The Black Isle Belter

It was still grey on Thursday but not rainy, so after a pleasantly late start to the morning we all went for a walk to Corrieshalloch Gorge. I don’t think that Dave had been there before and it really is very impressive; the waterfalls were very lively after yesterday’s heavy rain. Later Christine, Gerry and Dave treated us to a tasty dinner at the Caley Bistro and we popped down to the Arch Inn for a drink. RuMac was playing, even louder than usual I thought, so we sat in the main bar and could still hear him. Back to the cottage for a nightcap. In the morning we all set off in our different directions; the Reids to Perthshire to visit a new baby, and I gave James a lift to Inverness so that he could catch the train to Glasgow. This was because he and Gordon were meeting up to see Yes at the GRCH in the evening. So I spent the evening back in Ullapool in a suddenly empty house, apart from Tom and Floof of course, who were very happy to get lots of attention from me! 

On Saturday I drove back to Inverness to meet James off the train at lunchtime (he had stayed overnight at Cambuslang after his concert) because we were going to a music festival. No, not Coachella or Glastonbury, but the Black Isle Belter in Muir of Ord! Unlike our Waverley trip, we got a really lovely day for it. Warm, sunny, blue skies with big white clouds. We turned up at the festival early afternoon and had a rather lovely time chatting and listening to the bands, of which there were plenty. Highlights (for me) included Rhythmnreel, the Black Isle Peas, RuMac (yes, again!), The View, and of course the headline act, whom we haven’t seen before, Peat and Diesel. Peat and Diesel, who are from the Western Isles, are tremendously popular in Scotland just now and I can understand why, they have huge energy. They are described as “Celtic punk” and use accordion as well as guitar and drums so they have a Scottish sound. Their songs are often humorous and about island life, such as Calum Dan’s Transit Van, whose Gaelic chorus is “air do shocair” which means Slow Down! 

We set up a wee camp with blankets and fleeces just outside the big tent, from where I could hear all of the music perfectly. Purist James spent more time inside the tent to get the full experience, and I popped in during my favourite songs. It was all very satisfactory. The jolly crowd had become a very drunk crowd by the time Peat and Diesel came on at 8 p.m. but it was all very good-natured. After a fantastic day we headed back to Ullapool, the sky was blue and pink as the sun set, so beautiful.