Achiltibuie, Coigach and Stoer Peninsulas

Judging by the car this morning, it must have rained in the night.

In fact it is still raining.

It is also misty. Very misty. We can barely see land the opposite side of the loch. It may reduce visibility, but I do find mist very atmospheric.

Today we are heading north, following the coast road as much as we cab.

Dundonnell River

First stop today is to try and photograph the waterfall without getting wet. While I don't have a problem with being out taking pictures in the rain, I do just sneak a couple of shots from the car this morning.

Ullapool

We make a point of stopping in Ullapool to do some grocery shopping and are quite surprised to find that the usual Sunday trading laws that we are used to from home do not apply here in Scotland. The Tesco is very much smaller than our local store, but then, despite being much more well-known than our home town, Ullapool only boasts around 1500 inhabitants.

Some people are pretty desperate for a coffee.

Below are some images of the scenery and stormy clouds as we make our way north along the coast.

The Brochs of Coigach

This eco-friendly luxury accommodation is inspired by iron-age roundhouses, known as 'brochs' in these parts. It sure looks a fabulous place to stay, blending as it does with nature.

The traffic is thankfully not heavy around here, despite this being the height of the summer holiday. We share the road with sheep, geese and deer as we continue to explore the Coigach Peninsula.

I am happy to see that the deer are traffic savvy and only cross at dedicated 'Passing Places'.

Achahaird Beach

Summer Isles

Summer Isles

We leave the Coigach Peninsula behind and continue north, initially passing a number of small boggy ponds, then later joining a magnificent scenic road snaking its way across the hills and valleys.

It's nice to see the Scots are such polite drivers. The sign is obviously aimed at people like us, who like to drive slowly, and will make lots of stops to photograph the scenery.

We stop for a break by a small pond and I go for a short walk to take some photographs.

Common Spotted Orchid - a fairly rare sighting

A sign telling us to be aware of frogs crossing - another fairly rare sight. We don't see any.

Stoer Lighthouse

Tall Cottongrass

Found all over this area, the tall cottongrass fascinates me, the way is blows in the wind and glows in the low sun when backlit.

Pied Crow

We see a large bird circling above and get very excited, but it turns out just to be a Pied Crow.

Spotted Flycatcher

A little bit further along, however, we spot a small bird that I initially think is a sparrow, but is in actual fact a Spotted Flycatcher. I guess this makes up for the crow.

Clashnessie

Another traffic jam

The Summer Islands

Drumbeg Viewpoint

Atlantic Salmon Fish Farm

Ardvreck Castle

Ardmair Point

Ullapool - almost home

We return to the cabin after a lovely day out despite the dull and grey weather. The scenery is constantly stunning though.