depart at 7 am to make my 11 am bus to Dundee (which I'm currently sitting in. :) Times like these I love technology! And I thank Nora, again for showing me how to use my cell phone as a tethering hotspot!) My noteworthy comment about today is just how incredible my hosts were: They got up to make me breakfast for 6:30 am!! So incredibly generous and unexpected! It was a lovely surprise and a fabulous waybto start my day, a scrumptious full Scottish breakfast and lively company. I am so happy!! Departure from Scotland imminent :( Going to see how much more I can experience before my flight on Thursday. :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI can't even begin :)
DeleteSounds spectacular!!!
ReplyDelete