Tarskavaig, Isle of Skye

What a beautiful morning this morning, we awoke to a clear bright day. Our overnight spot at the foot of the Torridon red sandstone  mountains had been perfect. Stunning views, peaceful and relaxing. During the night Angela was awoken by a distance roar, as it built she realised it was a wind gust coming down the mountains, fortunately we'd parked Marge into the wind near the trees, the branches help filter the power of the gusts. Today we decided to drive and stay overnight at Strathcarron, an enchanting highlands village, but as always with us, our plans changed. Before that though, there was a drive over to Applecross to negotiate. The road, as always, once again, narrow, steep, winding with spectacular views. At one point, we could see across the water to the Old Man of Storr and the  Quirainn on the Isle of Skye.

We are just loving the scenery here, and wildlife. Spotted  today, some grouse, three golden eagles and an otter. The last time we came to Applecross it was busy, difficult to park, and well, just manic.

Today, just a handful of people, but more importantly a stall selling excellent bacon rolls, that was lunch sorted!

With a full stomach, probably not wise for Angela, we began our drive up the mountain pass road, Bealach na Ba. This dramatic mountain pass climbs to an elevation of 2,054 feet.

Angela wasn't looking forward to it, but once we reached the viewpoint carpark at the top she knew it was all downhill from there and settled into the drive. Once down off the pass, she thought John had driven the pass in the easier direction, when she drove we began at Loch Kishorn in the east, with an 22% gradient. All day the weather has been extraordinary, warm and sunny, with a brisk wind. Deciding to leave the Isle of Mull had been the right decision, since then we've had very little rain and despite a couple of colder nights the weather's been fairly settled. Whilst enjoying a refreshment stop at Strathcarron we decided, as it was only mid afternoon, to drive on to the Isle of Skye. Sadly we don't find this island such an enjoyable place to visit.

Since the bridge was built linking it to the mainland, the floodgates have been opened and the island is suffering from just too many visitors. There are half a dozen attractions which everyone visiting heads to. The Infrastructure just can't cope with the number of visitors, holiday accommodations and campsites are full, and free park ups are very limited. Fortunately, the one we're at tonight is quiet, just us. We've come onto Skye to take a ferry from Armdale to Mallaig so we don't have to drive through Glencoe which is beautiful but stressful, the traffic heavy and fast moving, Marge prefers a more relaxed drive. Before settling down at tonight's spot a walk out to find Chanterelles, this morning John enjoyed a hearty breakfast on yesterday afternoons find, and yes, these little yellow firm and fragrant fungi delivered again this evening.

As we approach October the number of camper vans and motorhomes seems less, so we think we might like to revisit and climb the Quiraing in the north of the island, weather permitting tomorrow. As with all our activities involving height, Angela will be challenged, but she'll give it a go, as they say, one life, live it!

Torridon Countryside Centre, Ross and Cromarty

Staying in a layby set back from the road, is a never again in Angela's book. Ullapool is a ferry and fishing port, and through the night the lorries rumbled by. Even with her earplugs in she could still hear them. Despite a bad night's sleep, we were up early, to take advantage of a sunny start to the day. John prefers to cook his breakfast outside if he can, and Angela prefers him to so she can sort herself out and tidy the inside of Marge. As we left Ullapool, a band of light rain crossed our path, but it didn't linger, the returning sunlight warmed us through the windows as we drove across the barren moorland towards Gairloch, a little further south on the coast. Stopping for a comfort stop, we were shocked to see someone had fly tipped a cement mixer and trailer into a stream! Don't blame us van people for this!

Gairloch is a pretty coastal village with a beautiful rose-coloured sandy sheltered beach. John picked up a couple of sea urchin shells, their spines absent, made smooth by the constant moving waters of the Atlantic.

But the pretty beach, and picturesque working harbour was not the reason we were lured there, but the newish public shower, a bit pricey, but ten minutes of hot water, (who needs to shower that long?), was welcome after a few days on the road. And as an added bonus, we saw two eagles hovering on the thermals over the harbour. We are now in Torridon, an area of outstanding natural beauty, lochs, and rocks to see at every turn of the road. And to top it all, the sun continued to warm us on this early autumn day.

A late afternoon walk to us alongside loch Torridon, after a stop at the deer museum and then  back through Torridon village, passing the adorable highland cows, who came right up to the fence to say hello.This evening, we even ate outside, as did our neighbours, a young couple with a roof tent. They are just the kind of neighbours we like, quiet. Tomorrow the forecast is for a beautiful clear sunny day. John is going to drive Marge over the notorious Bealach na Ba, a single track mountain pass road, with 20% gradients, including the steepest ascent of any road in the united kingdom, tight hairpin bends, and very few passing places. It crosses the Applecross peninsula, and when Angela drove it a few years ago in Marge II, our silver Crafter van, she had an upset stomach for two days prior at the thought of taking the pass road on. And of course, once she'd reached the viewpoint at the top, she was both relieved and elated. This time she'll be the passenger, who suffers from acrophobia. We'll let you know tomorrow how it went!

Old abandoned Falls of Measach car park, near Ullapool

Last night, just us in Marge, and three men in tents who pitched in the sand dunes to protect themselves from the wind. Today was forecast to be extremely wet from ten this morning, so we were packed up and ready to leave just after nine thirty, when a little drizzle misted the windscreen. As we drove, the rain intensified a little, but not enough to be considered a cloudburst, like we experienced daily on the isle of Mull. The changeable weather toyed with us, should we detour and revisit the mountain Stac Polliadh, or not? The rain cleared, and we decided to go for it. Since our last visit a few years ago, the parking area has been increased, you can no longer stay overnight, and daytime parking, no other options for a campervan is a whopping ten pounds or eight pounds for a car! That must be one expensive car parking area we all need to pay for. However, we weren't here to park, just to view for old times sake, and in our book, you can do that for free. Back in the day, we walked a fair way up the mountain, Angela bailing out, when the climb began to become more of a scramble, whilst John carried on to the top. As with most days in Scotland, one minute you're reaching for an umbrella, the next sunglasses.

Stac Polliadh delivered, standing proud in the autumn light. Just as we left the cloud began to draw across the top, and the drizzly rain reappeared. We then drove through the mountains towards Ullapool, considered a large hub in the area, complete with a Tesco, we marvelled at the scenery along the way.

The Highlands are just stunning, the views are as seen in a guide book for the area, and we were driving through them, it felt very special. Ullapool is a small port town, from where the ferry sails to Stornoway, on the isle of Lewis.

There were plenty of campervans and motorhomes there. Tesco was fully stocked with bottled water and baby wipes, the van travellers two essential items when in these parts. After a walk around and a fantastic fish and chip lunch it was time to find an overnight stop.

The one in a wooded area Angela had found was not suitable, as the rain had saturated the ground and made it too muddy, so we moved on to a layby set back from the road near Corrieshalloch Gorge and the Falls of Measach. Opposite us was a hole through a gap in the bushes where you can access the gorge, for free, so we did! It was late afternoon, and  the crowds of the day were long dispersed.

The damp environment was perfect for fungi, and John picked hedgehog mushrooms, the largest we'd ever seen.

So tonight we are parked on the roadside, last night, beach side, tomorrow who knows? Back in Ullapool there were at least thirty vans parked for the night in the Tesco carpark, well each to their own. The only mushrooms to be had there come in  plastic containers. Tomorrow we continue south, no doubt driving through yet more jaw dropping scenery.