Up West

Tour up to Durness, down to Ullapool and back via Corrieshalloch; a photo blog.

Blue car sat the side of an empty single carriage-road. Open skies light up a heather-covered hill

Diùranais/Durness. Specifically Sango bay.

Really enjoyed this stop on the journey. There was a stiff breeze and a few campers there. The beach had few people on it. We didn't travel much further as the toddler was getting very tired after tearing about on the beach for a bit.

Looking down to a sandy beach which is peppered in its North corner by small stacks. The water is calm and stretches out to the left. Light, long clouds fill the sky and the top of the bay is met with a smal cliff-face.

Drochaid a' Chaolais Chumhaing/Kylesku Bridge.

We stopped for a short pause here. Bridge is smaller than I had imagined it would be but the curve is lovely all the same. It crosses over Loch a' Chàirn Bhàin. There was a lovely memorial to the folk who were training to use midget submarines during WW2. * BBC News article on the World War 2 submariners of hte midget submarines * Short Wikipedia article about the port itself * Wikipedia article about the X-Class submarines

A flat bridge crosses the middle of the photo, it is supported by two sets of V-shaped pillars at either end. The sky is overcast. Dark, calm, water lies beneath the bridge.

Caisteal Àrd Bhric/Ardvreck Castle.

Shortly after stopping off at the bridge we met Ardvreck Castle by the side of the road. The walk to the castle is gorgeous, stony sand underfoot and the island is nice. There's a chambered cairn nearby as well as Calda House.

Foreground of shingle leading to a small stone-wall that holds green rocky land. The castle sits in the middle, torn almost in half, the wal on the right standing. Reasonably clear skies light the picture.

Another image of Àrd Bhreac Stone wall fills the foreground, rounded bottom and a flattened face on the higher half. Ruined wall on the right side falls away steeply. Clear, cold, skies above. A few rounded Bens in the background.

Some light reading on Ardvreck from Spooky Scotland here too.

Coire Shalach/Corrieshalloch

I both love and hate this place. I love the pocket of nature and that it has super-steep sides. I hate that it has super-steep sides, that the bridge is only fit for 6 people and the viewing platform is see-through.

View into the gorge, very tall and sheer rock slopes speckled with mosses and greenery lead to a thin ribbon of water.

I enjoyed (the circuit)[https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/corrieshalloch-gorge] that brings you around the the carpark again. Paths were well kept and the birds were singing their bedtime songs.

The view from the highest point across Loch Broom is lovely and open. Thankfully there's a wee bench so you can take 5 minutes.

Cloudy skies sit above a U-shaped valley. Rounded hills bookend the picture. A gravelly path with a stone step is in the bottom of the picture.

~~~ #scotland #alba #gàidhlig #gaelic #highlands