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angledgeWhen I got home this evening, I realized that my previous post, a link to seolta's LJ, referenced a friends-only entry, thus negating my attempt to provide a short-cut description of the weekend's planned road trip.
Oh well, I'll just have to show you where we went.
Our fearsome threesome for this trip consisted of Mission Commander and Shuttle Pilotseolta, Chief Navigator and First Fruit Bat spiffington, and Deputy Assistant Rubbish Bin Manager (Second Class) angledge. Leaving seolta's automobile Comet behind, we picked up our rental car, promptly dubbed him Cupid, and roared up the A9 towards Inverness. We then cut across the Highlands (marasca & katieledge, we took this same road on our Highland adventure - the A82), shooting westward to Ullapool. From there, we wound up the West Coast along tiny, single-track roads until we reached a magical wonderland, which I shall call the Land Where Roads Go To Die. We travelled a few more miles on a nearly-dead road, and arrived at ...
The Most Beautiful Croft in All of Scotland
Quick definition: a croft is a small farm. Ray & Anna, the wonderful owners of this croft, engage in a bit of everything: creeling (lobster trapping), vegetable farming, cattle, sheep, poultry, forestry, etc. Their croft consists of hills, woodlands, a small loch, & access to a beach. And what a beach!
seolta & I swam in the sea at this beach for nearly a half-hour. While it was definitely cold, it wasn't as bad as you might think. I'd estimate the water temperature was 63-65 degrees Fahrenheit. We used seolta's mobile phone to take a couple photos on the beach:
We stayed in the visitor's quarters at the croft, a little outbuilding called the Bothy. But we were far from the only visitors! That night, Ray & Anna were also hosting a guest farm worker from Germany, friends from Hong Kong, & relatives from Dingwall & Oxford. Thirteen people crowded into the kitchen for dessert! That's what "Highland hospitality" is really about.
The hills surrounding the croft were perfect for hiking, so we made like sheep & clambered over them, stopping to rest on the heather & to admire the astonishing views around us. The most prominent mountain was Suilven, which is currently for sale! Asking price: four million pounds.
With the sun beaming down upon us & a brisk Highland breeze, we had perfect hiking conditions.
After hiking, swimming, & showering, we piled back into Cupid & hurtled South back toward Ullapool. Our afternoon & evening in Ullapool were rather quiet, although an amusing three-legged race was going on in town. Pairs of costumed competitors were roped together at the ankle. They then had to go to every pub in town (six, we think) & drink a pint. We stayed the night in a hostel in Ullapool, reading stories & going to sleep early.
Sunday morning, we got underway after an absolutely amazing breakfast at the Ceilidh Place. Our first destination was Stac Polliadh (prounounced Stack Polly, more or less), a mountain that near Edinburgh would be amazing but in the Highlands seemed rather average. We clambered partway up its slopes before turning back in the face of pressing engagements elsewhere (& buzzing hordes of midges).
We then embarked on a mad, mad, mad, mad whirlwind tour of some of the most overwhelmingly beautiful scenery ... EVER. To those of you who have never visited the Highlands I say: you don't know what you're missing. I'm looking over my collection of photos from the trip, & they are insufficient to convey the majesty of the scenery.
So I'll go with the goofiness of the scenery's denizens instead. Look everyone, Highland Cows!
Fin.
seolta's LJ, referenced a friends-only entry, thus negating my attempt to provide a short-cut description of the weekend's planned road trip.Oh well, I'll just have to show you where we went.
Our fearsome threesome for this trip consisted of Mission Commander and Shuttle Pilot
seolta, Chief Navigator and First Fruit Bat spiffington, and Deputy Assistant Rubbish Bin Manager (Second Class) angledge. Leaving seolta's automobile Comet behind, we picked up our rental car, promptly dubbed him Cupid, and roared up the A9 towards Inverness. We then cut across the Highlands (marasca & katieledge, we took this same road on our Highland adventure - the A82), shooting westward to Ullapool. From there, we wound up the West Coast along tiny, single-track roads until we reached a magical wonderland, which I shall call the Land Where Roads Go To Die. We travelled a few more miles on a nearly-dead road, and arrived at ...Quick definition: a croft is a small farm. Ray & Anna, the wonderful owners of this croft, engage in a bit of everything: creeling (lobster trapping), vegetable farming, cattle, sheep, poultry, forestry, etc. Their croft consists of hills, woodlands, a small loch, & access to a beach. And what a beach!
seolta & I swam in the sea at this beach for nearly a half-hour. While it was definitely cold, it wasn't as bad as you might think. I'd estimate the water temperature was 63-65 degrees Fahrenheit. We used seolta's mobile phone to take a couple photos on the beach:We stayed in the visitor's quarters at the croft, a little outbuilding called the Bothy. But we were far from the only visitors! That night, Ray & Anna were also hosting a guest farm worker from Germany, friends from Hong Kong, & relatives from Dingwall & Oxford. Thirteen people crowded into the kitchen for dessert! That's what "Highland hospitality" is really about.
The hills surrounding the croft were perfect for hiking, so we made like sheep & clambered over them, stopping to rest on the heather & to admire the astonishing views around us. The most prominent mountain was Suilven, which is currently for sale! Asking price: four million pounds.
With the sun beaming down upon us & a brisk Highland breeze, we had perfect hiking conditions.
After hiking, swimming, & showering, we piled back into Cupid & hurtled South back toward Ullapool. Our afternoon & evening in Ullapool were rather quiet, although an amusing three-legged race was going on in town. Pairs of costumed competitors were roped together at the ankle. They then had to go to every pub in town (six, we think) & drink a pint. We stayed the night in a hostel in Ullapool, reading stories & going to sleep early.
Sunday morning, we got underway after an absolutely amazing breakfast at the Ceilidh Place. Our first destination was Stac Polliadh (prounounced Stack Polly, more or less), a mountain that near Edinburgh would be amazing but in the Highlands seemed rather average. We clambered partway up its slopes before turning back in the face of pressing engagements elsewhere (& buzzing hordes of midges).
We then embarked on a mad, mad, mad, mad whirlwind tour of some of the most overwhelmingly beautiful scenery ... EVER. To those of you who have never visited the Highlands I say: you don't know what you're missing. I'm looking over my collection of photos from the trip, & they are insufficient to convey the majesty of the scenery.
So I'll go with the goofiness of the scenery's denizens instead. Look everyone, Highland Cows!
Fin.
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 01:53 pm (UTC)Obviously, I'd encourage anyone with any interest in photography to take a class. ;) The class I took a year or two ago was definitely focused on art photograhy and was all black and white, which isn't for everyone, I'm sure. My friend
P.S. Moo!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 02:46 pm (UTC)MOO!
no subject
Date: 2004-08-09 02:53 pm (UTC)You can call me Vulgar
Date: 2004-08-22 04:35 am (UTC)Re: You can call me Vulgar
Date: 2004-08-22 11:45 am (UTC)Re: You can call me Vulgar
Date: 2004-08-22 03:20 pm (UTC)If you want to recover for 4 or 5 years before buying us a mountain, that's okat with me. ;)