Heading North and West

Thursday, 24 June, 2010

Around Loch Ness

I’m writing this sitting in the Loch Ness youth hostel looking out the window at the waters of Loch Ness which is about 10 m. away, the hostel is located on the west shore about midway between Fort Augustus and Dromnadrochit.

We left Inverness and decided to drive down the east side of the Loch on a small single lane road which provided views of the Loch for most of the way until we climbed up into the mountains a little inland. Our first stop was to view the Falls of Foyers which in the late 1700s was rated as one of the three best scenic views in Scotland. Robbie Burns was so impressed when he saw it that he sat on a rock and wrote a poem, along the path to the falls are verses of his poem engraved on slabs of slate. Now days the falls are not quite as impressive as the Hydro Electricity Board has dammed the river and controls the release of water.

A few miles further along the road after a slow climb, 12% incline, we were treated to a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains but not the Loch, while we were enjoying the view two cyclist arrived having peddled their bikes 5 miles, all uphill, from Fort Augustus but were looking forward to the next 25 miles to Inverness, after they have descended from the mountain the road follow the Loch edge and there are only a few hills to negotiate.

Arriving at Fort Augustus we had to wait for ten minutes at the swing bridge was open to allow a boat to leave the Loch and enter the Caledonian Canal, from the road we could see about six locks going uphill from the Loch.

We then turned north and continued up the west side of the Loch past the hostel to Drumnadrochit which is the main Loch Ness tourist town, where we booked a one hour boat trip on the Loch. The boat owner was a very knowledgeable about the Loch and “Nessie” and has been involved in many research projects searching for it. He pointed out that they don’t refer to it as the monster but by its Gaelic name which means Water Horse. While we were travelling along the Loch he had the Sonar running which showed the bottom to be flat and 230 m. deep which is three times deeper than the North Sea. The nearest water this deep around Britain is 75 miles out from the coast in the Atlantic.

The Loch is 37 km long and almost 1.6 km wide for its length except near Drumnadrochit where it widens to 2.4 km, the depth is consistent at 230 m. except for one hole on the floor 30 m. deep and 30 m. in diameter, this hole was discovered by the boat owner when he was on “Coast Guard” duties. Yes, the Loch does have a Coast Guard as the waves can reach 2 m. high and the winds nearly 100 kph.

As we turned to return, the owner took the boat to within 5 m. of the Loch shore and the Sonar showed the water was still 30 m. deep and very quickly returns to 230 m. You would have to be careful if you decided to have a paddle at the water’s edge as the first step would be a big one, not that you would want to as the water temperature is 5C.

After we finished our cruise we drove back to the hostel which was opened in 1943, prior to that it was a half way house for travellers between Fort Augustus and Inverness. The hostel sits on the edge of the Loch four miles from the nearest village and with a million dollar view as the dining area and lounge have windows the full length of the room looking out over the Loch, as does our room and we have to pay the princely sum of £30 for a double room, I’m sure a hotel chain would love to take over the building and they would charge three or four times that amount.

Friday, 25 June, 2010

Loch Ness to Culrain

A very easy day today, as we had done the “tourist thing” for Loch Ness yesterday we drove north along the side of the Loch and then along side the Firth of Moray past several gas/oil rigs before heading north on some small roads to Culrain where the Carbisdale Castle Youth Hostel is situated. In all our years of hostelling this would have to be the most “over the top” hostel we have stayed in. From the entrance and reception we entered a large gallery lined with many painting and several full size marble statues with a large ornate wooden staircase which passes four large stained glass windows on the way to the first floor and several of the residential rooms. On the ground and first floors are two large lounge rooms around 10 m. x 25 m. with fire places with marble surrounds and partly carpeted, as is a large part of the castle, with a green and blue tartan carpet.

The castle was built between 1906 and 1917 for the Dowager Duchess of Sutherland by the son of her second husband the Duke of Sutherland. The dowager Duchess was left all the Duke’s estate in his will, which his son challenged and won and the settlement agreement required that he build her a home fit for her station in life.

During WW2 the King and Crown Prince of Norway lived here during the Nazi occupation of Norway and a conference of the Allies was held here when Russia agreed that should they enter Norwegian territory during the war that they would not remain there after the war.

The castle its contents and the estate and a large sum of money was gifted to the Scottish Youth Hostels Association by the son of the last owner and for many years has been the “Jewel in the Crown” for the Association.

Carbisdale is also the site of a battle in 1650 during the Civil War in Britain; just over a year after King Charles I had been executed. The Marquess of Montrose, who Charles had appointed as military leader in Scotland was defeated by Cromwell’s forces and later executed in Edinburgh. And you thought you had finished with British history when you left school.

Tomorrow we go to John O’ Groats – Why? Because it’s there!

Saturday, 26 June, 2010

John O’ Groats to Ullapool

We were up early to beat the school group into the kitchen as it isn’t designed for large groups, as a result we were on the road by 8:30 so could take our time driving to John O’ Groats.

We followed the north east coast road which is designated an “A” road but at times was like a small country lane, passing through lovely wooded area, small villages and farmland, quite a contrast to the mountains we have driven through in the last five days.

Our first stop was at Wick probably the largest town in the north east but still small enough to drive through in five minutes. From Wick instead of driving straight through to John O’ Groats, about 20 miles away, we branched off on a “B” road which finished on the North coast road near Dunnet Head which is actually further north than John O” Groats but doesn’t have a village. Driving from the head we arrived at the small village of Mey where the Castle of Mey is situated.

The castle was built by the Earl of Caithness in the late 16^th Century and the family lived there until the end of the 1800s when the 15^th Earle of Caithness died without a successor and the castle was bequeathed away from the Sinclair family. The new owners didn’t maintain it and it was in a poor state of repair when the Queen Mother saw it in 1952 when she had come to stay with friends shortly after the death of the King. As she was looking for somewhere to escape from the public eye she purchased the estate and restored the Castle and created a holiday home which she loved and continued to spend summers here for the rest of her life. In 1996 she created the Queen Elizabeth Castle of Mey Trust and transferred ownership of the estate to the Trust but continued to use it. Prince Charles is President of the Trust and since the Queen Mother’s death has stayed in the Castle in August every year. The Castle and estate was the only property the Queen Mother owned in her own name.

The Castle is the same as when she lived there, with her clothes, personal effects and family photos still in the Castle, her notepaper, Wellingtons (gumboots), raincoat and other items are where she left them on her last visit before she died. The kitchen still has all the old appliances that she purchased in the 1950s when she restored the palace, except for the stove which was replaced in the 90s. The refrigerators could almost be classified as antiques but still work, her philosophy was, “if it still works why replace it?” This kitchen is still used by Prince Charles chef when the Prince stays there; the Prince also brings a cook who prepares the meals for the staff. How the other half live!

I think of all the palaces, castles and homes we have visited over the years, this was the most interesting as it provided an insight into the day to day living of the Queen Mother, even to a small table covered in shells that she picked up on her walks along the beach.

From the Castle we drove to Canisbay Kirk which the Queen Mother attended, a tradition carried on by Prince Charles, it was built in the early 1600s and was also the Church of the Earls of Caithness, and several members of the family are buried there. The Church also has the distinction of being the most northerly one in the UK.

From the Church it was a short drive to John O’ Groats which was established in the 1500s when a Dutchman arrived to start a ferry service to the Orkney Islands, a ferry still runs to the islands. I think the village now only survives because of the numbers of tourist who visit.

We drove from the village for about two miles to Duncansby Head, the most north easterly point in the UK with one of the many lighthouses around the coast; however the lighthouse is only 11 m. high, as it sits 67 m. above sea level and doesn’t need to be tall to be seen far out to sea. I don’t know if it is the location but the wind went straight through us, not around, so we decided only to walk to the hill top to view the Duncansby Stacks, two large pyramid shaped rocks jutting out of the sea, not to the cliff top, even though there are many colonies of water birds nesting on the cliffs.

Tomorrow we drive along the coast from the north east of the country to the north west.

Sunday, 27 June, 2010

John O’ Groats to Ullapool

Today we have probably the longest drive on any day, 180 miles to Ullapool right across the north coast of Scotland to the north west and then down the west coast. This would have to be Scotland’s answer to the Great Ocean Road, except with hundreds more bends and hills, some with 15% inclines and a large part of it only a single lane road with passing bays to allow cars to pass, this wasn’t too bad but the big motor homes were a worry and a lot were left hand drives.

Our first stop was at Dunnet Head, the most northerly point in the UK with views across to the Orkney Islands with Scapa Flow tucked in behind the closest island. From there we drove sedately due to the conditions and at times touching 50 mph. The first part of the road, the country side was open and reasonably flat but it wasn’t long before we entered the mountainous winding part, the scenery was beautiful with hundreds of lochs tucked in amongst the mountains, some as small as 50 m. and others so big that you couldn’t see the other end.

All along the road were little cottages, some sitting by themselves and others in clusters of up to ten, these were classed as villages, we don’t know where they would obtain their supplies and what the employment would be, but we presume many were employed in the sheep industry as hundreds of sheep graze every where and mostly unfenced so the road is their thoroughfare as well. In the inlets coming in from the sea were many floating structures which we presume supported cages for growing Atlantic salmon. The other thing that surprised us was that nearly every cottage had electricity supplied, no matter how remote and along the road were public phone boxes and letter boxes, often miles from any cottage. “Postman Pat” must have an onerous job collecting and delivering mail in this area.

Just before turning south we saw a sign saying Smoo Cave and after walking down many steps to sea level we arrived at a huge cave with a series of smaller caves running into it. The cave is about 200 m. from the sea with a very narrow inlet running up to it and was formed by erosion by the sea, the smaller ones were formed by rain water eroding the limestone as it filtered through. From middens and other items found in the cave it is estimated that it was around 7,000 years ago when the first people used it. Since then it has been used by smugglers and fishermen dragging their boats in to the cave to use it as a workshop.

All along the roadside there were wild flowers growing and some lochs were almost covered with miniature cream water lilies and at one parking spot there were about ten heather bushes in full bloom, these were the first we have seen because they don’t normally flower till July/August and there weren’t any more all the way to Ullapool, we can’t explain what caused this small patch to flower early.

About 25 miles from Ullapool we found the ruins of Ardveck Castle, reading the display we found that Marquess of Montrose was imprisoned there. After losing the Battle of Carbisdale he disguised himself and fled the scene but was recognised and imprisoned in the castle. As we had travelled several hundred miles since leaving Carbisdale we couldn’t understand how he came to be in this area but looking at the map it is only 25 miles cross country.

Our last stop was at Knockan Crag which is the area that amateur geologist discovered that many of the lower rock layers were much younger than those the top and they were then able to work out that rock layers lift and fold and helped explain many of the rock formation in the area and all around the world. There were many panels explaining the formation and walks that would take you past many examples of folding and layering but as it started to rain we headed back to the car to drive the last ten miles.

Ullapool is mainly a small fishing port with the ferry terminal to the islands of Harris and Lewis, the youth hostel is on the street along the harbour and from our window we can see many boats moored.

Tomorrow we re-visit the Inverewe Gardens.