Meandering the NC500: Travels from Drumbeg to the Northern Coast

 Let me begin by saying that we actually got a great night's sleep!  Perhaps that "outdoor-sie" feel was just what we needed! 

Instead of waking to the sounds of birds chirping, the morning call was sheep baa'ing. 

And it was delightful!

The Drumbeg Hotel ended up being a great experience for us.   It's a small hotel run by a husband/wife team who do it all.  And, I might say....they do it quite well.

After a delicious breakfast, we headed back on the single track road to continue our NC500 adventure.

Here in this particular area, the sheep all roam free reign.  They can be seen walking down sidewalks, or even down the middle of the road.  Or, tucked against the side rail on the road. 

 Just one of the entertaining aspect of driving here, as well as challenging when up against vehicles coming the other way.  So far, we haven't seen any casualties, thank goodness!

We drank up the scenery as we made our way off the peninsula.

Back on the main road, our first stop for the day was Wailing Widow Falls.  I can't say that we found the directions to locating it all that helpful. And, it turns out that we weren't alone, as a few other visitors commented the same.  

We were looking for a parking lot, and what we really found was a lay-by.  After driving past, realizing that we had to have gone too far, turning around and slowly scouting out the area, we finally decided to park where several other cars were sitting.....just along the side of the road.   We could hear the rush of water in the distance, and we knew we were at the right location.

So, we headed out on the trail to the waterfall.  Well, actually, it isn't a trail.  It's a small stream with a series of large and small rocks on either side that we had to carefully maneuver in order to reach our intended destination.

I'll admit that the footing was a bit tricky, and on one occasion, a young strong Scot insisted on lending me a hand while I hoisted myself over a boulder. 

But the end result was so worth it!

Of course, we had to foot it back along the same way we came, but we managed without much difficulty.

  

Back in the car, we headed northwest, driving mostly along the perimeter of the land mass, although the road does shoot inland for a bit prior to once again outline the northern edge of the country.  

We stopped in Balnakeil Craft Village as I had read about the unique venues, but we were disappointed to see that many of the shops were closed.  Kind of surprising for a weekend.  But Cocoa Mountain was open, and, actually, super busy.  I opted to try the "Chocolate Tour" which consisted of a hot drink and four specialty chocolates.

Believe me....there was NO disappointment in that department!

And the view from the village was stunning!

And as we drove east, we encountered one amazing site after another.

One can't tire of this type of beauty and we've been quite fortunate to have bright blue skies which always seem to enhance the photos. 

We stopped in Tongue to hike up to Castle Varrich. Look at the very top and you will see the castle ruins perched on the hill. 

 I had read that on a clear day,  one could see for quite a distance.  Well, today was that day!

So, we parked our car in a lot and easily found the footpath that was not only well marked, but well maintained so that there was no way one could get lost.  What a delight!

We crossed a bridge over a lovely stream 

and began the hike up the mountain.  It was hot again today, making the walk a bit more challenging.

But we finally made it to the top where we were able to climb the spiral staircase to an upper landing in order to take in the views.

We could spy the town of Tongue in the distance.

The breeze at the top brought welcome relief!

Coming down was much easier, and faster, than climbing up and we were soon in our car, heading to our B&B to check in for the evening. 

We arrived with just moments to spare before we had to leave once again to drive to our restaurant in Halkik which is less than 10 minutes from our B&B.

We found it to be a charming little town. There was a touching memorial for those who perished during WWI as well as WWII.

And lovely potted plants adorning the hall across the street. 

It turns out that the restaurant is in a hotel that sponsors fishing trips for Salmon.  It didn't take long for Marty's attention to be elsewhere as he checked out the place. 

I spotted this photo and couldn't help but chuckle.

That's quite an array of happy fisherman!

Hope you've enjoyed today's adventures. We're looking forward to heading north for more gallivanting tomorrow.  I'll be sure to keep you posted!

 

 

 

Adventure on the NC500: Gairloch to Drumbeg

As I mentioned previously, Marty and I decided to wander a bit off the beaten track of the NC500 as we gallivant around this area of Scotland.  So, although we traveled less than 90 miles today, we certainly managed to squeeze a LOT of outstanding scenery.

We bid farewell to our B&B hosts, Robbie & Marion, and headed first to a little area called Mellon Uldrig which is located just west of Lairg.  Robbie had suggested stopping at a little beach on this peninsula to admire the views, so we decided to make a wee bit of a detour.

The only issue was that we really never found a given parking lot or spot to stop as suggested.  So, we turned around on the road, and working our way back, spotted what we thought was access to the beach.  We parked the car, made our way through the gate, and found ourselves in what we eventually realized was a private residence named "earth house".  (If you are the owners and are reading this, my sincere apologies.)   We snapped a couple photos, and quickly returned to the car to continue our journey. 

In the meantime, these are the daily views from "earth house".

Not too shabby!

We headed on to the Corrieshallcoh Gorge to check out the waterfall.  I had read that a suspension bridge spanned the gorge and that it had ben built in 1843 or thereabouts.  We found the parking lot, and began the trek down to the bridge.

The bridge itself, appeared to be quite sturdy, but I could not move myself to attempt crossing while taking a photo standing in the middle.  So, I relied on Marty to capture the perfect photo.

I did manage to just walk across without looking down, to get to the other side.  And, when I spotted a greyhound dog, fearful of attempting the crossing, I realized that I was far from unique in my fears.  The poor dog huddled while carefully slinking across with its side bruising the side of the bridge the entire way across.  At least I could just walk across the middle!

On the opposite side there was a trail that led to a viewing platform. Marty took a selfie, but I can't say that one can actually see the waterfall in the background.  But it was a brave attempt, for sure!

The reserve had a walking trail that led to a brand new information center that opened in March.  Along the way, there were other areas of beauty to enjoy.

The weather is unseasonably hot here, and we were both quite happy to get into the car and the comfort of AC after completing our brief hike. We traveled along a remote route to Lochinver.

The views were, once again, breathtaking.

and this entire route was single track with lay-bys.

We didn't have too many issues with passing cars, and soon we were in Lochinver.  We opted to go to the Lochinver Larder, as I had read about its recommendation while researching the NC 500.

The place is known for its hand made meat pies.

Although mine was not meat, but rather cauliflower and broccoli, I will attest to the fact that the pastry melted in my mouth!  Yum! 

The views of the loch from our outside table made the meal even more special. 

Fueled and ready to go, we hopped in the car and Marty made the drive to the Stoer Lighthouse.

Now, I must admit, this was the most remote road that we've traveled.  Even more so than yesterday's adventure.  Super thin single track road, although it appears that not many people chose to drive it, which was certainly in luck for us.

We eventually arrived at our destination:  Stoer Lighthouse.   What a magnificent structure to view, perched high on a cliff!

I had planned the trip with the intention to hike out along the coastal trail to see the stacks of Stoer.  Imagine my surprise when Marty suggested that we forgo the hike due to the heat!  I realize that it was a bit toasty, but really, it wasn't over 80 degrees!  He reconsidered and agreed that it would be worth the effort to make the hike, so we set off together.

The first thing that I would like to clarify here, is that although there is a sign at the base of the hill, with a marker pointing north, we could not find an actual "trail."  We started out at the marker, following what appeared to be mowed grass for a section. The view was stunning.

We could easily spot the OLD Man  of Stoer.

But after that, it was pretty much a free for all, with us attempting to find a path and finding ourselves in mud and squishy underground as we made our say along the coast.

And I'll admit, after some time of trudging, I was pretty hot, and hoping that it would be worth all of the effort that I was expending. 

Finally, the stack was at a distance!

We were both satisfied that we decided to stick with the adventure rather than turn around or scrap our plans.   But I will admit that the trek was quite challenging.

We decided to follow a younger couple who appeared to know what they were doing, for our journey back to the lighthouse parking lot.

The trail did involve climbing down stone steps along a cliff, then climbing similar steps up the adjacent cliff, but with my walking sticks, I was able to manage, albeit not without some difficulty.

Sticky and sweaty, it was such a pleasure to hop in the car and turn the AC on high as we ventured back over the single track lane to Drumbeg.

We soon learned that we would be sharing the road.

but had no issues finding the Drumbeg hotel.  To be quite frank, there really isn't much here.   Luckily, the hotel offers dinner to its guests, as we'd not have found an alternative anywhere nearby, that's for sure.

After our long hike, it was a delight to just kick back and relax a bit.  The hotel offers a lounge where Marty immediately felt at home.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner in the dining room, where celtic music was playing in the background while we enjoyed a scenic sunset from our table 

as well as some interesting decor surrounding us.

And, much to our surprise, the real thing showed up right outside the window!

How's that for a surprise!

This place is a bit quirky, but in a fun way.  I sat down on the bed and was a bit surprised to fall about 4 inches down into it.  Kind of reminds me of girl scout camp.

And, then there's the wall decor.

Nothing like feeling like you are in the woods, and you can tell that Marty enjoyed showing off his camo shorts that he packed for some reason.  

Entertainment at its best. 

Tomorrow we move on....if we can climb out of the bed!

I'll keep you posted....