2021 July – Scotland

Three days before the end of all Lockdown restrictions in England, We headed north to Scotland where happily, from our point of view, some restrictions would still apply. We broke the journey with an overnight stay in Whitehaven chosen because neither of us had ever been there. Our hotel was outside the town with great views of the sea in one direction and mountains in the other. The town itself did not inspire us, partly because of the difficulty parking. However, just up the hill to the north of the town, we came across Moresby Church which was built on the site of a Roman fort. There was little evidence of the fort just one archway and the exterior of the church was both very stark and uninteresting, despite being Grade 1 listed. The church was closed so we could not explore the interior to see if that was any better.

We were pleased we had visited Whitehaven but glad to continue our journey northwards the next day! It was a long and relatively uneventful drive to Lochcarron (325 miles) and we arrived just after 4pm. We had stayed at Tigh Charrann in 2018 so we knew what to expect and weren’t disappointed although the view from the patio was somewhat restricted by foliage. After unpacking and a short walk beside the Loch, we returned to enjoy a glass of wine on our patio.

The next day (Sunday)was quite dull with the threat of some rain (The Cotswolds was enjoying the start of a very hot dry spell of weather) so we set out to visit Attadale Gardens. It was very pleasant walking around the woodland and gardens for nearly two hours – one of the nicest views was of the house and Lochcarron. We enjoyed a picnic in the grounds before walking up the Attadale Glen for an hour or so before returning to Lochcarron via the ruins of Strome Castle. We enjoyed the view down the Loch from the ruins.

On Monday we set out for Urquhart Castle on the banks of Loch Ness. We decided to make a circular tour and drove first to Invermoriston Falls near the southern end of Loch Ness. We had a lovely walk through some woods and then caught sight of the Falls with two bridges in the distance.

Our next stop was Urquhart Castle on the western bank of the Loch about 13 miles south of Inverness. The visible ruins date from the 13th to the 16th centuries, and had seen several conflicts before being largely abandoned by the middle of the 17th century. Urquhart was partially destroyed in 1692 to prevent its use by Jacobite forces.
The Castle is now a scheduled monument and opened to the public: We enjoyed walking around the ruins but were conscious of the number of visitors and the need to socially distance.

We returned to Lochcarron via Inverness completing our circular journey of 154 miles. The drive was very pleasant and we certainly enjoyed the scenery.

The following day, we set off early to travel to Sconser on the Isle of Skye to catch a ferry, as foot passengers, to the island of Raasay. The crossing takes only 25 minutes and the water was incredibly calm as the reflections in the photo of the ferry show. Raasay stretches about 14 miles north to south and is up to 3 miles wide. With few roads and a permanent population of 160 or so, the island was very peaceful and the narrow roads a joy to walk on as there was virtually no traffic. We visited the distillery (and bought a bottle of Raasay Gin) before continuing our walk to Inverarish the island’s main village. We returned to the ferry via a different route and sat for a while enjoying the silence and the view. We both found the experience quite magical. On our way back to the ferry we came across the figurehead on the rocks beside the road and then looked back at the beautiful cottages nestling on the shore.

Once we returned to Skye we travelled to Armadale Castle and Gardens from which we enjoyed views across the water to Mallaig and the mainland. Our visit included the Museum of the Isles where we were able to learn about the long history Clan Donald; Scotland’s largest and most powerful clan. We enjoyed walking around the grounds although the gardens were less exciting than those at Attadale but the old house must have been magnificent in its day.

We also visited Plockton a picturesque and tranquil village on a sheltered bay with stunning views of Loch Carron. When we last visited in 2018, we had enjoyed a meal at the Plockton Hotel and looked forward to revisiting. This year, because of the pandemic, they had created a covered outdoor eating area right on the shoreline. We were not disappointed, the food and views were both fantastic so much so that we returned on the last full day of our holiday.

After a wonderful week we headed home stopping overnight at Nent Hall a lovely country hotel not far from Alston in Cumbria. The hotel was very comfortable with excellent food and service. Our stay provided a fitting end to another good holiday.