Steve The Wandering Aussie

2023.05.08
A short one today.

A late departure from Thurso as Lyn was working. We are very fortunate that she can work remotely and this old fool can relax while she counsels people by Skype. Or what ever the program is. What a world!
At 10.30 we pushed across the top of Scotland to get to Smoo Caves in Durness in the north west. Much of the road was heather covered moors with rock outcrops looking like some past giant had hewn them with an adze. And some of the stone mountains and hills looked like those giants sleeping, ready to return and keep up the hard work. There are horizontal and vertical slabs where the earth had been heaved by ice and time while the lack of top soil is obvious. The Scottish government has been working on re-afforestation of the barren lands and it is great to see new forests all over what have clearly been past denuded areas.
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The road trip around the Kyle of Tongue (hi Kyle)and Loch Eriboll should be a must-see for everyone. Clear waters, pristine scenery and the scent of fresh salt water interspersed with wafts of pine and gorse. It appears that it’s untouched by modern man and while it does look benign and inviting, I’m reliably informed it’s wickedly dangerous if one gets lost out here.
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We got to the Smoo Caves, ventured down the cliff face and gladly paid the £10 for the tour. We were informed that this area had up to a mile of ice above it during the last ice age. Again, this area shows glacial paths filled with glass smooth lochs and water falls and the endless expanses of heather.
A small aside, The population of the Highlands is only 238,000 so there are vast empty land tracts with small villages scattered haphazardly

We finished the day in Ullapool, coming down the west coast, where we see booked into tonight’s B&B. Lots of drive time today. We shared the driving, each allowing the other to point out landscape features and buildings and, of course, various ruins. Our favorite.