Sunday 29^th June                     LAIRG – TONGUE – SMOO CAVE – SCOURIE – LAIRG

We have had a massive road trip day today! The weather was fine, the sun was shining (mostly), and of course we still had the ever-present wind howling, but that was manageable. We saw so much of the highlands and couldn’t believe the ever-changing landscapes. This is the map from Lex’s phone showing where we went and our main stops today. (There must have been about a hundred more quick stops to take photos!)

We left at 9 and headed out to Muie, six miles away to see if we could see some of the highland cows Jan, our host, had told us about. There were two there (Pet and Patty), but they were so far back in their paddock, it was hard to see them clearly. Sigh. So we headed back to Lairg, and then north on our road trip.

                                                                Pet and Patty a long way away.

We passed wind farms, burns (streams), rivers and lochs – so many lochs. Loch Loyal, especially, was long and picturesque. The mountains were similarly stunning to look at and changed every time we went around the corner.

                                 There were so many motor bike and bicycle riders out today.

                                                                Highland stream

                                                                     Loch Loyal

                                                           Tower house coming into Tongue

By half past 11, we were getting peckish, and decided that we would stop in Tongue (yes, it really is called that) for brunch. We found a lovely meal at Burrs of Tongue, and sat outside in the sunshine. Lex had a cheese scone and a raspberry tart, and I had an island cheese toastie. When I looked at the map, I was a bit mystified to see ‘Tongue Fill’ written at our stop, but then Lex pointed out that they also sold petrol….mystery solved.

                                                          Morning tea in Tongue   

                                                           Highland river

                                                           Some of the rock was really white

                                                     Rock formations on the north coast

From here, we travelled west along the Tongue Causeway which crosses the Kyle of Tongue (no, I’m not making this up!) and continued west to the next loch, Loch Eriboli. We drove down its east coast then up the west right to the top of Scotland, where we found Smoo Cave. There were so many people there, we thought we’d better see what it was like, and it was one of the highlights of the day. We walked down the steps on the cliff to the cave, which is both freshwater and seawater combined. Archaeological digs have shown that the cave has been used since Neolithic times, but the Vikings especially used it a lot. There’s a waterfall which thunders down in the cave; just lovely. When we’d had a look, I went back up the side of the cliff we’d come down, and Lex took the long, scenic route up the other side. I hadn’t realised what a major climb down it was, and just had my old slip-on shoes on, instead of changing to joggers which would have been a LOT more suitable.

                                                           Smoo Cave

From here, we headed southwest towards Scotland’s west coast. More stunning mountains, lochs, waterfalls and streams. This section also had a lot of ruins visible – evidence of the highland clearances of the 1800s, no doubt. Most of the road was single lane, which does restrict speed. At least they have provided so many passing areas that we hardly ever had to back up, which happens a lot in England and Ireland. They also provide parking areas for the most popular beauty spots, and there were certainly plenty of us taking advantage of them today. It reminded us of the Ring of Kerry in Ireland, only not as busy!

                                            Interesting striped effect from erosion, we assume

                                                  Lots of tourists photographing and hiking

We stopped at the Asda in Scourie, on the west coast, as I felt like a drink. I found a chocolate milk; Lex found a bottle of Old Pulteney Scotch (12 years old) for only 30 pounds. He just had to have it! It was brewed in Wick, which he visited two days ago. Leaving Scourie, I was thrilled to see highland cows in a field, so Lex obligingly stopped while I clicked away. Several other cars were pulling up to do the same thing.

                                                     Heelin' coos! (translated: highland cows)

We headed eastward for home, still stopping frequently to photograph amazing scenery. It began raining though, which helped dampen our enthusiasm a bit. Despite all the stops, we finally arrived home just before 5.

                                              Mountains, lochs, castles..... this is Scotland

Since then, Lex has had a nap (well deserved after all that driving), I’ve cooked tea and we’ve both sorted through and culled some of the hundreds of photos we took today! It was a long day in the car but worth it to see so much of northern Scotland. Lex calculates that in the six weeks we’ve been here, we’ve done just over three thousand miles. And many more to go….