NC500, Day 5 - Scourie to Ullapool
Day 5 already! Can you believe how time flies when you’re enjoying yourself? Today would see us head from Scourie to Ullapool, a route that would take us over the Kylesku Bridge, past Loch Assynt and Ardvreck Castle and on to Ullapool, where we were looking forward to trying the famous Seafood Shack.
The weather was again miserable for the most part, as you can see in the video and images below. Hate to beg, but if you could subscribe to the YouTube channel it would be much appreciated. I’ve gone from 87 to 103 subscribers in less than one week, I think that makes me an internet phenom in terms of percentage growth! Be a part of it, you know it makes sense! I’m surprised Ellen hasn’t called at this rate, maybe her phone’s down or something…
Begging aside…actually, no, sticking with the begging…I do have a wee Redbubble store with mugs, prints and other junk if you wanted to browse - you can see it all here . Let’s face it, you’re in isolation, not much else to do…
Moving on. Oh yes, the weather was miserable. Dreich, you could say. If you don’t know what dreich means, you should do, it was explained in yesterday’s blog so go read it. And stay away from the fridge, you don’t deserve a treat. Unless you subscribe to my channel, in that case fill yer boots me old son. So yes, the weather was dreich, typical west coast weather which again made the photography a challenge. But you play with the hand you’re dealt so a video was made, photos were taken and we trudged on.
I could write more here, but probably more interesting if I ramble under the appropriate image, so let’s get on with the show!
My wee van, back on the road - miss him. Was supposed to be doing another trip in July but that’s looking very unlikely.
Very typical of West Highland scenery and weather! Dreich, as you can see. Tell you what, I could think of worse places for social distancing, this would suit me just fine.
The Kylesku Bridge. The weather was awful, I really had to put a lot of time into editing to get something that I was remotely happy with sharing, this was about the best I could come up with. Went black and white because there was no real attractive colour - grey skies, grey water, grey road. Anyway, here it is - the bridge.
The bridge was opened to traffic in July 1984, with The Queen opening it officially a month later. I hope she’s doing ok in all this, by the way. If anyone reading this has an inside line, please do pass on my regards. Anyway, before this bridge was built there was a ferry crossing nearby so this must have been a massive timesaver for anyone travelling this route.
Again, took a fair bit of work editing the “straight out of camera” image to finish up with this - and I’m by no means an expert editor. But I hope it gives an idea of the rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands - the loch, the mountains, the brooding clouds and the wee road winding through the middle.
Here we have Ardvreck Castle on Loch Assynt. You know, I have to double check the spelling on “Ardvreck” and “Assynt” every time I write them out. Had to do the same with “Kylesku”. I must confess that’s starting to annoy me a little. But at least the bridge is out the way now, that’s something.
This wee castle (let’s dispense with the name, you know it by now) sits on a loch (same) very close to the A837, so is very easy to reach - you’ll know that, having watched the video, right..? Mind you the ground can be boggy so Wear Good Boots! The castle dates from the 16th century and does have a small but interesting footnote in history.
The “Undiscovered Scotland” website tells me “On 27 April 1650, the Marquis of Montrose, fighting for the Royalist cause even after the execution of Charles I (see our Historical Timeline) lost the battle of Carbisdale to a much smaller Covenanter army. His flight brought him, two days later, to Ardvreck Castle, where he sought sanctuary with Neil Macleod of Assynt.
Neil was away, and his wife, Christine, tricked Montrose into the castle dungeon and sent for Government troops. Montrose was taken to Edinburgh, where he was executed on 21 May 1650. This act stands as a notorious betrayal of Highland hospitality.”
Another view of the castle. Slight shame about the weather, but enjoyed it very much anyway.
The nearby ruin of Calda House. Going back to “Undiscovered Scotland”, “Calda House burned down in 1737 and before the Mackenzies were able to rebuild it, their estates had been seized by the Crown for their support of the losing side in the 1745 uprising. It has remained a ruin ever since.”
The Seafood Shack in Ullapool - this was on our list of “must visits” when we were planning the trip. Sadly closed just now, what with the lockdown, but they have won awards, been featured in the press and on TV and sell fresh, local food that tastes delicious - highly recommended, worth checking out their website.
Their menu on the day we visited…
The Big Yin in raptures at a bit of fried fish. Look how happy he is! He’s still wearing the blouse, you’ll notice(Day 5, not been off once). How it could still “smell of mum” after the weather we’d been having, I’ll never know. I didn’t sniff it to check, for the record.
The weather turned, so we went back to the van to sit it out. Pretty dreich.
After the rain we were treated to a rainbow, lovely!
The aftermath of the storm saw some lovely cloud formations and evening light
Saw this wee van in the campsite! I want it.
Fish Pie at the Arch Inn for supper - wasn’t bad at all!
Now, I’ve come back to the castle for the last two images. This one shows, yet again, the Big Yin wandering off. Some background to this behaviour was given in yesterday’s blog - essentially he does this as “he’s exploring his limits and taking steps towards independence”. Regardless, my mother was happy for him to have a week away as it means she could “get into his room and get some of her clothes back”.
Here’s some wider context around the castle. Not quite an island in a loch as you can walk across from the left side as we look - but almost an island. Not a great image, but does give that context with the loch and the surrounding countryside - and no people in the shot, which is surprising.
Well, that wraps up today’s blog - tomorrow will see us head from Ullapool to Applecross.
Until then, Stay Home, Stay Safe, Be Kind.