Ardverikie

I wasn't all that far from my chosen overnight stop, but having arrived at the end of Loch Laggan (no, I'd never heard of it either) I was amazed to see what looked like white sand beaches so I stopped at a layby to have a closer look. This was a little trickier than expected due to an extremely steep path down to the lakeside with nothing to hold on to. In the end I decided to run down, only to find my legs running faster than my brain so thank goodness for the trees I grabbed to use as a brake.

The beaches were in fact white sand being the exposed areas due to the reservoir level being low. I'm not sure where they came from but there were a few people already there and walking along the sand across the water from me. I stayed about 15 minutes, took the photos you see and then headed off to find my place for the night.

The place I had chosen to stop is a nature reserve which has a large car park with free use for overnight stays for campervans and motorhomes. An Honesty Box is provided so you can donate a pittance to help pay towards the running costs. A toilet is provided but it is a 500m walk to the visitor centre, so best not to have an upset tummy whilst staying there unless your second job is an Olympic sprinter. It was a pleasant stroll there to be honest, though the wonder of it all was flushed away upon discovering the absence of anything which can even vaguely be described as a bottom wiping accessory.

Just outside the toilet was a display area, helpfully provided in case you used your underwear to wipe your bottom and now flaunt your assets to the awaiting ensemble. There were information leaflets, though sadly lacking anything about the location of toilet roll, a large LCD screen telling you about the flora and fauna of the area and a white board for listing the things you have seen, or think you may have seen, or not even seen, whilst visiting. I've included it as one of the footprint photos so you will see it if you scroll through, or not if you don't.

On the way back to the van I ascended a viewpoint topped with a flagpole and flag. I've included a photo taken from here which is a panorama to give a better idea of the view. It was whilst climbing the path that the midges decided it would be fun to come out to play, but thankfully they weren't really the biting kind and were just annoying. I still decided to fit the insect net to my sliding window though, just in case.

So that was the day that was. It was a travelling day really as is tomorrow so I'll try and remember to take some views as I continue my journey to Ullapool.Read more