Day 11 - Friday 6/5/15 – Dornie to Ullapool, Inverewe
Gardens
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| Beinn Ghobhlach and Little Loch Broom |
Once again we awoke at 7:15 to rain!!! We showered
and went to breakfast at 8. Today we both got the continental
breakfast: hard-boiled egg, ham, cheese, tomatoes, toast, coffee, and
cereal and fruit. We never know when or where lunch will be, so we eat
when we can.
We said our goodbyes to our lovely host Jayne. Her husband Ross had left very early to catch a train down to England to buy a car. Both of them had been perfectly delightful hosts.
We set off in wet, cloudy, rainy weather. There was no need to drive the pass to Applecross since we couldn't see anything and the road was a single track. We were impressed with the number of bicyclists on the road in the nasty weather on single track roads.
We made it to Shieldig and sat down by the harbor hoping the rain would let up. There was a public toilet in the car park, so we could at least do that. The next several miles would be pretty, so I hoped by waiting, the weather would improve. It didn't. It wasn't constant rain....just a drizzle at times, so we could at least see some of the amazing countryside.
We were just about to Kinlochewe when Bill hit a pothole hard. I saw the left front hubcap fly off, so he pulled over quickly. As soon as I got out, I could hear the hissing of air coming from the left front tire. Bill walked back down the road to find the hubcap (which he did). We figured we could make it to Kinlochewe since we were in the middle of nowhere!!!
Kinlochewe is a tiny town. It had a gas station/small cafe but no services. At least it wasn't raining at the time. Bill got out the luggage and started reading about how to put on the space-saver spare. I got him to try and call the rental people, but his cell phone couldn't call the 800 number. The older man inside the station made the call for Bill on his landline. The rental lady asked him if he had a spare, and when he said he did, her options were to either send a man out to put on the spare or have Bill change it himself. Bill chose the latter.
With the tire finally changed, we headed out in the rain again! We finally reached Inverewe Gardens. This is a lovely garden on 2000 acres of estate land and now owned and managed by the British Trust. It was started in 1862 by Oswald MacKenzie and contains an awesome display of flowers, plants, and trees.
We went first to the Garden Tea Room for a bit of lunch since it was already 2:30. We barely beat a large tour bus full of people. Bill just got a scone and some tea. I got a latte and a goat cheese/caramelized onion puff pastry. We decided to go on in the Garden since it is really well-known in Britain. We spent about an hour there wandering around in the beautiful woodsy setting. The sun had finally come out, and it was also warming up a bit.
The next 20 miles were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. There were several pull-outs where we stopped and just stared. We made it to Ullapool and our B&B, Ardvreck, and boy were we REALLY amazed by this place. It sits on a hill above the loch with an indescribable view. The woman who built this place 24 years ago is named Evelyn, and I fell instantly in love with her!! She is 55 and lives in a house next door with her husband who has Parkinson's. He seems to be doing well so far, but she is thinking about selling this place.
This is a 10 room guest house, and we got a large (1 double bed and 1 twin bed) room facing the loch. I so wished we had booked a week here instead of just one night. There is a large breakfast room with a lounge facing the loch. We are sitting here right now at 10pm, and even though the sun has set, it is still fairly light. Sheep are all over the place except in her yard - mostly ewes and their lambs.
Apparently there is some cycle race in town this weekend, so Evelyn recommended a hotel/restaurant just down the road that we passed on the way up. So off we went. It is called the Morefield Hotel/Mariner's Steakhouse. We got seated, and even though the place was slammed, we ordered and enjoyed a lovely meal.
I got an elderflower/strawberry cordial that was just as good as the one I had yesterday. I am going to have to figure out how to make one if I could even find elderflower!! I got a small (for Scotland) seafood risotto which was wonderful - salmon, shrimp, scallops, and haddock topped with mussels. It was really good. Bill got fish and chips which was good.
We bypassed on dessert in favor of coming back to the B&B to watch the sunset. It was warm enough to be comfortable outside! I am in heaven. Tomorrow we head to Grantown-on-Spey for our last 3 nights in the Highlands. The weather should be better tomorrow.
We said our goodbyes to our lovely host Jayne. Her husband Ross had left very early to catch a train down to England to buy a car. Both of them had been perfectly delightful hosts.
We set off in wet, cloudy, rainy weather. There was no need to drive the pass to Applecross since we couldn't see anything and the road was a single track. We were impressed with the number of bicyclists on the road in the nasty weather on single track roads.
We made it to Shieldig and sat down by the harbor hoping the rain would let up. There was a public toilet in the car park, so we could at least do that. The next several miles would be pretty, so I hoped by waiting, the weather would improve. It didn't. It wasn't constant rain....just a drizzle at times, so we could at least see some of the amazing countryside.
We were just about to Kinlochewe when Bill hit a pothole hard. I saw the left front hubcap fly off, so he pulled over quickly. As soon as I got out, I could hear the hissing of air coming from the left front tire. Bill walked back down the road to find the hubcap (which he did). We figured we could make it to Kinlochewe since we were in the middle of nowhere!!!
Kinlochewe is a tiny town. It had a gas station/small cafe but no services. At least it wasn't raining at the time. Bill got out the luggage and started reading about how to put on the space-saver spare. I got him to try and call the rental people, but his cell phone couldn't call the 800 number. The older man inside the station made the call for Bill on his landline. The rental lady asked him if he had a spare, and when he said he did, her options were to either send a man out to put on the spare or have Bill change it himself. Bill chose the latter.
With the tire finally changed, we headed out in the rain again! We finally reached Inverewe Gardens. This is a lovely garden on 2000 acres of estate land and now owned and managed by the British Trust. It was started in 1862 by Oswald MacKenzie and contains an awesome display of flowers, plants, and trees.
We went first to the Garden Tea Room for a bit of lunch since it was already 2:30. We barely beat a large tour bus full of people. Bill just got a scone and some tea. I got a latte and a goat cheese/caramelized onion puff pastry. We decided to go on in the Garden since it is really well-known in Britain. We spent about an hour there wandering around in the beautiful woodsy setting. The sun had finally come out, and it was also warming up a bit.
The next 20 miles were absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. There were several pull-outs where we stopped and just stared. We made it to Ullapool and our B&B, Ardvreck, and boy were we REALLY amazed by this place. It sits on a hill above the loch with an indescribable view. The woman who built this place 24 years ago is named Evelyn, and I fell instantly in love with her!! She is 55 and lives in a house next door with her husband who has Parkinson's. He seems to be doing well so far, but she is thinking about selling this place.
This is a 10 room guest house, and we got a large (1 double bed and 1 twin bed) room facing the loch. I so wished we had booked a week here instead of just one night. There is a large breakfast room with a lounge facing the loch. We are sitting here right now at 10pm, and even though the sun has set, it is still fairly light. Sheep are all over the place except in her yard - mostly ewes and their lambs.
Apparently there is some cycle race in town this weekend, so Evelyn recommended a hotel/restaurant just down the road that we passed on the way up. So off we went. It is called the Morefield Hotel/Mariner's Steakhouse. We got seated, and even though the place was slammed, we ordered and enjoyed a lovely meal.
I got an elderflower/strawberry cordial that was just as good as the one I had yesterday. I am going to have to figure out how to make one if I could even find elderflower!! I got a small (for Scotland) seafood risotto which was wonderful - salmon, shrimp, scallops, and haddock topped with mussels. It was really good. Bill got fish and chips which was good.
We bypassed on dessert in favor of coming back to the B&B to watch the sunset. It was warm enough to be comfortable outside! I am in heaven. Tomorrow we head to Grantown-on-Spey for our last 3 nights in the Highlands. The weather should be better tomorrow.
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