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!
