Cape Wrath

We decided to ask Heather and Ewan to visit Cape Wrath with us today. We had some misgivings about this because it is a long journey; nearly two hours by car from Ullapool, then a short boat journey and then ten miles by minibus along a very pot-holed road. It also takes a bit of organising and some serendipity; it has to be during the short summer season that the minibus runs, from June to mid September, and the ferryman, Malcolm, has to be available (when I phoned last week I found out that he was taking part in a charity tractor run on Saturday for example.) And if it’s too misty or the sea is rough the trips are cancelled. None of this can be predicted much in advance.  However our guests good-naturedly agreed to come on the trip - none of us have visited the most northwesterly point of the UK before - and we set off in the morning to catch the midday ferry. When we got to Keoldale Pier near Durness there were lots of other people, to my surprise; there must have been about thirty of us. Malcolm ferried us all across to the pier on the west side of the Kyle of Durness in three boat loads, and we were then ushered by Stewart into two minibuses. Ewan had, unusually, felt very nauseous during the last part of our car journey when it was quite twisty and turny, so we asked if he and Heather could sit in the front seats of the minibus. The fact that Ewan, who does not like a fuss being made of him, agreed to this, showed that he must have felt very unwell. Sitting in the front seat did the trick and he felt fine both on the way to the lighthouse and on the way back. Just as well that he did, because I have never travelled on a road quite like it. It was first built in 1828 and has not been properly repaired since the 1980s, just patched up from time to time, and it is in a terrible state! The minibuses had to travel at less than 15 miles an hour for eleven miles (18 km) along the narrow road, through the bombing range (which was not live just now!) over narrow and rather precarious looking bridges. We were however rewarded with stunning views, including the distant but clear Sandwood Bay, where we have walked and camped in the past. The weather was cloudy but we had good visibility. 
When we arrived at the lighthouse we had a very simple lunch of sandwiches and oatcakes with coffee at the little café *, which restored us for a breezy walk around the headland. We could see lots more cliffs to the east, and a stunning sea arch just off the headland. After an hour we were loaded back onto the minibuses for our return journey, which somehow seemed quicker. There were a couple of Cape Wrath Trail walkers in the minibus, who had just finished their arduous eight day journey. Back across on the boat we went, and we decided to break our journey in Lochinver for dinner, only a short diversion from the direct route. We managed to get a table at Delilah’s and Heather and Ewan treated us to a delicious meal. By 9 p.m. we were back in the cottage after a long and satisfying day. 

* We read online later that Bill Bailey had eaten in the café at the end of his Cape Wrath Trail journey and had celebrated with a ham and pickle sandwich. He must have eaten the last of the pickle because there was none left when Ewan ordered it! Ewan said "Bill Bailey ate my pickle!"