Victoria's Voyage

Today’s title sounds a little like it could be an Animal Ark book or something, but it’s rather apt. We had another slow morning, deciding to embrace the unusually good weather and travel down the coast to the most Westerly point of the UK at Ardnamurchan.

Which brought us on an adventure down what felt like the longest road in the world, seemingly never-ending and almost as winding as a racetrack, passing through what I call Sheep Valley. The hillsides that steep that often, we couldn’t even see the single track road ahead before we dipped down.

The sun sparkling through the lush trees and reflecting off the glittering water provided the perfect backdrop for our drive, as we cranked up the feel-good tunes of early noughties hits. We saw more loch views as well as some highland cows grazing, before the road got narrower and narrower as we veered off into the rocky mountain plains and through a remote village towards the lighthouse that would mark our destination.

The journey was a fairly long one, but it does just follow one straight trail to a dead end, so even when it seems like you’ve entered total wilderness, you can’t become very lost. Still, the unpredictable terrain means that this is only a suitable route for experienced drivers – you have been warned! Granted, there isn’t a lot to see there, but the views are still nice and it is kind of cool to think where you are. And it provided a wonderful spot for a classic picnic overlooking the rocks!

We stopped off on our way back to the cottage for a woodland walk, where we entered a hide and saw some more wildlife, most notably seals – another lovely end to our day out. As the sun beat down, I got out my sketchbook, inspired, before settling down for the evening. There aren’t many days left now, but what we have done has gone pretty darn well!