Scotland is beautiful, even in the rain it has majestic scenery. No I’m, not being biased, I’m quoting from fellow tourists we met on our Highland Adventure en-route to Ullapool. Susan, my partner, has always maintained that Scotland is just right in all respects. Not too big or small, you have access to the Highlands within an hour of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the mountains are just the right size to climb in a day. Who am I to disagree with that statement. I will say I endorse the tourist comment, Scotland is Beautiful regardless of the weather. We had set off from our base at North Kessock and headed North West along the A9, then the A835 toward Ullapool. 
The one thing about driving in the Highlands is you are never in a hurry, the roads a relatively quiet and you do have time as a driver to see the scenery. Our first photographic stop was at the Loch Glascarnoch Dam a man made loch. The initial picture on this page is of Loch Glascarnoch just before the rain came down :). We made our way across miles of wilderness and peat bogs that reminded me of the Falkland Isles until we came to Braeamore Junction where we turned of onto the A832 (more of that route later) until we came to the parking area, a very busy place, for the spectacular Corrieshalloch Gorge and the Falls of Measach. This was the place that Sid (who, alas, was not able to join us on this adventure) had threatened to take me to. There is a small suspension bridge 
designed by one of the designers of the Forth Railway Bridge. The sign on the bridge reads no more than 6 people at any one time on the bridge. It is very shaky and not for those of a nervous disposition or fear of heights. Although the picture shows how far down you have to go to get to the bridge, one path has been set for disabled access. We were very lucky, even though there were showers, we had a nice long break between the showers and the heather was blooming. The view from this shaky bridge is one part of the Falls of Measach. However a better view can be seen from the observation platform (not for the fainthearted) further along the track (not suitable for disabled access). 
I think you will agree that the effort to get there was well rewarded with this spectacular fall of water. We retraced our steps to the car and returned to the A835 at Braemore Junction to make our way to Ullapool. We traveled alongside the gorge until we came to the start of Loch Broom a picturesque route to Ullapool. As I said the day was one of intermittent showers and it was heavy rain fall. Thankfully we were in a nice dry car, those cycling were not so blessed. 
30 minutes driving alongside Loch Broom brought us to Ullapool Harbour. Here we stooped and had our tea, a very pretentious meal, this was the only meal I felt dissatisfied with during our Highland Sojourn. As we made our way back to the A832 (more to come) we stooped at a viewpoint lay-by to get the almost iconic shot of Ullapool Harbour 
We had decided to take the long way home and do part of the Wester Ross Coastal Trail. Little did I know what I had let myself in for. We rejoined the A832 at Braemoor Junction and climb up the hill towards a lay-by which gave a superb view of the Corrieshalloch Gorge looking toward Ullapool. 
I think I would still be there looking at that view if it had not rained 
The rain did us a favour it made us restart the journey to Loch Maree via Little Loch Broom, Gruinard Bay, Loch Ewe, Poolewe, Gairloch and Charlestown. 
After the drive alongside Little Loch Broom I did not take any photographs as the main road, the A832, suddenly became a single track road! I’m used to driving on single track roads, they are usually unclassified tracks over the moors, hills not a major arterial road with HGVs etc. on them. Next time I will be more aware of this in the Highlands. |It did make for an interesting drive, thankfully as it was toward late afternoon the road was not too busy. We arrived at the parking/picnic area at Loch Maree at 18:10. As it was early evening and being aware of Scotland’s secret weapon, The Midge. Given the right conditions these little insects can be very voracious and gather in large swarms. Despite the showers we saw that there were large swarms of the Highland Midges along the shore, thankfully we had the correct insect repellent at hand. Mind you as we later found out, the blasted things did get at unprotected areas. However, I think my final photo of the trip made the stop and braving the midges worth while. 
As we still had a long way to go we set off back to our home away from home. We finally got to the site at 23:45. Next day we would head East along the Moray Firth.
