Hill-walking weekend in Ullapool

On Wed 26th March we headed back to Ullapool with the cats for nearly a week. At first the weather was mixed and then it became quite wild and rainy! In fact I was caught in a shower of actual hailstones while out walking one afternoon! Nothing daunted we lit the fire and were cosy in the cottage. On Friday the hill-walking club arrived; Hilary and Steven, Heidi, Bob, Willie and Gordon. They were staying in the Caledonian Hotel and we joined them for drinks and dinners. Saturday was unfortunately still very rainy but the walkers went out anyway and walked up past Loch Achall. Hilary and I chatted at the cottage then braved the rain to walk round to the Ceilidh Place for lunch. While we were there James, Steven and Heidi arrived back and joined us, we had a really nice chat. Everybody met at the cottage at about 5 pm where we had drinks and chatted in front of the fire, before making our way to the Caley Bistro for a very nice dinner. However, the evening was not without incident. Gordon couldn’t find his car keys or room key in his red jacket. Alarmed, he searched for them, retracing his steps. He finally arrived back at the restaurant where it was discovered that Heidi was wearing his jacket by mistake and his possessions were still safely in the pockets. Gordon was understandably a bit agitated about all this, but Heidi‘s generous gift of a glass of red wine smoothed over any troubled waters. The next day started grey however it brightened up quickly into a really sunny beautiful morning. Hilary and I went to Corrieshalloch Gorge which was absolutely magnificent after yesterday’s rain. There were waterfalls cascading from the edges of the gorge as well as the main waterfall and lots of other smaller torrents of water beside the path. We crossed the bridge and walked to the viewpoint. There was hardly anybody else there and it was all so very stunning. Back in the village we went for a walk around the shops and had a tasty lunch in the Ceilidh Place. My cheese and onion scone with poached eggs was absolutely delicious. Finally, we went to Tea by the Sea and drank coffee while sitting outside in the sunshine and looking at the view up the loch. It was hard to believe that it was so warm and sunny after such a rainy day yesterday, but that’s Scotland for you! In the evening we met the rest of the group for dinner at the Caley Bistro again; they were all very happy because they had all managed to have good and sunny hill walks. On Monday the clubbers set off home and we spent a sunny day around the cottage. James repaired the steps from outside the cottage down to the lane and they look so much better now. We drove home today after Tom came in from his morning adventures.