In the autumn of 2019 we returned to Scotland, to the little holiday cottage on the windswept north west coast. We wanted to see how the changing seasons affected the landscape that we had fallen deeply in love with back in the springtime and timed our trip for when the autumn colours would reach their…
Tag: NC500
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Hiking in the wild North West
[Scroll for video] Today we are pulling on our hiking gear and setting out for a trek along the river. Our cottage is a former hunting lodge. A map on the wall shows an old stag stalking route that leads out towards the sea loch, with a note saying we are welcome to use it…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Durness, Loch Eriboll, the Kyle of Tongue and Altnaharra
Refreshed by mugs of piping hot chocolate, we are back on the road. We are planning to charge our electric car at the Charge Scotland point next to The Tongue Hotel. It is mid April 2019 and the weather is being increasingly good to us. A haze of smoke still drifts above Durness, from the…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Smoo Cave on the clearest of days
As we set out towards Durness the next morning, the mountains are still cloaked in the smoke of yesterday evening’s heather burnings. Smoo Cave is found just a little east of Durness. It is the clearest of days, yet the breeze over the cliff tops is enough to send our smaller children scattering and we…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Sunset at Durness and a heather burning
We left our little holiday cottage near Scourie as dusk fell, taking the road north to watch the sun setting over Durness beach. Driving very carefully, due to livestock not hearing our car’s electric engine, we roll over a road marking that makes me smile. Slow is an instruction not just for the vehicle but…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – A little cottage near Scourie and a riverside adventure
We arrive at our holiday cottage, a little north of Scourie, in the late afternoon. It is early April and spring has sprung in the mountains. The little garden is carpeted with daffodils and, just beyond, a small wooden gate leads out to the river bank. The skies are still blue, and the trees are…
Travel Diaries: Scotland Tour – Ullapool, Kylesku and Scourie
We take the scenic route from Aviemore through Bonor Bridge and into the mountains. We wonder if anything can match the sheer splendour of the snowcapped Cairngorms in the early spring sunshine, and I feel a reluctance at having to leave so soon. We drive due west, straight across the country to the bustling port…
