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.
