A Week In Wester Ross

Rubh Re Lighthouse

Kay & I have recently got back from a week in Wester Ross we had a great time despite some very mixed weather - contrast the picture on the left  with the one taken in Torridon three days later!

Torridon - hail stones all over the road

We stayed at the Old Inn in Gairloch which was excellent - the staff were extremely helpful & friendly from the moment we arrived to when we left. Our room was large, comfortable and well maintained. The Old Inn's bar is well frequented by locals making it a lively place and a good selection of real ales are served including An Teallach and Dark Island (two personal favourites) their own brew made out the back of the premises isn't bad either! Live music from Dave Fleming on the Friday evening was really enjoyable. All in all we thought the Old Inn & its Gairloch location made an ideal base from which to explore the area - our only negative with the hotel was, that in our opinion, the food didn't quite meet expectations.


Things to do (what we did):


Rubh Re Lighthouse (photo above) is well worth a visit, the seascapes throughout the drive north from Gairloch are dramatic and the visitor centre has a month by month historical record of dolphin; minke and orca sightings - unfortunately we saw nothing but we spent several hours looking in the most incredible surroundings with views to Skye and the Western Isles.
Beinn Eighe, there is no shortage of mountains to climb in the area - I chose Benn Eighe, Ruadh-stac Mor (see this blog, previous post) - and was not disappointed.

Coire Mhic Fheachair

We also stopped by the Visitor Centre at Beinn Eighe on a very wet day - well worthwhile and carried on down Glen Torridon where we were ultimately greeted by a torrential hail storm in Torridon village - see photo above.


Gairloch itself has a superb beach as does Redpoint, just to the south, with its "peach coloured" sand - we visited both on one of those bright windy days that seem so characteristic of the area.

Kay on Gairloch Beach

We also explored the shores of Loch Maree; visited the villages around Loch Ewe (including the quirky Heronscroft) and spent quite a bit of time about Gairloch itself.
Food and Drink
We visited the Mountain Coffee Company in Gairloch everyday & ate in the Old Inn a couple of times. However, our food and drink highlight was undoubtedly Na Mara restaurant on the square in Gairloch - we ate there four times in the week!

Na Mara - on a sunny day

Its been a great week - a very long drive next down to London & Cambridge to catch up with family.