A catch-up post
Wednesday 10 October 2018
Tuesday’s walk to Inverness was a non-starter, as the rain, wind and the exposed path made the prospect thoroughly unappealing. After two days of wind and showers, and with the prospect of climbing fairly steeply for the first five or so kilometres, we decided that we had achieved enough. We were pretty pleased with Monday’s marathon, and two of those in a row wasn’t going to add anything to our credibility as walkers, so to the bus we went.
Paula as already posted a photo of the high point in our day
… but one should be grateful for small mercies. Getting to Inverness by 1 pm – we did stop to look at the Loch Ness Exhibition at the Hotel which made very understated fun with the Nessie myth – meant that we were able to get clothes washed, do a bit of shopping and pick up the car early. This had all sorts of benefits as the skies opened at about 3 pm and, at about the time we would have been trudging along the Ness, we drove into our B and B.
Wednesday was a promising as Tuesday was threatening. We were able to indulge in fresh fruit and cereal without the need to think about fuelling up for a big walk, so we started the trip to Ullapool on time and raring to go. We had lunched at Ullapool last year on the way to Kylesku and watched the island ferries, and this time we were going ourselves to Stornaway.
The West Coast is incredibly dramatic but, thankfully, the Minch was relatively calm and we sailed passed the site of Iolaire disaster safely but had it pointed out to use by a lovely couple we met on board – dog owners who Paula (of course) got into conversation with. We had time to walk around Stornaway harbour and the park before driving up to Port Ness on the northernmost tip of Harris, wondering at the windswept and barren heath and the number of small villages and hamlets along the way, and the regular appearances of Church of Scotland establishments. Possible over-servicing?
The light is fantastic for photography and I had a lot of fun, but Paula is giving me a run for my money with the quality of images from her new iPhone. I would love to be able to pull out the big lens and do some wild-life photography, but here is a sample of landscapes for now.
