The north west coast was the real Highlands for us. Larger than life land- and seascapes, the one lane road with “Passing Places” and lots of water – in bogs, lochs, rivers and the myriad of other names they seem to use in the highlands for wet areas. Travelling east from Armadale House we soon found ourselves in the “Flow Country” and enjoying the sense of isolation at Moine House. It was a surprise to read of the extent of these bog lands which squelched as you walked across them. The landscapes were sparse with not much growing above the heather, brackens, reedy grasses and mosses. This low level flora exposed the rugged landscapes and lateral water as well as profiling the many mountains or “Bens”. The bays along the north coast were jagged with picturesque inlets, blue seas and golden sands. These bays were dwarfed by the major lochs – both open to the ocean and landlocked. The winds were fierce and played with the water at will. Heading south west across land we came out again to the west coast at Scourie – another wild inlet – and our accommodation for the night at Upper Badcall were we had magnificent views of the Bens to the south offset by the island studded Badcall Bay. We ran out of luck with the weather the next day and our drive down to Ullapool was in increasingly damp and windy conditions. In the otherwise delightful Ullapool, the gales were accompanied with heavy rain so we headed for our next B&B and waited until the storm passed over.
