Things never quite go to plan, but it all worked out well in the end!

We had a lovely and filling lunch in the Oak Tree Inn and confirmed again that they were ok to let us use their pontoon.

Access to the pontoon is limited by a single track road and the turning point is tight (no parking available there), so it is not suitable for any large vehicles or any towing ones, in which case the beach near the phone box is your best access point. However, it was fine for us as we were just in our car (our dinghy is inflatable). So after lunch, we drove our car along to the pontoon to drop off our gear and dinghy, then went back to park our car overnight in the main Balmaha car park.
Please note that the pontoon can be very busy from Spring through to Autumn, and the outer part of the pontoon should not be used then as it is used by commercial passenger ferries. We would strongly advise if you would like to use the pontoon, that you do as we did, and contact the Oak Tree Inn first by either messaging them in advance, phoning on 01360 870357 or popping in to ask.

The amount of stuff we had to take over seemed ridiculous, but (especially in winter) we couldn’t really see how we could get it down much. We knew that it would be cold so we had 4 sleeping bags instead of 2, plus a hot water bottle each and a big bag of logs from Asda to make a campfire with (even with loads of logs, they only burned for around 3 hours).

On inflating the dinghy, Paul heard a hissing noise and lo and behold, we had a puncture! Not sure how or when it happened as the last time we used it, it was fine, and as far as we know we didn’t snag it when packing it away… Our gorilla tape was in the canoe bag back at home (stupid of us) and we had run out of the Stormsure glue, both of which have done us very well in the past with canoe punctures. In the end we patched it up with a compeed, and some gaffer tape that a kind man gave us (he had some in his cruiser, which was docked next to us).

All looking well again, we set off on a flat, clam and beautifully smooth sail across to Port Bawn on the far side of the island. There is a jetty there also, so we managed to make the whole trip without getting our feet wet, which was great! We did have to be careful on the jetties though, as they were very frosty and slippery.

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Due to our later departure after fixing our puncture, we made it over to Port Bawn just as the sun was setting. Our plan to do the summit walk that afternoon had to wait until Sunday, as we wanted to get the tent pitched while there was still some light.

The island was so quiet and peaceful, with only one cabin cruiser anchored there. Later the cruiser moored up at the jetty for the night. We didn’t meet the people on board until the next day as they stayed aboard.

So we finally got the tent pitched (in between taking sunset photos) and then a campfire going shortly afterwards. We spent the early evening by the campfire, had our soup & bread and toasted some marshmallows (it has to be done!) When the fire died down we retired into the tent for an early night.

It was a cold night – we really needed these extra sleeping bags, and I couldn’t help but wonder how homeless people cope, it must really be horrific for them. Even with the extra sleeping bags and hot water bottles, it was still so cold, and as the temperatures dropped further, I ended up putting the outer layers of clothes I had shed earlier, back on again.

The next morning, we got up to mist, frost and a perfectly calm still loch. By the time we had had our breakfast the sun had started to come further up, and although the mist stayed over the loch, the mountain tops were visible as we hiked up the summit trail. It was a really beautiful morning.

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It’s an easy and short hike to the summit (20 minutes from the beach) and after spending some time taking photos and enjoying the views, we continued on to the ancient burial ground, which was very atmospheric in the frost.

As we continued along the track back to our camp, we met the couple from the cruiser coming the opposite way. Their dog bounded up to greet us, and we called out “good morning” to the couple as they approached. Well, you wouldn’t believe it, but as we came up close to them, we realised we knew them! It was such a coincidence that of all the people who use Loch Lomond, that the only other 2 people on the island were people we knew. It was just a shame we didn’t know the night before, as we could have had a good catch up round the campfire!

After our walk, Pamela & Richard (the couple from the cruiser) invited us to join them for a cuppa, which was great as half of our water supply had frozen overnight! It was so nice to catch up with them, especially in such unusual circumstances.

Paul had a wee check on our dinghy, which was next to their cruiser, and reported back that it had gone down overnight. The puncture repair appeared to be holding, so we hoped that it was just the cold air that had caused it to go down. Paul pumped it back up again and after our cuppa and catch up, we headed back up the summit trail for another look, as the mist had cleared some more. It was even more stunning, the mist was lower by then and the sun was hitting off the mountains.

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On our return, Paul went back to check on the dinghy and it had gone down again! We couldn’t find where it was leaking this time. They say it can still float with only 2 of the 3 chambers inflated, but with both of us and all our gear, we weren’t sure we wanted to test that theory!

Luckily Pamela and Richard were still there, and they offered to take us, our dinghy and all our gear back! It wasn’t quite the ending we expected from our trip, but I think we were very lucky!

So we made it back safely, after a great trip, with promises to meet up with Pamela & Richard again soon (that’s them in the pic below heading off after dropping us back at Balmaha)…

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We survived the night well without our electric blanket. The small fan heater and hot water bottle managed to keep us pretty warm overnight and we both got a decent sleep. Any snow that had fallen had gone by morning, except for a few remnants that were there, in some places, when we arrived.

Some snow had obviously fallen on the mountains overnight, as the snow level had dropped to the tree line. However it quickly became overcast and drizzly, so we never got a chance to photograph the mountains, as they had become obscured by cloud by the time we took a walk to the beach with our cameras.

We didn’t linger, and headed back after packing our gear away. During the drive back along the A9, as we drove into Perthshire, there was some snow by the roadside.

As we got to Pitlochry, any low level snow had disappeared, there was just the odd trace on the tops of the hills. The autumn foliage was still in full bloom, and looked wonderful! This would be a great place to spend a couple of nights at this time of year. We didn’t stay long, just had a quick stroll and ate our packed lunch, but there are lots of walks to do and tons of foliage to see and photograph given more time.

So that’s it until our next trip or mini “adventure”, so watch this space and / or follow us on Facebook at exploreourworld – thanks for reading & we hope you have enjoyed! xxx

After a nice evening at Hartfield House in Applecross, we left quite early to finish the NC500 back in Inverness and then head on to Loch Morlich to break up our journey home.

Once again the weather was superb, and we got some great views, especially heading over the Bealach Na Ba mountain road, with its hairpin bends, and stunning view over to Skye form the top.

We arrived at Loch Morlich campsite around 2pm, as we made a few stops en route for photos and to check out Rogie Falls.

There was a little snow on the campsite in places, and it is bloody cold! However, we still took our canoe out for a quick paddle on the loch. As we were trying to keep our feet dry this time, we took it in to shallow water without the fin and attempted to get on via a large flattish boulder, as there were no jetties to use. Well, our feet stayed dry, but steering it without the fin was nothing short of hilarious! We were spinning around in circles, and the wind has its own idea about where we were going!

On our return we finished setting up inside our tent, and were devastated to find that our electric blanket is caput! We had it all so well planned out for a cosy night, with our small fan heater and electric blanket on the airbed… talk about best laid plans! So we have popped in to the Pine Martin bar / restaurant next to the campsite for dinner (and some heat!) rather than cook. They sell hot water bottles, so we are thinking of buying one, it might be worth a try, and we can always use it when we wild camp too. Then hopefully between that and our small fan heater we will not freeze tonight! LOL! Watch this space for our final NC500 blog post tomorrow…

Woke up this morning to a beautiful sunrise, the views from our apartment are fabulous.

We were headed for Applecross today, with a vague plan to maybe do a wee canoe paddle, just depending on what the conditions were and if we found anywhere suitable.

It started off rather windy, around Gairloch and even over Loch Maree there were some white horses, so canoeing there wasn’t going to be comfortable. We settled for photo stops.

We made a short stop at Victoria Falls en route, they were nice but looking into the sun, so not great for photography, hence no photos posted as they weren’t very good.

On the rest of the drive the scenery just got more spectacular, especially the closer we got to Torridon. Then from there to Sheildag and on via the coastal route to Applecross village.

We had booked our stay in Hartfield House, once owned (or leased?) by Fairbridge Drake, which in a kind of roundabout way is how we met. A long story, but we just wanted to return there for nostalgic reasons, we both have many great memories from that time back in the late 1980’s. As a backpacker hostel, it now offers double rooms as well as the bunk rooms we were used to (the bunk rooms are much nicer now than they were back then, we had a wee “nosey”).

Prior to checking in, we had an early dinner at the Applecross Inn, which was very nice.

On our way there we saw a stag right by the loch side with the Cuillins on Skye in the background…

At the hostel, there are only 5 of us staying, and we spent the evening chatting to the other guests in the lounge. It was a nice change to have some company as we have mostly been in our “own place” on this trip.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we hope to camp (finally!) at Loch Morlich, and possibly canoe in the bay here at Applecross before we leave (again weather permitting), as we didn’t end up getting the canoe out today.

Breakfast at our B&B this morning was amazing! So much choice and everything was just so tempting! Rosie, our Airbnb hostess was so nice and had really pushed the boat out for our breakfast! Please note, once our blog is complete, on our return home I will be writing up an NC500 page with links to all the amazing places we have stayed throughout our trip.

The weather was superb today, full sun all day. Driving from Ullapool to Aultbea (our stop for tonight) was stunning – all those mountains & beaches!

Just after Braemore Junction we stopped at Corrieshalloch Gorge. The gorge is approximately 1.5 kms long and 60 metres deep. There is a scary suspension bridge that goes over the gorge and a great viewing platform where you can view the 46 metre-high Falls of Measach. There is also a nice walk through the forest and to the Loch Broom viewpoint.

We went on a little past where we were staying (Aultbea) to Firemore beach (near Poolewe) as the bay / beach we hoped to canoe at (Mellon Udrigle) was just a little too choppy (for winter – ie. we would have got pretty wet from the waves getting in). However, it was also just a little too choppy at Firemore too, so we headed back to Aultbea to check in to our overnight self catering accommodation.

Our apartment is superb! And such good value, we can’t believe it. On top of that, as it happened, there was a good and very calm site very close by (Mellon Charles beach) where we took the canoe out for a short sunset paddle.

The views from here are beautiful, it was yet another excellent choice for an overnight stop. Our apartment is so spacious and has everything we could possibly want, including an electric blanket on the bed!

We left Lochinver this morning to head to Ullapool via Stac Pollaidh, a small(ish) hill walk that we were very keen to do. We drove the shorter single track road to get there, which in itself was really scenic.

There were a few cars at the Stac Pollaidh car park when we got there, and a few others doing the hike, so it’s obviously fairly popular in winter as well as summer. We found out why as the jaw dropping views started to open up to us!

The hike took us around 2 hours 45 mins, however we made loads of photo stops along the way though! It was easy hiking, steep in places, but an excellent path compared to the one for the Bone Caves. We were able to spend more time enjoying the views and less time watching our footing. We didn’t reach the true summit, but stopped where we felt comfortable before any scrambling began!

Continuing our drive onwards to Ullapool was also very scenic, and at one point we got a great view looking back to Stac Pollaidh from the roadside.

Tonight we are staying in a B&B in Ullapool, it is about a mile out of the town up on the “Braes” with the most fantastic view back towards Loch Broom (the loch which Ullapool sits in).

Our kind Airbnb hostess Rosie allowed us to bring back a fish supper from the town to eat in the dining / living room, which she kindly set up with candles for us!

Now we are in the lounge relaxing and writing this blog, and reliving another fantastic day…

We were surprised that we didn’t see any fireworks going off last night, it was calm and quiet. We relaxed in the hot tub and watched the stars.

I awoke early again to another lovely sunrise, as Paul continued sleeping. We have a full day here today and our only plans are to try to get out in the canoe again, preferably in one of the lovely bays.

After a cooked breakfast, we headed into Lochinver to get a couple of photos of the village, then on to Achmelvich and Clachtoll beaches to get some photos and fly the drone.

The drive to (and from) these beaches is beautiful, and at one point Paul stopped to feed some horses (he has a “thing” about feeding horses, and we keep a bag of apples in the car just for such opportunities).

At Achmelvich, as Paul was flying the drone, I went off looking for the “Hermit’s Castle”, which there is no real path to so you have to hunt around a bit to find it. More information on this odd little “castle” can be read here – https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/lochinver/hermitscastle/index.html

After Clachtoll, we decided to head back to Achmelvich for our canoe paddle. It’s a beautiful bay with a few small white sand beaches, and the main white sand beach that many say is the most beautiful in Scotland (and it is lovely, but we have our own favourites, although this would probably be in our top ten).

First I went out paddling on my own as Paul wanted some drone footage of us canoeing and there was no way I was going to let him send the drone off from the canoe, so I volunteered to go out myself while he shot some footage, sending the drone safely out from the beach.

Once done, Paul got in and we both headed out for a paddle around the bay. It was really nice, and very calm.

Back to our “Hideaway” for a quick shower and change, then a late lunch at the famous Lochinver Larder (famous for their pies). The “famous” pies were good, Paul gave his steak & ale pie a 10/10, my spiced butternut squash and sweet potato was probably about 7 or 8/10 (I personally prefer the pies at the equally famous “Apple Pie Eating House” in Ambleside). However, we did also take away an apple pie to share later for dessert (just about to tuck in to that now!)

For sunset we headed back to Clachtoll beach, which is probable one of the best spots for sunset around here. See what you think….

Hot tub time when we got back, apple pie now, then more hot tub time to follow…

We awoke early this morning to a stunning sunrise coming up behind the mountains Canisp and Suilvan.

Having made an early start and with the weather looking not bad, we decided to do the walk to the Bone Caves, and hopefully a wee canoe later on.

After reading about this walk, I had hoped we would get favourable weather to be able to do it. Inside the “Bone Caves” were found the bones of bears, reindeer, wolves, Arctic fox, lynx etc that once roamed these lands, the bones are thousands of years old, and even a fragment of a polar bear’s skull was found!
The walk is relatively easy, though the ground can be very muddy and uneven, but there is little physical effort involved. It took is about 2 hours including exploring the caves, photo stops and a quite drone flight. Below some photos from the Bone Caves walk…

Before we even arrived at the car park for the Bone Caves walk (the car park is about 4.5 kms after Inchnadamph), we stopped at Ardveck Castle, which was built in the 15th century by the Macleod clan. It stands on a stunning spot on the banks of Loch Assynt.

After our morning “adventures” we came back to make some lunch before heading out again to canoe. The harbour area of Lochinver looked so calm and peaceful this morning that we decided to see if the harbour staff would allow us to launch our inflatable canoe from where the yachts were berthed. We were told this was no problem, so we managed a lovely little paddle around the harbour area without even getting our feet wet!

The weather for tomorrow looks excellent, so we may venture out to one of the beaches (our first choice if favourable is Achmelvich) to see of we can do another wee canoe trip.

We’re now back “home” and ready to cook dinner. We checked the hot tub and it is now 39 degrees (yippee!) so hot tub time later. Unfortunately it will just be an outdoor hot bath as the jets aren’t working (we’ve not had much luck!) but at least it’s hot! If we had to choose, we’d obviously rather it was hot without jets than cold with jets. We reported it to the owner, who asked his father to check it out – he thinks the pump needs replaced and is trying to sort out a replacement, but we said if this means it needs emptied first, could they just wait until we have checked out so we can at least use it as a hot outdoor bath tonight and tomorrow.

This morning there was no doubt in our minds that we did the right thing by deciding not to camp last night. We were so comfy and cosy as the wind and rain battered around outside. On waking it was still the same.

After we left we went to Balnakeil beach, probably the most stunning beach in Durness, and one of the most beautiful beaches we have seen anywhere. It was still gorgeous even in the overcast weather, and thankfully it was a bit more sheltered, so Paul managed to get some drone footage.

Onwards to Sango Sands to see what we missed by not camping there. It was lovely, but jeez oh, the wind! Not only would our tent not have stood up to it, it’s almost certain we wouldn’t have been able to put it up anyway!

The drive from Durness to Lochinver was stunning. We had done this a few years ago, before the road became the NC500, so we knew it would be amazing. We did a short detour to Kinlochbervie and Oldshoremore beach – wow! Stunning drive and beautiful secluded beach. The famous Sandwood Bay is not far from here, the car park was a couple of miles further on. However, to reach Sandwood Bay it is around a 4 mile walk in and out, you can’t drive any closer. As the weather was pretty rough still, we were more than happy to just leave after seeing Oldshoremore beach.

Continuing the drive was so beautiful, it didn’t matter that the weather wasn’t good, although as you will see from the photos, they could have been better. The overcast sky seems to have lender a grey/blue tinge to many of them. I have managed to use HDR to enhance some of them.

We took the route via Drumbeg, a very stunning route on a single track road, with some stunning sea views and then some beautiful beaches as you near Lochinver.

Finally, arriving in Lochinver (well Baddidarroch to be precise, just next to Lochinver) at our “Hideaway” where we are spending the next 3 nights. Our original plan had been for 2 nights here, but we changed plans since we only stayed one night in Durness. The hot tub here did have a fair bit to do with this decision! However, on arrival it was cold! Only 16 degrees… they must have changed the water… Paul checked again about 6pm it was up to 22 degrees, now we only hope it will get to 36/37 before we go to bed, so we can use it tonight!