Exploring the NC500: Waterfalls & Gardens

 Today was the day when we left Kingussie and headed NW to begin our travels along the Scottish Highlands NC500!

For those unaware, it is NOT a raceway, but rather, a stretch of road in Scotland located in the northwest section of the mainland.  The suggested route is a circular section of approximately 500 miles, with a good part of it running along the coast, thereby giving it the acronym of NC500.  But rather than stick to a strict road schedule, we will be visiting various places of interest that one can find easily from the route. 

Technically, the starting (and ending) points are in Inverness.  But we visited that fair city several years ago on one of our adventures, so we chose to just bypass that and head first thing to Rokie Falls.  

We had no problem finding the parking lot, as it is easily marked on the roadway.  It just so happens that we had an early start, so we arrived when the lot was still relatively empty.  We headed on the "Salmon Trail" to see exactly what these falls had to offer. 

The trail was easy to maneuver for the most part, but I was glad that I had brought my walking sticks as there were some steep areas as well as rocky steps where they came in handy.  

It wasn't far until we came to a wooden viewing station where there is a placard explaining the life cycle of a Salmon.  Seemed appropriate considering we were on the trail by that name. 

The trail continued down some steep steps to a suspension bridge over the water. 

 I will admit that I had been skeptical about transversing it,

but I actually found it to be quite stable, and even managed to get some photos from the middle,

including a selfie by Marty.

And here's a view in the opposite direction.

A short walk along river on the opposite side highlighted much of the beauty. 

Marty had spied an older gentleman who was attempting to fly fish for Salmon near the bridge, and the two of them struck up a conversation.  (Do you find that to be surprising?) 

We were headed back over the bridge to return from whence we came, when I looked over and spotted that same gentleman crawled out on a rock, flicking his fly rod back and forth relatively close to the falls. 

I'll admit that my heart might have skipped a beat seeing him precariously perched so close to the falls.  But as I watched his fly touch the water, I saw a Salmon leap about 3 feet or more into the air!  It was pretty amazing.  Marty spotted them as well, and soon we were watching the random fish attempting to make his way up the falls.  Marty did try to get a video of the moment, but that didn't pan out, and more people were showing up to walk across the bridge, so we decided to head on.  We'll have to be content with our memories, I guess. 

We headed back out on the road west, and I was actually surprised to see that it was easy to drive still at this point.  I had expected narrower roadways, although I'm sure we will be experiencing that tomorrow. 

We stopped in Kinlochewe at the Beinn Eighe Visitor Center.   The center itself appears to be an old crofting house.

Inside there is a lot of information about the protected area as well as suggested walks to take.  I spotted the description for the Buzzard Trail, and it appeared to be perfect for what we felt up to seeing today. 

It claimed to be a relatively short walk that would result in some spectacular views.  I can say that it satisfied both of those criteria. 

This time I actually needed the hiking poles as the ascent to the top was rather steep in spots.  They're not the easiest items to travel with, as they must go into checked baggage, but they sure do come in handy when you need them!

From here, we once again hopped in the car, this time heading northwest to the Inverewe Gardens.  This is a National Trust of Scotland site, and since we have free entrance with our Royal Oak membership, why not check it out?

The gardens are located right alongside Loch Inver, thereby accounting for the name. 

In 1863, the grounds were purchased for  Osgood Mackenzie as a gift from his mother. He used the opportunity to plan and develop gardens, as well as historically preserving the wooded area nearby.  

Due to the gulf stream that heads along the coast, this particular area has thriving tropical plants that one would never expect to see in Scotland!

It truly was amazing.  And, you must admit, we are so lucky to have once again had such a brilliant day of sunshine and blue skies!

The walled garden featured many different types of flowers which one would expect to find in a garden.

But views unlike any other!

Add to that some entertainment offered by sunbathing seals, and I'd say that we had one awesome day!

We spent a couple of hours walking through the preserved woodlands, enjoying the scenery, and trying to decipher the map handout.  I had to laugh when I spotted another couple seemingly having the same issue of trying to determine just where we were on the map.  We both decided that the map was falsely misrepresented, and it had nothing to do with our map reading skills.  That was a relief!

It was time to head to our B&B, located in Gairloch.  I must say, the view from this place is outstanding!

I knew Marty would like it here when I spotted this very entertaining sculpture on the lawn.

That's one happy guy!

After checking into our comfy room, we chose to walk to dinner, as the place is only half a mile away.  As you can see, the views are breathtaking.

I'm not sure that it gets much better than that, but I'll be able to confirm that opinion tomorrow.

Thanks for following along!  Until tomorrow...