Stromeferry

We read on the BBC news this morning that motorhomes in Scotland, particularly on the North Coast 500 route are becoming a problem. The main issue being the emptying of cassette toilets in inappropriate places. It seems not everybody has a plan in place like the practical Hamptons. We personally have seen no evidence so far of this sort of behaviour. As usual, it is a case of judging the actions of the many, by the actions of a few.

As we left this morning we passed by RAF Kinloss. Right by the perimeter fence was a Nimrod, no longer flying now.

When John was a young man working as a Radio Technician for the MOD, he used to repair the communication equipment on these planes, a main stay of our anti-submarine force during the Cold War.

Our onward route took us to Inverness Castle, the official start to the north coast 500 route. Social distancing measures made it difficult to stop, but Marge likes to do things right, and she spotted a space right opposite the castle and promptly nipped in.

Before leaving Inverness, we were conscious that we may not be able to obtain water or cheap diesel for a while, so once again Marge was directed to Asda. We were also finding it difficult to by a cylinder of camping gas, a problem solved by a trip to Go Outdoors.

All done, we set off to our first stop the Rogie Falls on the black water. The weather hadn't been so great all day, but upon our arrival here the shone broke through and we took a pleasant, if muddy walk to the falls.

The churning brown foaming water was very impressive as it bounced over the rocks, washing the stones as it tumbled downstream. Patches of gold from the sunlight lit the river, and a rainbow appeared in the fine mist of water hovering over the rocks. The scene was spectacular, unlike the return walk back to Marge, the mud sucking at our boots.

We were very close to our planned overnight stop, where there was an even more fantastic waterfall, but the parking area did not take our fancy, and we had a bad feeling about the place, so with the light fading we drove on for about another hour, through the low cloud, rain and bleakness that is the highlands of Scotland on a bad day in September. All around we could see the shrouded silhouettes of the mountains. The roads became narrow, but with plenty of passing places, and we pressed on. Then. Oh god Marge, single track roads are one thing, a single, track tunnel another, go careful!

At last the cloud lifted a little, and the rain eased slightly, and then we were beside Loch Carron, our stop for tonight. What a journey. Unfortunately, the view is very limited due to the weather, but we hope in the morning we will be able to see across the loch. The forecast tomorrow is not great, there is a yellow weather warning in place for heavy rain tonight and tomorrow in this area. We the weather is fantastic at home, but hey, we're on a road trip with Marge, and it's all part of the journey.

Tomorrow, we will cross the road bridge to the Isle of Skye, where we may spend a few days. Both of us and Marge could do with a break from travelling.