Scotland - Day Twelve - Applecross to Ullapool

Having been exceedingly well fed by the Applecross Inn we had a little bicker before breakfast. On the wall in the pub are a few photos of Gerard Butler with the landlady. I conversationally said what a shame he wasn’t there when we were. Which produced a slight scowl from the Favourite Husband. I innocently floated the idea that we could make the trip like a treasure hunt and play “Where’s Gerard?” I was told this was stalking and there were laws against it. Which I thought unreasonable.

We left Applecross and we were on our way to our next stop. Well, when I say we “left” we tried to leave. We packed the car up, did some stretches (we didn’t) and I went to hand the key back and wave goodbye to the exceptionally friendly staff at the Inn. Only to be reminded (somewhat embarrassingly) that much as they had enjoyed our company, we still needed to pay. I’d been super organised considering we had 31 nights of accommodation booked, I’d printed off, as well as emailed myself, a spreadsheet of dates, addresses, contact numbers and whether we’d paid or not. This worked excellently for all the places I’d booked using Air BnB and Booking.com as I didn’t once look at my spreadsheet because I was using the Apps. But the Applecross Inn and a couple of other places, I’d booked direct with them. So the spreadsheet was furtively consulted, after I’d paid.

There’s a small gas pump in Applecross and a friendly sign advising people to fill up here as all profits go back directly to their local community. Which the Favourite Husband didn’t do and as a result of that we were travelling on fumes for the last 15 kms at the end of the day.

After yesterday’s drama thankfully there’s an alternative route to avoid having to head back over Bealach na Bà, so we erred on the side of staying alive and took that one. It was a long and winding road, which I felt warranted a rather enthusiastic rendition of the song. So enthusiastic that the Favourite Husband said he thought he had the radio on. It felt sincere, but it can be hard to tell.

We stopped in Torridon for a coffee and it was quite a surprise, behind the façade of a nondescript community centre was a lovely cafe and art gallery with quite the vistacular (see Day 10) outlook. Some magnificent, if moody, looking mountains abutting it. It felt like the landscape was changing once again. The West Coast of Scotland has no shortage of dramatic scenery and is as wild and untamed as it is beautiful.

Onwards we went like the brave adventurers we now are. “Miss Leading” the sat nav, is not currently talking to us and we’re not sure why. I expect I’ve offended her, I tend to do that the more time people have to spend with me. I talked to her anyway and even offered up an apology, but clearly she’s having a full on sulk so there was no coaxing her round. But actually the route was really straight forward, although, because we are a bit special, we took a different route than that signposted. I had decided we’d have a stop at the Corrieshallock Gorge. Not necessarily a famous stop, but I thought it might be a nice little stroll. And I was excited for the scary suspension bridge as my fears absolutely and definitely extend to heights, so why the heck not. We hadn’t had a near death experience yet today so time to mix things up. The Gorge is just off the main road about 20kms south of Ullapool.

On approach the bridge seems a lot smaller than the pictures and you feel a bit misled. It’s quite short, not the huge stretch across the gorge that I was anticipating. However, size, allegedly, is not everything. Once you are on the bridge and you look down, I found it hard to let go to take a photo. And then once someone else gets on it and it starts bouncing slightly, yeah, that’s enough for me thanking you kindly.

The canyon is one mile long and 60 metres deep, the River Droma runs through it with various waterfalls. Apparently the river takes its name from the Gaelic for ‘ugly hollow,” which seems harsh and also untrue. The Falls of Measach (meaning waterfalls of the place of platters which just makes me think of Friday night wines …) are a whopping 46 metres high and can be viewed from both the suspension bridge and the viewing platform. Interesting fact, the temperature is a whole 2 degrees warmer at the bottom of the gorge than the top.

It was a beautiful spot, but I was keen to get to our final destination for the day as I was feeling a bit “meh.”

In the interests of full transparency, I thought I’d divulge that the ghost of my old foe anxiety tagged along for the ride today. I only mention it because I’m having a great time, there’s no work stress, I’m super happy and we’re enjoying our experience, but that doesn’t matter to old mate, he’ll rock up uninvited regardless and sit in your chest or on your stomach, sometimes in the dark of the night he likes to lie across your throat. I want to add that nobody should ever feel bad if they don’t feel great 100% of the time, especially when they are on holiday.

Onwards to Ullapool and I think I fell a little bit in love with the place. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it’s lovely. And the people are super friendly.

I had a walk I wanted to do when we got to Ullapool, and with the persistence of the anxiety, I needed to. We decided to just park the car in the long stay car park next to Tescos, get our walking boots on and prioritise it. We walked for around 2 hours up the Ullapool Hill to the top for the views. Being outside and exercising (see also: cleaning) helps centre me and I find it restorative. It was a great walk, amazing views, challenging but not too hard and it was cold and blowy and exactly what I needed. The Favourite Husband is excellent at just quietly letting me do what I need to do and also carrying my bag …

When we booked our trip we had various different threads behind what we were both wanting and were trying to weave them into a half decent compilation to appease both of our goals for what we hoped to gain from the holiday. For the Favourite Husband it was seeing Scotland and researching his ancestry, for me it was mainly good eateries and some decent walks. We have found the Walk Highlands website to be really good and used that today, and amazingly didn’t get lost or require rescuing.

Then it was to our outstanding accommodation that is above a restaurant/cafe and bookshop and has an exceptional residents’ lounge complete with honesty bar upstairs.

After a cup of tea and a brief lie down it was off to The Seafood Shack for a G&T and a feed of the largest piece of fish I’ve ever seen. The Favourite Husband thought he was weightlifting when he carried them back to the table. I told him he didn’t need to do that, showing off, flexing his muscles, he was already strong. And married.

It’s a big driving day for us tomorrow so an early night for us tonight. We both wish we had more than the one night here, but sadly not.