Well we had a lovely weekend on the West Coast - the weather was terrific - much better than we anticipated, and Saturday and Sunday were a huge improvement on the rather mixed weather we drove through travelling to Ullapool on Friday.
I left work at the back of three and drove home to pick up Jo and we were on the road about 4-ish. I wanted to get as much of the driving as possible done in daylight and so I just kept going. We made very good time - over the Lecht, up to Inverness and then on to a much better road than I anticipated from Tore on the Black Isle to Ullapool. We checked in and were down in the bar having our supper before 7 pm.
After eating, we took the one mile walk up the hill to the Morefield Hotel, who were holding the 8th Ullapool Beer Festival. As expected, it was a fairly small affair - the hotel had 9 handpumps on, compared with their usual 3, but it wasn't anything like the huge affairs at Pittodrie or Stonehaven (next week!) - or even the one we went to at the Braeval in Nairn earlier this year. The Morefield just held it in their usual lounge and it was fairly quiet when we arrived - we were able to get a comfy corner seat with a good view of the band, who were setting up at the time.
We had a few beers and walked home - not too late. On Saturday morning we had breakfast in the lovely dining room, looking out at Loch Broom, with the sun coming over the tops of the mountains. We both ordered kippers and were astonished at the plates that arrived with 2 huge kippers each on them:
Our room was described as a balcony double overlooking Loch Broom. It was fine, but it wasn't quite what I imagined. The balcony wasn't individual to our room, but ran all the way round that side of the building:
We decided we would take the coastal road which heads south to Gairloch and go and see Inverewe Gardens, a National Trust property. First of all, however, a little stroll along past the ferry port up to the end of the breakwater:
Time now to jump in the car back inland to the start of Loch Broom. Just as we turned round to head along the coastal trail, we came to Corrieshalloch Gorge, another National Trust site. We took the 1 km walk round the gorge, across the suspension bridge and on to the overhanging viewing platform. Jo wasn't keen on crossing the bridge, which moved about a bit too much for her liking:
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She was just a little less edgy on the metal viewing platform - just as well it wasn't glass like the Grand Canyon!:
The drive south from there was spectacular - super viewpoints over the mountains and out to the ocean and the islands everywhere. We got to Inverewe Gardens just in time for lunch, after which we strolled round the grounds, starting at the walled garden. We went through the gate on to the foreshore and sat on a bench to read for a little. It was beautifully sheltered and the sun was beating down. What else would a couple of old folks do but have a quick nap? This was our bench:
So that was pretty much Saturday morning and afternoon. We drove back to our hotel, showered and then walked out to get something to eat. Earlier on we had spotted that the Seaforth had advertised that it had won various awards for Seafood Pub of the Year several times, so we thought it was definitely worth a try - and what a good decision it was. Smoked haddock risotto with Stornaway black pudding - lovely!
We went back to the Morefield, which was a bit busier this time. The band playing was North Sea Gas and a few more had come along to hear this "name" act. They've been on the go for 30 years, toured the world and made 15 albums - check them out here - http://nsg.gplrank.info/
After a couple of beers propped up on bar stools, we left and headed for the Argyll Hotel, which is Wester Ross Pub of the Year. It was OK, but we went on the wrong evening - no band and very quiet - we should have been there the night before.
That was Saturday. Sunday's stories to follow later.
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