Back to the river

We are in Ullapool again - our third extended trip since the beginning of July. We are certainly making up for the time that we weren’t allowed to travel here during lockdown. It was a very warm day so I ventured down to the river again this afternoon, and this time I swam nearer the mouth of the river where it widens out as it flows into Loch Broom. I had thought that it might be too shallow there, but I was encouraged by seeing three other people swimming there. We chatted briefly and they pointed out a deep channel which sweeps round past the edge of the golf course. This made for good swimming; it was at least shoulder deep and in places I couldn’t even touch the river bed with my feet. The swimmers said that the depth varies a lot depending not just on high and low tides, but also the tides build up to a maximum (and fall to a minimum) twice a month, so the water will be deeper in a couple of weeks. James had loyally come with me to be my lifeguard, toting his deckchair and his book.  One of the swimmers, Becky, asked me if I would like to join their “Estuary swimmers” group and I said yes please! 

Keeping it in the family

We have had two social occasions with the same family over the last few days; we had lunch on Sunday at Heather and Ewan’s, and then this evening Andrew came for dinner. It was lovely to see them all. On Sunday Ewan thoughtfully made us a quorn lasagne (taking into account my ongoing vegetarianism) and it was absolutely delicious - the taste and texture was exactly right. We sat outside on their terrace overlooking their beautiful garden which was in the full bloom of summer, and chatted. 
We travelled home from Ullapool on Saturday for a few days; more admin for Grandma’s house (which now has its “For Sale” sign up) and also to see David who has been working extremely hard on his dissertation. It is due to be sent in on Thursday; he is very nearly finished and today I proof read it and was very impressed.
Andrew arrived this evening for dinner and we had a simple (but I hope tasty) meal of roast chicken with potatoes dug this very afternoon from the garden by James. We had a convivial evening talking about all sorts of things. I had a very interesting conversation with Andrew about the books he has been reading and I lent him Lampedusa’s The Leopard. James and I eventually took ourselves off to bed, leaving the young ones to keep socialising. 

More visitors

Anne and her boyfriend Ross have been doing the North Coast 500 Route this week, a very popular driving route around the north of Scotland, starting and finishing in Inverness. Ullapool is a popular stop on the Route, so Anne contacted us and asked if she could pop in to see us. Naturally we were delighted to invite them to stay overnight, and it was a bonus that Ally and Cat are here this week because it meant that they had young people with whom to socialise as well as us oldies. It’s the first time that we have met Ross and they seem very happy. We all went out for dinner to the Ceilidh Place and we had a convivial evening, then strolled back to the cottage as the sun set over the Summer Isles, for more drinks and chat. 

The young people were all up early this morning. The weather, which was so rainy only a couple of days ago, has turned absolutely gorgeous. Blue skies with one or two little lenticular clouds, and really warm. Ally and Cat were heading with their tent for a two day walk at Strathcarron. Anne and Ross were heading to Plockton in the next leg of their NC500 trip. And James went to bag two Corbetts at Strathconon. I also had an excursion planned; I cycled to and from the end of Loch Achall. The first part of the cycle is a bit steep for me but I managed to stay on the bike for most of the time, only getting off to push it on a couple of sections. Then it descends to a bridge over the river and goes along the side of the loch. The views of the blue loch sparkling in the sunshine were tremendous. When I cycled back I went for a swim in a large pool just below the waterfall at the bridge; James had told me about it. It was great for swimming, and lovely and cool on this hot day. If you swim up the the waterfall you can be swept down the pool by the rushing water, which is brilliant. The good thing about the last part of the cycle is of course that it’s all downhill! Later James and I walked into the centre of Ullapool to get fish suppers. It was nice to see lots of people outside enjoying the sunshine. 

Pies in Lochinver

Ally and Cat have been doing a lot of hill-walking this week, but Tuesday’s forecast was too rainy even for their enthusiasm, so we all went for a wee jaunt to Lochinver. It was dreich and drizzly rather than heavy rain, so we were able to go for a walk when we arrived, and had a tasty light lunch at the An Cala Café. We decided to buy some pies from the famous Lochinver Pie Shop for dinner, and found that although the shop is still closed, they had set up a truck with an awning, where we queued up to buy our pies. They had picnic benches where people could consume their hot pies, but given the weather I was very glad that we would be eating them back at our cosy cottage. And indeed they were delicious. 

Summit of Ullapool Hill

James, Ally and Cat set off early this morning to go hill-walking in Torridon. It was a fine day - a bit windy but sunny with clouds - so I decided that the time had come for me to reach the summit of Ullapool Hill. I planned to take my time and so brought my Kindle to read during any rest stops. As I set off I noticed a very few golden leaves falling from the trees - surely it’s too early for that? I’m counting on it remaining summer for a bit longer.

As I had planned, I took my time strolling up the hill, and stopped a couple of times to admire the view. And I did make it to the top! The last bit is quite steep but very short. It was great at the top; I could see Loch Broom in one direction and Loch Achall in the other, and I was circled by mountains. 

Instead of going straight back down the hill, I decided to follow a route that James had told me about, a path across the side of the hill which descended gently towards Loch Achall. It was really beautiful. I then walked back along the road past the quarry to the coast road and home. It was a lovely walk. 

Housewarming Pineapple

When Ally and Cat arrived yesterday, they brought us a lovely housewarming gift - a pineapple! They explained that this is a symbol of hospitality originally from the Caribbean. Early European travellers brought pineapples and this tradition back home with them, although pineapples were so difficult to transport that they were extremely expensive. So expensive that they cost many thousands of pounds each and were used as centrepieces for Royal banquets in 16th and 17th Century Europe. They became fashionable symbols in architecture and art and furniture, and are still popular in household decoration today. 

James and I were touched that Ally and Cat had brought us such a thoughtful gift, and we look forward to eating it with them this week! 

Walking, cycling, and visitors

Today James and I went for a walk up Ullapool Hill again, a small hill of 270 metres which overlooks the village and also has beautiful views of the mountains, Loch Broom, and the Summer Isles. It also has a lot of benches upon which the walker can rest to enjoy said views, which I appreciated. I only went about two thirds of the way up (I’m still not very fit) and waited for James on one of the benches while he popped up to the top and back down. Ally and Cat weren’t going to arrive until mid afternoon, so after lunch James checked over my bike and put more air in the tires, and I went for a wee cycle around the village which was very enjoyable. Then James and I sat on the bench outside the cottage and read our books in the sunshine.

When Ally and Cat arrived, we all walked down the path and over the bridge and saw the Calmac Ferry sailing majestically into the harbour. We had pre dinner drinks at The Frigate before visiting the Seafood Shack where James and Ally chose lobster and Cat had salmon, which they ate before dinner back at the cottage. We had a lovely chat and caught up on each other’s news. There was also much planning of hill-walking and camping for the week ahead.