Our second trip takes us to Acharacle and then to Camusdarach in Arisaig. We start by taking the same road as before to Fort William, to M&S for some food shopping. From Fort William we drive on to Glenfinnan where Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745 raised the standard after he and a small band of loyal supporters sailed up Loch Shiel to start the Jacobite Rebellion. His quest to restore the Stuarts to the British throne. The monument was built in 1815 as a tribute to the Highlanders who fought in that uprising. The scenery is amazing, but it’s March. The nature hasn’t woken up yet, everything is brown, beige and asleep. We arrive at Loch Shiel campsite. We are the only ones tonight. We got the wifi code which worked on our laptop and tablet but not so well on our phones. The site has only six pitches for campervans or motorhomes, no tents. There is a shower block for women and a shower block for men. Small, very neat. The space is not heated but at least the windows are closed and the water is hot. The campsite overlooks River Shiel. The river is unassuming but it has history. Bonnie Prince Charlie rowed up the river on his way to Glenfinnan. Vikings used this river as well. In 1120 the Norse invader Torquil was defeated by Somerled, the King of the Isles. The River Shiel, it is said, ran red with blood. We slept well. Bill’s sleeping bag has been ditched in favour or a duvet we bought. So-o warm. The bed feels hard, the mattress thin although it is a memory foam mattress. We need to do something about this. 29 March. We drove to Castle Tioram (pronounced Cheerum), at the end of a rather narrow single track road. It’s a ruined castle on an island accessible at low tide. It was built in the 13th century and extended in the 14th century. It’s likely the island was important long before the castle was built, controlling the waterways in the area. We heard that during lockdown there were 82 cars/campervans/motorhomes/tents there, beach parties, bonfires. Lockdown? Stay at home?? We want to come back later in the year. The weather continues sunny. 30 March. Again driving down a narrow single track road, there are lots of them in Scotland, we went to Ardtoe. Bill had checked that there is a walk we could take. Amazing views. White beaches. However, when we get there, there is no place to park Bertie. We drove back to a layby where we could leave Bertie and walked along the road to catch a view we’d seen on our way there. Couldn’t find it though. We had been recommended the Singing Sands. Sounds nice, doesn’t it. You can just imagine white sands against the turquoise of the water and the blue sky. We got there at low tide. Muddy next to the carpark. There are pictures of nicer scenes online but we weren’t really inspired to explore further. Sitting on the step of Bertie we had our lunch of cold tomato soup and grapes. Bill took out the map and looked for another place to drive to. He found Dalelia, a lovely spot on the shore of Loch Shiel. We had tea and biscuits but had to let a herd of very well-behaved cows go past first. The picture reminds me of the paintings of the Finnish national romanticism of the late 19th early 20th century. 31 March. There was hard frost in the night, -5C said the man who runs the site. The shower block water pipes were frozen. Today we drove towards Strontian. A lovely road, most of it single track, and the locals treat it as a rally course. A bit hair raising. We went for a walk in the Ariundle Oakwood National Reserve. This is a “precious fragment of ancient oak which once covered the western edge of Britain. It is covered in mosses, lichens, ferns and liverworts.” Unfortunately, all lovely undergrowth of wild flowers is not yet there. The wind is very cold. There is a heron on this river. There must be food for it. Bill ordered a Mallaig sourdough and an apple puff pastry tart for Saturday from the Bakehouse in Mallaig. I can’t wait to get them. 1 April. The pipes of the shower blocks were frozen again. This morning there is no sunshine to help with the thawing. They are having insulation, sheep’s wool, put around the pipes. They hadn’t originally planned to be open outside the summer months and normally they don’t have frost in April. We moved to Camusdarach campsite, not far from Loch Shiel campsite. We are the very first ones to arrive this season but soon we have plenty of neighbours. The shower blocks are not heated but I suppose I just have to get used to it. Gorgeous beaches. We seem to catch these places at low tide. White sand. 2 April A sunny morning, bitterly cold north wind. Had a morning walk on the beach. It was high tide so we walked mostly on the dunes. The islands of Eigg, Rùm and Skye were clearly visible. We drove to Mallaig to pick up the sourdough and the apple tart. Sitting outside we had a cup of coffee and a focaccia. Simple flavours, the best! Did some shopping in the local Co-op, a rather good one. We continued to Loch Morar and sat on the beach for a while. So peaceful. Later, the bread was lovely and the tart disappeared in a flash. Our afternoon walk on the beach was just as bitterly cold as in the morning. Low tide this time, it was easy to walk from beach to beach. Someone told us to cross a dune to a small cove where it was at least 10C warmer and true! it was like another world. The rest of the afternoon was quite nice. We spent it sitting next to Bertie, reading, knitting.
3 April. This bed is definitely too hard for us. We have ordered a mattress that will make our sleep so much better. How to heat a sausage roll in a campervan without an oven: Open the pack. Place it in front of the electric fan heater. Turn the heater to full blast. Wait. – They won’t heat through but they won’t be fridge cold either. The afternoon was rainy. We spent it reading and listening to music. Just like we would do at home. 4 April. We were booked for another night but the day started raining and the forecast was rain all day. We packed up and left. On or drive home we were wondering how deep Loch Ness is, knowing Loch Shiel is 128m. Loch ness is 227m. The deepest loch? That’s Loch Morar, we sat on its shore the other day. Loch Morar is 310m deep! The deepest (measured) lake in Finland is Päijänne, which is 95m. A mere puddle. We leave for our next trip on 27 April for two weeks, taking in castles and gardens and mountains and ferry crossings.
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AuthorI'm Piisa and I will be sharing with you my thoughts on this and that, maybe even on whatever. Archives
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