Big Sand

Although up early, we were one of the last to leave to camp ground 🤣 The sun was shining, but the wind was gusting savagely. A picked a few more blackberries to add to the morning porrage.

Our trek along the single-track coastal route was quite relaxing and very picturesque. Traffic was light, but lots of cyclists. Immediately to the west were the Isles of Raasay and Rona, with the Isle of Skye in the background.

Eventually we reconnected with the main dual track road. We took a slight detour into the village of Torridon and bought a few things from their adorable General Store, including some Scottish chowder, local brews, and a local cucumber. The lady even sold us a 1/4 bag of ice for our beverages, as that's all that would fit in our freezer. 👍

The landscape was quite varied along the way from wind-swept open Heather moors to dense&damp pockets of birch and other deciduous trees. We also passed through drier areas covered in both tall and stunted Scots Pine. Much of the Beinn Eighe nature reserve near Loch Maree is being revitalized, but sadly the gorgeous Scots Pines were milled for ammunition box, of all things, during WWII. However, efforts are being made to repopulate the forests with Scots Pine again!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beinn_Eighe

The weather was varied on the drive, from bright sun to torrential down pours! After returning to van from a short hike, the clouds opened up; fastest wiper-speed fun. We saw a lot of rainbows!

Another quick stop near Gairloch, and we found ourself on what appeared to be an easy walk to see the Flowerdale waterfalls, after almost 3km in and a steep hike, J found them high in the mountain moors. Once back at the car, it was a short drive to the ocean front dunes Big Sands camp ground for the night. With a restaurant on site, we did takeout fish and chips, and a grilled veggies pizza. Funny, the veggies weren't actually grilled 🤣 It was all delicious! We enjoyed a fabulous sunset, enduring the very gusty winds! The slight rocking of the van reminded us of sleeping roadside a few nights prior 🙃Read more