4 weeks and we're almost there

In four weeks time we will be packing to return to Skye and Harris.

Driving from Devon this time with stops in Lockerbie and Invergarry (couldn't resist this one)

Back to Skye on Tuesday 24th June (mid-summer's day) to visit some potential plots in the north of the island then on to the late ferry to Harris. We have three nights on Harris before the late ferry back again on the Friday evening. Then looking forward to a full week on Skye complete with more exploration and a good bit of walking - of a tough nature!  Cuillins and the Trotternish Peninsula both on the agenda. We are staying in the south of the island so new territory to explore.

This time on Harris we hope to take a trip out to Taransay itself as well as walk around the headland / coast that was rained off in April. It will be interesting to see how busy the island gets in high summer. Will also be interesting to see what high summer weather looks like.

Not forgetting the mighty midges - we are stuffed full of vitamin B, I am eating enough marmite for an army and we are looking to buy the tried and tested Avon SSS shower gel. Will be interesting to see how effective it is.

Mary (Dualchas) is off to Harris next week to take a look at three plots for us. We should get her reports soon after that which will give us a better idea of what might be a possibility.

In the meantime, the BMW has been traded in for a sturdier, higher wheelbase Mitsubishi capable of 4-wheel drive so we will be ready for whatever the weather and roads can throw at us. 

Back in Devon the house is now on the market and we wait to see what interest there might be.

Can go ahead with the plot and possibly groundworks but would be preferable if the house had sold too.

So, treading water for the moment but plenty of planning going on. Especially exciting to be thinking of what we want to design into our perfect house.

No photos as we can't photograph our thinking!

Gary is about to launch his own photography website which will showcase some of the best photos from the April holiday.

Will report back once we have Mary's findings and can plan some more.

An update between visits

In the two weeks we have been home we have sent details of five plots to Mary from Dualchas. Four of these are on Harris and one on Skye.
She will be visiting them for us in a couple of weeks time to consider the size, levels, connections, access and to give us an idea of what type of building she could fit on the site / get planning for. Planning has lapsed on three of the plots so she will also look into that for us.
She will be travelling to Harris on her bike! Not sure if this is motorised or not. 
As stated in the last post, we are returning to Harris and Skye at the end of June, beginning of July. This time we are spending a week on Skye as we only had one day there in March (and it rained and it rained) There are several areas of Skye that we haven't even visited yet and quite a few attractive looking plots.
We will be travelling via accommodation in Lockerbie and Invergarry then sailing from Uig to Harris for three nights. Back to Uig for a week in the south of Skye. A few days walking being planned (getting fit now) as well as a further meeting with Mary and visits to several plots on Skye.
After this we will be making the decision regarding which island and then the hunt begins in earnest - or we make an offer on that perfect plot we have fallen for.
The photos we (Gary) took are making good progress in the photo lab (second floor of the house) and some of them are spectacular. Will be choosing one to have printed on canvas - trouble is at the moment there around 12 contenders and he hasn't finished processing them all yet. Gary is also in the process of setting up a new photography website where he will showcase some of the best he has taken. Also looking for photo competitions as some are of a high enough standard to be winners.
Meanwhile life at home goes on with redundancy a reality and work now finished - there are a couple of options being considered at the moment and we have plans A to D that would allow these options to work with the build! Also finalising the set up of my new limited company.
More exciting times ahead; for now considering another (longer) cycle ride to continue the fitness training. 
Will update again before we head off, and of course when we receive Mary's report on her visits.

Things we forgot to tell you and guess what?

We are going back to Harris just before we have our Midge Testing week on Skye. Have just booked three nights B&B for the end of June - we will be on Harris at mid-summer so will get to experience the longest hours of daylight in the UK. Can't wait - although I know we will have to.

Things we meant to mention:
The community tennis court at Bunessan which is planted dead in the middle of a peat bog - with access. All visitors welcomed. One of the most bizarre sights we saw.
The fact that Tesco has managed to get a toehold on the Co-op monopolised island through a small but perfectly located shop in Stornaway. Watch that space; the shop is the first thing many will see as they disembark. No Sunday opening though.
That sparrows were nesting in the walls of Blacksheep House.
A download speed of over 6MB per second - in Stornaway!
The slow and rather pungent death of the shellfish that was still inhabiting the pretty shell I picked up at Gairloch; good job it announced its demise before we got to the airport and security.
The show-winning highland cow at the Great Glen B&B who happily poses for photos.
We watched the seaplane land at Loch Lomond - or rather on the Loch.

Will continue to blog intermittently as time goes on and our plans for the future crystallise (spell check will have a Z in that word) Many things to do and people / agents to speak to before we head back to the islands.

In summary of a great two weeks away ...

Back at the ranch after a seamless transition from north of the border - everything is so green here. Scotland is at least a couple of weeks behind in terms of climate / seasons.

Wednesday's photos below for your viewing delight.

Beinn Dearg en route to Inverness

Nessie captured

So, yesterday was a side trip to visit Glen Affric and Dog Falls (couldn't make it up) which were looking lovely in weak sunshine. We walked the 400 meters to see the falls which would be spectacular after heavy rain and were OK without; photo attached but nothing special.

Dog Falls in the spring sunshine

The drive back to Glasgow was pretty and dramatic in places with some interesting meetings of coaches and lorries on very narrow roads.
Ben Nevis was almost out of the clouds and still had a good covering of snow.

Ben Nevis from a layby on the A82

We stopped for lunch in Glen Coe - there was no piper piping, only an idiot from a small blue car who stood precariously on the wall and yodeled with his pants in full view; almost put me off my food.
After lunch, we stopped at the Green Welly where I had earmarked a pair of shoes two weeks earlier (what else) The sad news was the smallest was a size 6 - even two pairs of socks wouldn't make them fit so did I leave empty handed?  No I bought a nice new top instead.
Headed on south to Loch Lomond; I do wonder whether someone may have taken notice of my email about the rubbish, needles and glass by the loch as there were new signs saying "Don't be a tosser" The words would at least resonate with those that use the lochside as a litter receptacle.
A final stop at the far end of Loch Lomond and a brief appearance by Ben Lomond as if to say goodbye.

Ben Lomond, far right makes it into the album

From here is was only 30 minutes to the airport. This time we managed to negotiate the one way system and find the car hire office to hand the car back. The added bonus for Thrifty was the amount of sand that a dustpan and brush couldn't remove from the boot or back seats. A lift to the Holiday Inn and surprisingly good dinner at an airport bar and that was us done!


So we have:
Driven 1,289 miles;
Been away for 16 nights;
Taken 2 flights and 2 ferries;
Taken 1,527 photos between us!
Experienced rain (lots of it), wind (ditto), hail, mist, a little bit of sunshine, grey and white cloud, rainbows.
Visited some of the most beautiful places in the UK
Spoken to more people than we would over the course of a "normal" two weeks
Made the decision that we could live in any one of several places.

The pace of life, the people, the peace and quiet all appeal but the very important Midge Test still has to take place. We have received a great deal of information, warnings, suggestions and good luck messages from those we have met.

Now we will take a look at the information we have brought back with us; contact Dualchas architects to discuss options and put the house on the market.

This time next year ....... who knows??

A long but scenic drive to the Great Glen

We set off after breakfast to drive to Drumnadrochit via Inverness.
We woke to the sound of heavy rain but it clears as we drive away. There is more snow laying lower on the mountains this morning.
I have no photos to share with you today although we did take some back along Loch Glascarnoch towards Beinn Dearg and Gary is sure that he captured Nessie on film as we reached Loch Ness.
To get here we drove to Inverness, checked out the town's facilities, saw the Inverness Caledonian Thistles stadium then head up the coast to Nairn. Description of Nairn by Gary "Sidmouth without the income to sustain it" A faded seaside town - we do find a place to park overlooking the sea where we have lunch.
In order to avoid two sets of roadworks, we (I) decide that we will take a different route back to Loch Ness. We go across country through Grant Town on Spey - similar to Moreton-in-March or Tavistock - then on with great views of the Cairngorms to discover we are only 7 miles from Aviemore and very close to the famous Toumintal to Cockbridge road. However Loch Ness is calling so back up the A9 and we find ourselves back in Inverness. It was a nice drive.
We drive down the side of Loch Ness wondering how Jacqueline walked the Great Glen way as there is only the road and the loch. Decide the trail must be higher up the hill.
Arrive at Dumnadrochit and find the Great Glen B&B where we have been upgraded and given the huge master suite as people who were in "our" room wanted to stay another night. That's OK with us. We have a kitchen, 6 foot bed, sound surround TV and a second bedroom just in case!
We are given details of several good eating places for tonight - two of which will come and pick you up and drop you off again for free.
The wifi only works in the main house which is the reason for the early blog and no photos yet as we haven't been able to do the leisurely download from the cameras.
Our pad is down by the stables; close to the sheep and lambs and the hot tub. It is guaranteed to be very peaceful. Finish the cafetiere of coffee and home-made cake and head off to unpack, repack, remove as much sand and mud as possible from our clothes and boots so that we can arrive at the airport on Friday morning in good order.
Will blog tomorrow if the Holiday Inn has wifi.
Gary is fully occupied trying to get the three house cats to play with his laces, bits of string. However they are Siamese or Bengal / Siamese cross and much too haughty to play. So we head off to feed the horses instead.
Til tomorrow - or Friday morning
J&G

Ross & Cromarty - not the shipping forecast...

But another beautiful part of Scotland which we also like in terms of "could we live here?"
I am writing this looking out of our bedroom window across Gruinard Bay; the sea and mountains combining to produce yet another stunning end of the day.
We set out to walk from the green hut near Loch Maree as planned but stormy weather distracted us with a photo opportunity after the first hill.

Minutes later the view had been obliterated by the storm

Eventually carried on through Poolewe and Gairloch always having a wary eye on the weather which was interesting today. Decided on impulse to turn right and take the 9 mile single track road to Redpoint. This is a far as you can go before you would hit Loch Torridon - if you had a boat. We were now opposite Skye's Trotternish peninsula with great views of the Cuillins in the distance, islands in the Minch and very close to the sea. Passed a sign for a pub, this is a rarety in this part of the world, and we logged its location for later. The road ends at a parking area overlooking yet another beautiful beach.
Two carloads of people dressed for the weather in a selection of Harris tweed type garments with the kind of children (loud) that you might associate with the country set arrived just after we did. However, the beach has room for all and they head energetically for a large sand dune. We follow the stream and hit the beach. We watch the storm clouds gather over Skye then realise that this beach is next on the hit list - we have already walked to the headland so prepare to get wet!
We put to use the large selection of waterproof clothing available to us, finish our walk then head back to the car where we realise that the morning and some of the afternoon has disappeared. Scrub the pub lunch then.

Redpoint beach; a stormy Sky(e) in the distance

There is also a good view of the distant mountains; the rain and hail we experience falls as snow on their lofty heights.

Fresh snow; it is a littloe chilly today even at sea level.

We head back towards Altbea to visit the Perfume Studio which also boasts a cafe - we are in need of food by now. This turns out to be 3 miles down yet another single track road but is not the shack predicted by Gary. In fact it is a modern, cosy cafe serving good food with a perfume / soap workshop attached. We eat well again and watch the NATO ships excercising out of the window.

NATO ship running before the next storm as viewed from outside the Aroma Cafe

We decide to visit a couple more beaches before returning to the Love Croft. One of these has sand so soft you sink in very quickly - too quickly for me and we have to retreat. Gary takes some nice photos using my sit on mat to avoind the damp ground. The results are worth it I think.

Little Gruinard Bay

The other couple staying at the B&B had told us about a beach off (you guessed it) a single track road close to the house, where they had searched for the otters that have been seen there recently. So we drive off and find a hidden gem of a white sand, turquoise water, breaking waves type beach but no otters. We do spy a perfectly formed Hebrideam Contemporary Home in the most wonderful position. We can but dream.
Back to the Love Croft where we order a last breakfast and get ready to head off north and east to the Great Glen for tomorrow night.
This holiday / new life search is coming to an end - we have plenty to think about.

Parking places and many, many photos

We share a conversation at breakfast with a couple who farm diary cows in the Scottish Borders; their cows are Swiss / German and were delivered on a double decker lorry 24 hours after they placed their order.  You just don't have conversations like this very often.
After an excellent breakfast complete with honey from the owner's bees we head south down the coast road. It would appear that NATO are carrying out excercies in Gruinard Bay; there are flares, ships of many shapes and sizes, personnel from all over Europe and low flying aircraft to watch - makes for an interesting start to the day.
We stop in most of the parking places we find because whoever designed them must have been blown away by the views just as we are.
We visit Poolewe market which is in the community hall (not a lot to buy) then head off in search of a bank (need to pay cash when we leave) We find a Bank of Scotland in what appears to be someone's driveway and get the money. On we go through Gairloch, along Loch Maree when we see the sign for Victoria Falls - anyone would have to stop wouldn't they? It's only 150 metres walk and while not quite as spectacular as the more well known version it's not bad. First warning sign we have seen not to go beyond the fence - of course everyone has and there's a well beaten track to the best spot for taking photos. Chat to a couple from Dorset who make us envious by telling of temperatures of 23 degrees yesterday (They are a bit wet and bedraggled today) I do my good deed for the day and run after them to return a rather nice and obviously treasured walking stick.

Victoria Falls, Wester Ross

We drive on via several more parking spots and visit the Bein Eighe nature reserve where we shelter from a violent rain shower beneath a heather-roofed, open sided building. Decide we might tackle the tricky, 7k mountain trail tomorrow. This comes with many warnings about the serious nature of the ground and height gained. The visitor centre only opened for the season yesterday and its computer is still catching up and giving the weather forecast for October!
The clouds clear and we get a few photos of Bein Eighe the mountain, still showing snow on the ridges.

Bein Eighe plus snow. Serious rock and serious ridges.

We find a cafe / shop / knitting centre in Kinlochewe where we eat good home-made food for the two of us for less than a tenner. We still can't work out the role of the apparently 75years plus gentleman who was sitting in the cafe when we arrived and hovered between the kitchen and shop without seeming to do anything.
Head back towards Gairloch, stopping on the way at a small lochan where we discover yet more trails and walks with the details kept in a small wooden shed. Perhaps we will try one of these tomorrow?
We walk to the pier in Gairloch where the RIB used for trips to see the wales don't inspire us at all. Given how cold it is just walking along the pier, the thought of racing through the waters in a survival suit don't tempt either of us. Decide to stay firmly on dry land despite the whiteboard boasting of sightings of otters, dolphins and sea eagles on 9th April. We do spot two oyster catchers for the twitchers amongst you (Linda).

Another car park between two sandy white beaches and photos from the car first then down the cliffs for a walk on the beach. Gorgeous golden sands with mountain views. We can see Skye in the distance which prompts a quick song of "Over the sea etc"  We also spy the pub for an early dinner.

Beach at Gairloch

Beach with a view of the mountains - perfect

Early dinner to beat the crowds of NATO personnel who seem to have reserved a large number of tables. The food was good but didn't quite live up to the location (Gary's comment  "the location demanded excellence but failed to deliver more than adequacy - and the barman called me mate!" )
It was quite cool by the time we had eaten and left so we travelled most of the way back to Laide then struck off for a parking space with a view west and waited for the sunset. Not disappointed with this one - we took so many photos between us it was difficult to decide which one to share.

As the light fades we head back to the Love Croft where more lambs have been born and Steve tells us he often sees Sea Eagles in the hills behind the croft and there is also a pair nesting on the island in the loch.
Perhaps we will catch a glimpse tomorrow, or the next day.