Heading west



The B869

Well, our first real walk ending in getting soaked, and the next morning the weather didn’t look any more promising. Odd, really. I’ve had several holidays in this part of the world at this time of the year and there’s always been a week of sunshine and blue skies. Frost at night, perhaps, but who cares if the day is fine? This year is obviously not going the same way. So we decided to move on and headed off towards Lochinver. Back down the A894 a little way and then off west on the narrow, twisty B869.



Looking north

Wonderful views in spite of the dour weather. And because of the rain (it kept it up all night) the waterfalls were in full spate. Once we got to the top of the hill, so to speak, we could look out across the north of Scotland, and as always, it looked sunny everywhere but where we were. One of the unwritten rules of Scotland is that if the weather is bad, then move on; it will very likely be sunny in the next valley.

We proceeded cautiously. There’s little else you can do when the road is only wide enough for one car, and if you meet something coming in the opposite direction, there’s a scramble to find a place wide enough for both to pass safely.  We found a village at Nedd, quite a sizable community for the remoteness of the spot. I found myself wondering if Tesco delivered from Ullapool, or if the inhabitants drive the fifteen miles to Lochinver every week for groceries.  I suppose I drive ten miles to my favourite supermarket once a week, but that’s on easy dual carriageways, not up and down hillsides on single track roads. Where does everyone work? Perhaps they all work at home via the internet super highway. It’s possible. The outer edges of Scotland were into the electronic age long before everyone else, though it must have been frustrating wback int he days when using the internet tied up your phone line.