A bit of catching up!

A couple of nights without any signal and some really rather grotty weather has enabled me to have a bit of a catch up - mainly to post some photos from the last few days and to give a more general update on my travels.

On Friday (13th), I officially left the North Coast 500 and started my journey south for home. I have to admit that I've skipped a couple of bits of the NC500 - the more challenging drives. One is the Drumbeg Loop from Lochinver to Clachtoll and the other is the more famous Beelach na Ba on the Applecross peninsula (read more of that one HERE). In respect of the latter, I'd intended to stay at Applecross but due to human error (mine) I hadn't. I've coped fine with the single track roads and, unlike many of the country lanes in Devon and Dorset, at least in the Highlands, there are designated passing places. However, these miles of narrow roads do require a lot of concentration and in a motorhome that's just under 7meters long, I really didn't fancy it - and so didn't! It's one for another time!

From Ardmair Point - an amazing campsite overlooking the water (another one), I travelled into Ullapool, the nearest town, on my middle day as I'd booked a trip out to sea for some wildlife and in particular, dolphin spotting. Seven of us aboard a RIB travelled out at some speed. We were able to see seal, a white tipped eagle, a couple of puffins and other birds. We sped out further to sea (I've not idea in what particular direction) and suddenly came across a decent sized pod of dolphin who then proceeded to entertain us. We all lost track of time as these amazing creatures came up close to the boat, jumped and 'danced' for us. The video and pictures don't fully do it justice!

On my way to my next site on Friday, I popped into the Ullapool Smoke House. Not only do they smoke locally caught salmon, mackerel and other things, they also bake on site. I waited for a few minutes for a batch of baguettes to be ready and took away my stash of smoked mackerel, salmon, hot smoked salmon and fresh sea bass that would keep me going over the next few days (they're HERE).

A long-ish journey over over 100 miles on Friday to the Isle of Skye and to Glenbrittle (which I've written about HERE). The weather was good on Saturday as I cycled the four miles to Fairy Pools. Whilst the last mile was up what felt like a fairly brutal hill, it was very worthwhile. A mile or so of descending water - waterfalls and pools make up this site. It was lovely weather and some people were well prepared, taking a dip in the beautifully clear waters. I was a little disappointed I'd not gone prepared myself! Photos of the Fairy Pools are in an earlier blog.

Onto Glencoe and the area around Ben Nevis. Here I've encountered the worst weather so far! A solid day of rain on Monday. I went for a short walk and visited the Visitor Centre next to the campsite. Only a couple of photos from the walk due to the weather. Now it's onto Loch Lomond. From there it's a fairly long drive down to the Lake District and a site at Windemere later in the week.