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  • Day 7

    Ullapool to Applecross

    May 6, 2018 in Scotland ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    Today we drove from Ullapool to Applecross in Wester Ross.

    The route: On route today we came across a gorge to stop off at with a wooded pine forest walk. We stopped for lunch with a beautiful vista of the Summer Isles and then continued on our way with the odd stop for views.

    The weather: A mixed bag! We have had some rain (mostly drizzle) and then blue sky between clouds. The clouds have been low, clinging to the mountains and misting over the lakes. Despite the record breaking sun and temperatures in London, I think it is actually a blessing in disguise so long as the heavy rain stays away, it adds an atmopshere that you couldn't quite get in the sunshine. Thankfully the wind seems to have died down today too - it hs picked up a bit more this afternoon but no where near like the past few days.

    The highlights:
    The forest walk to the gorge. As an unplaned stop this was well worth getting out the car and walking in the drizzle to go and see. I was not expecting the scale of the massive waterfall and extremely deep gorge that cut below our feet whilst we stood on a victorian suspension bridge. It is probably the coolest gorge we have seen and seems to just fall into an abyss. Either side of the gorge is a pine forest trail. One leads to another viewpoint that sticks out over the edge and the other is a longer meandering walk that takes you back up to the car park. The smell of the pine was gorgeous and with the slight drizzle for the first half, we felt quite refreshed and ready for the rest of the day.

    The slowest motorhome in the world! - We got stuck behin this motorhome multiple times today and never have I witnessed such slow driving so unneccesarlily. They also didn't follow the advice to let others pass when you can...grrrr. Got here eventually though!

    A lot of backtracking. Many of the views reveal themselevs a little too late for you to stop and admire them and today this resulted in lots of long drives to the next nearest parking spot before we could turn the van around and take a look. Still - it's not the end of the world having to see the same beautiful view twice!

    Highland cows!!!!! and cow puppies - as Rob likes to call them. After seeing the odd one or two before now, today we got to see lot's of them with their gorgeous babies! They were right by the road with their huge horns and long fur. As far as cows go, they're pretty impressive.

    Another animal sign to add to the collection - this time Red Squirrels. We didn't see any though.

    Up close to a buzzard - it was sitting on a telephone wire just off the road from us and did some nice acrobatics for me whilst watching through the binoculars. I never normally see them perched so this was quite nice and meant I got a much better look a them. Unfortuantely Rob's shakey hands meant he didn't get quite the same experience. Londons trains have a lot to answer for! (Line side fires and cancellations meant I was unable to collect the pair of stablising binoculars from Mike the day we were due to leave - although I had told Rob to ask about them ages ago so....).

    Fish and chips at the Applecross Inn. A lovely little pub and as the only one for miles, a popular one. We waived our veg diet as we didn't have much choice to here. The fish are landed close by and they seem to care a lot for sustainability so at least it wasn't too bad. And they were delicious - beer battered and with a home made tartar sauce that was very nice and strangely had a hint of coconut to it that we can't think where it might have come from.

    The beach vIews. The coastal roads today have revealed lots of beautiful rocky inlets and sandy bays, many with crystal clear turquoise waters that look so so inviting. The fishing boats and the odd house on the shore make each look like a mini postcard.

    The Torridon Mountains. We drove through these mountains today along the flat glacial cut valley so that they towered either side of us for some time. they're made of some of the oldest rock in Scotland and many were snowcapped with quite dramatic looking peaks. All are above 3000ft and although not staggeringly high - they were pretty impressive to look at.

    The wild deer! Just now I looked up to see out of the window and was amazed to see three deer had made their way down to the roadside near the parking bay to eat. I have just spent the past twenty mins watching them and taking pictures and now there are 1eleven with a beautiful looking stag. Totally makes up for other day when we drove back to see them and they had gone! Our neigbours are annoyingly trying to walk near them to take photos whch is making them move further away...grrr.

    The Stayover: A parking layby by the side of the road on the opposite side of the bay to Applecrss. A lovely view of the bay and the town and only a 2 minute drive to the public toilets in the town in case of emergencies! No phone signal whatsoever but this was kinda nice to be honest.
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