We left the campsite just before 9 and headed back through Ullapool to get some lunch for later, picking up the NC500 and heading around the coast. The first place we stopped was at Gruinard Bay, where there was a really great viewpoint over the bay - the ocean was so blue and it was just so wild-looking!
From there, we drove along the road past Loch Maree. There were houses and communities randomly dotted around this area but a lot of places were just wild, with little dots of sheep here and there.
At Kinlochewe we made a little detour to the Glen Docherty Viewpoint. It had such a great view of the valley below, and the road snaking up, though we weren't there on the best day! We took some photos then sat in the car and had lunch and a cup of tea. We drove back to Kinlochewe and turned left, down a lesser travelled part of the NC500.
The next stop on the trip was one I was looking forward to - going through Torridon. We stopped first in the Beinn Eighe car park to have a look around, and also because I noticed a deer nearby. We got out to say hello to him, and marvel at his lovely antlers! There were several walks that went from the car park, but I didn't have any notes on any of them so thought it best to not go unprepared! It was not the nicest day, but it made everything look a little bit magical.
We continued along the A896 road around the coast, through Balgy and Sheldaig to a little village, where we turned down a single track, no name road to head to Applecross. Again, I was surprised at all these little houses - it was so remote and there was very little around. Quite a lot of them were B&Bs and I'm sure they got a lot of business in the summer, but winter's would have been hard.
From there, we were driving to Applecross and kept stumbling upon Highland cows wandering down the road, plus a mob of sheep looking like they owned the place. Of course we had to get out and say hello... at a safe distance of course. Lots of animal photos below.
We made it to Applecross, one of Scotland's oldest settlements. We parked and had a walk around but there wasn't a great deal there and it was very busy. So we jumped back in the car. There are two ways to Applecross, the way we'd just come, and the Bealach na Bà, or Pass of the Cattle. This was a crazy, winding single track road, with not a particularly good surface. I would absolutely not want to go up there in the dark, and as it was, the weather was closing in and so it was miserable, misty and rainy. The way up was easy, except we were being followed be a twit in a ute (utility vehicle or pickup truck in anything other than Australian) who was flying up - we moved out of his way only for him to be stuck behind a camper.
The way down was another matter entirely. Everyone was doing their bit to pull over in passing places and take it easy. We'd pulled over to let a motorhome come past, flashed our lights.... then he decided he was going to stay there then flashed back at us. He probably chose the worst place - I was videoing our drive at the time so I have evidence... We passed him and bang! slipped off the awful asphalt and busted a tyre. Seriously, it was the worst place - it was cloudy and misty, raining, downhill and we just managed to get into a passing place big enough. Josh got out and changed the tyre while, admittedly, I was running around like a headless chook trying to work out what to do. Eventually I sat in the car because it was very clear that I was not helping.
Well that was a dampener to the afternoon we were having. Instead of heading on along the NC500, we drove straight across to the other side of the country as there wasn't really anywhere nearby to get a new tyre and we didn't want to drive too much on the space saver. That night, I booked a hotel near to Inverness, we got a curry for dinner and just commiserated about what a crap end to the afternoon it had been!
The next morning we got up early and took the car to Inverness, where we got to KwikFit at 9am to get a new tyre. While we were waiting, we had a wander around the city - it's quite small and quaint but it was nice to walk around for a bit. We picked up some lunch too, then went back at 10am to get the car and pay the bill.
We drove back across the country, stopping off at Loch Ness to have a look, then continuing along. We had lunch at a parking lot overlooking the Scottish canals just outside of Fort William. While we sat there, the Jacobite Steam train (otherwise known as the Harry Potter train) came chugging up behind us. That was a bit of excitement in what was otherwise a grey and drizzly day. There was a cool ruin of an old boat near this car park, but it was just too rainy and I kept getting rain on my lens so I gave up.
We stayed at a campsite just outside of Fort William, as Josh, an avid fan of cycling, wanted to check out the UCI Mountain Biking World Cup that was on in Fort William. As such, most of the camp sites nearby were full, and it was pouring with rain so we didn't fancy wild camping. I'm not sure the campsite we chose was much better, as there was very little undercover area, but they had a kettle in a little shed and a friendly cat staying away from the weather. It was a rainy night.