Road Trip Day Five

Another great day on our NC500. And we even had sunshine and blue skies for most of it…

We left Ullapool in mizzle, which then became low hanging mist, so we couldn’t see the mountains, but then it all changed. As we whizzed past a wee village, Aultbae, we saw a striking sillhouette statue, so we stopped. SO GLAD we did, because the information board told of the importance of Aultbae during WW2 - the Russian Arctic Convoys left from there. And there was an Arctic Convoy Museum in the village. Now, JR’s Uncle Pen was one of those brave men - he died last year aged 101. So we drove back to visit the exhibition. 

And what a welcome J got - the chap in charge was absolutely delighted to hear about Uncle Pen. He showed us personally round the hundreds of items. I had a small claim too - at one point my father had volunteered to go on the convoys, but had ‘missed out’.

We spent ages there, and learned such a lot about the terrible conditions on those ships. J will contact her cousin in NZ to get in touch with the museum to give them more details about her father’s service.

By the time we came out, the day had improved, and for the rest of the trip, we had lovely weather. In fact, we even pulled in on the shores of Loch Maree, got the folding chairs out, made a cuppa with the borrowed thermos and had a picnic while admiring the view. We also took a stroll in the forests to see the Scots Pines. 

We had spent so much time at the museum and having a picnic, that we decided not to do the Applecross detour, which included the highest pass in the UK.

We called in to Plockton for an ice cream, before reaching our destination for the night, Balmacara.

Our favourite castle is just along the road, but we’re too stuffed to go further. It can wait till the morning…