Loch of the Beautiful Tresses

Heather and Ewan arrived to visit us on Friday. It was great to see them and we were especially impressed that they had driven north straight from the airport after their holiday in Rome! Naturally, I was keen to show them a good time after their fabulous time in the eternal city, so I had done a bit of research into fun things to do. So on Saturday morning we headed to Kylescu and went on a boat trip along Glencoul and Loch Beag to Scotland’s highest waterfall, Eas a’ Chual Aluinn (which is also Great Britain’s highest waterfall!) which has a 200 metre sheer drop. Its name means Loch of the Beautiful Tresses. The weather was pleasant and sunny and we saw a sea eagle as well as plenty of seals on the little islands in the loch. It was all very beautiful with mountains and rocks around the loch, including part of the Moine Thrust where you can clearly see that the much older rocks have moved on top of the newer rocks, not that they are all that new of course! The waterfall can best be seen from the head of the loch, otherwise you have to walk for a boggy six miles to reach it! It did look impressive, although it’s not right beside the loch, I would love to see it closer up. On the way back to the slipway, the boat was heading into the breeze to it was a bit cooler, but still not too cold. 

We then had an delicious lunch at the Kylescu hotel, really excellent food, sitting at a table with marvellous views over the water. On the way back to Ullapool we stopped at Knockan Crag, another geological marvel, where we clambered on a scarily (to me!) exposed path right up to the top of the crags. I think that I have been up there a long time ago but oh boy I had forgotten how amazing the views are of the lochs way below and the mountains behind them. Luckily the way back down seemed less rough and steep, and soon we were back in the cottage for pasta puttanesca (my old Delia Smith recipe and highly complimented by our guests!) and a convivial evening.