Van Life Day 3 - Beinn Dearg

We had a massive day out climbing 4 Munros up there one a day over 25 years ago. There was a long walk-in - and out!

Today we drove round to Cromarty where we got one of the 2 Guardians in the shop and a few supplies. We had a good view of all the oil rigs - the Cromarty Firth is sheltered from North Sea storms. It was a pleasant drive westwards along the shore with distant views of the massive bulk of Ben Wyvis.

We took a detour to the spa town of Strathpeffer which we had no visited before. After a sandwich in the van we headed up on a woodland walk to the Touchstone Maze. The sun was welcome though the wind was still chilly. The maze (actually a labyrinth) is a circular route round different stones from various quarries, reflecting Scotland’s complex geological map. The oldest stone in Britain is Lewisian Gneiss which is over 3 billion years old. The walk was only 3.5 miles but afforded stunning views over the town to Ben Wyvis.

Back on the main road we followed the railway through Garve and up to Loch Glascarnoch where we are parked up for the night. The blip is taken from the van and is my view as I stretch out in our lounge area. The road is fast and busy but we are sure it will calm down by bedtime.

Needless to say we are depressed by the Hartlepool election result. Also Northumberland is now Tory but there are two new green councillors. Friend Carole is still at the count in Ipswich but says it doesn’t look good.