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Ullapool, a gateway to special places

I've been a bit slack when it comes to updating the blog lately, tsck, tsck, naughty me. That's the trouble when everyday life gets in the way. Anyways time to blether about our summer hols.

It's not our first visit to Ullapool and I suspect it wont be our last. The difference this time was the addition of young Master Morley joining the gang for his first trip to the far north west. He wasn't the only one getting their first taste of this majestic area as Sandy, Louise & Daphne had decided to join us for a long weekend and we had Jamie & Nicky backing us as seasoned travellers to the area for the week. We were lucky enough to get Crofton House again for our base. It is such a fantastic house that easily absorbed the gear hoards and has everything that you need, a real home from home.

Assynt is a hillwalker's sweetshop that keeps on giving every time you visit. A week is never enough to satisfy as there is always more you want to do. This week was no exception. The weather fairy we'd booked decided to only show face a couple of days but we made the most of it with only one day totally rained off - not bad for a Scottish summer ;-)

First day was a showery affair so we decided to head for Culag Woods in Lochinver with an additional raid on the Lochinver Larder for their gorgeous gastronomic delight pies. We love these woods for the variety and entertainment you get wandering round them.We were all acting like big kids messing about on all the fun things. It also has a great viewpoint towards one of my favourite mountains, Suilven. It was only the midges that forced us off that bench. We finished the day off with a wee ticky tour on the backroads on the return to Ullapool.






With the prospect of another showery day we decided to pay a visit to Gruinard Bay for Steve and Jamie to re-enact a scene from our last visit to the area in 2009. We certainly didn't have the glorious sunshine of that day but hats of to the boys for being daft enough to get their kit off on this not so summery August day. It really is a gem of a beach and well worth a visit whatever the weather. A wee drive further west to Gairloch to get warmed up in The Mountain Coffee Company with the adjoining Hill Billy Bookshop is always a great way to wile away a few dreich hours.





I decided to be sensible on the Tuesday and forego a wander up Stac Pollaidh to save the knee for other things. Inside I was gutted as this another of my favourite mountains, wee in stature but massive in all other aspects. It turned out that the rest of the gang were turned back by the weather though they still had fun. With Wednesday a total washout we were all a bit stir crazy by Thursday but thankfully the weather fairy had decided to appear.

Sandwood Bay for me is a magical place. Not the easiest place to get to. Starts with a very scenic drive to Blairmore then a four mile meander to the beach. I'll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. It certainly made up for the less than perfect weather we'd had until that point.

We still had so many options for our last day but it was the Bone Caves near Inchnadamph that won out. It was really interesting to see back into history, Great fun for Craig who loved crawling through all the various nooks and crannies.




The holiday was over too soon and we hadn't even scratched the surface of what Assynt has to offer. Yes "we'll be back" in our best Arnie voice. 
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  1. Jamie Bassnett14 September 2011 at 12:31

    Definitely be back there soon. My favourite place. Was a great holiday despite the weather! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown27 September 2011 at 12:34

    The words to describe the Assynt / Ullapool area don't exist unless you're a poet - which I'm not! We're just back from a week in a cottage at Strathcanaird and I believe the unpredictable weather simply adds to the beauty of the place. Like everybody that visits the area, we'll be back - again!!.........J

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