A walk to Sand

It has been a very satisfactory and enjoyable day. The rest of the group were all planning huge walks in the hills around the peninsula, however I decided to pace myself and go on a more modest three hour round trip to an aptly named beach called Sand. It was drizzly all day but it was still really pleasant to be outdoors. There was more ascent than I had anticipated because the path climbed up the hill away from the road; apparently it was the only route to the villages in the north of the peninsula before the coast road was built. I was rewarded with beautiful views of Applecross across the bay. 

After my walk I popped into the Walled Garden Restaurant for a coffee then had a leisurely shower back at the hostel. I then drove the couple of miles to the shop at Millhouse to pick up some milk; I met a gorgeous wee red-haired boy called James who was helping his parents in the shop and they showed me their cute collie puppy who is called Mary.

On my way back to the hostel I saw a herd of deer right beside the road and I stopped to watch them for a while, they were a little nervous of me at first but I stayed quiet and still, and they resumed grazing. Lovely. Back in our wee room I had plenty of time to read my book (The Invisible Library - a very intriguing science fiction / Victorian adventure) before the others arrived back from their massive eight hour plus walks. We had a communal meal which was both tasty and hearty - special mention should be made of Alan's panettone bread and butter pudding - and we felt cosy in our hostel as the wind and rain rattled the windows.