It Doesn't Always Rain ...

In the Far North in October.

This is the view from the slope below our AirBnB. It is the most delightful little place, tacked on to the end of what must once have been a croft house just above Little Loch Broom. An Teallach is to the left, this one I can't quite work out the name of. This morning began with a walk along the shore, enjoying the warmth and the blue sky. 

We had booked lunch at the Ceilidh Place in Ullapool, so had to head off there around mid-day. The clouds were beginning to gather by then, but not enough to obscure the sun ( the first extra is looking down Loch Broom from the foreshore, not many tourists in town, but there are still plenty of campervans on the roads of Coigach). 

The lunch was ok, and we enjoyed browsing in the bookshop - neither were as we remembered, but it must be nearly 3 decades since we were last there, and hindsight is always bathed in a golden glow ...)

We set off to revisit another place of happy memory, Stac Pollaidh (second extra). The day we climbed it, it was blowing a gale which had me clinging to the rocks to stop myself taking off). Today would have been a lovely day for it, but I fear my days of scrambling along ridges are gone, not to return. 

Eventually we reached the end of the road, near enough, and were rewarded with a view of the Summer Isles from Achiltibue (last extra).

Then it was back to the Ceilidh Place (it's the only place still open) for coffee and cake, before making our way back to Badralloch. 

Among the many lovely quirks of this place is the Visitors' Book. Guests are encouraged to leave an artistic contribution. There is a drawer full of materials - watercolours, pastels, pencils, charcoal, etc with which to work. And an honesty bar - Icelandic vodka is calling to me, and I'm not a vodka drinker, but I feel in need of inspiration.

Thank you very much for the visits, stars and hearts yesterday. I hope to catch up later in the week. But tomorrow we're off eastwards to the Black Isle, fingers crossed that this wonderful weather lasts.

PS The number of extras seems to have defeated the WiFi here, I'll delete them and hopefully add them later.