Blue skies and warmth, can this be Scotland?

After a very nice few days at home with Melanie I am back on board with Mike, a friend from Hale and the sun has shone from the moment we hit Scotland. On Saturday 1^st June we flew to Glasgow then had a 5 hour train journey through beautiful highland scenery to Mallaig; this place really is so beautiful – if only the weather were beautiful more often with it!

We woke up to blue sky and oily calm; could this really be the same Scotland I left in rain and wind only a week ago?! We sailed north 10 miles to Loch Nevis (Gaelic for Heaven) and the Knoydart peninsular. It

was warm, dry, calm and absolutely breathtaking. We went for a walk, about 5 hours up a long glen and back over the tops with views of mile after mile of mountains and the snowy top of Ben Nevis in the distance (the dark lump at the left end of the mountains in the picture), a group of deer the only sign of life for miles around.

As we got back to the Loch I met a couple of local to have a chat with but they didn’t want to join us in ‘the remotest pub on mainland Britain’ (only accessible by boat) for a well earned pint.

On Monday we woke to more blue skies and complete calm so motored north 2 hours to Loch Hourn (Hell in Gaelic although the weather can’t have been like this when it was named!). At the head of the loch, 10 miles from the mouth, we wound our way through a very narrow and shallow channel to the anchorage, Mike looking over the front guiding me through the channel, the shallowest part being 4’, thank goodness for a lifting keel!

 We anchored surrounded by 2000’ mountains, trees, waterfalls, streams, its stunning.  We loaded the dinghy and headed ashore for a bike ride for a couple of hours. We past the most beautiful coconut oil smell, some what out of place! We tracked it down to the very striking gorse bushes which look stunning in full flower. 

What a beautiful place and certainly not what could be described as normal biking countryside!

 AND, so far, still no mozzies but it really can’t be long before they appear now the weather has warmed up. The only downer is we have totally failed to catch any fish, Waddy where are you when we need you?! Thank goodness for pasta and Bolognese sauce!