TRIP 1 NORTH WEST ROSS, SUTHERLAND AND CAITHNESS APRIL 2018

HIGHLAND GOURMET TRIPS

TRIP 1 – ULLAPOOL/KYLESKU/DURNESS/DUNNET/WHALLIGOE

12^th - 14^th April 2018

DAY 1 – THURSDAY 12TH APRIL

We started early on the Thursday morning, picking Susan and Robin up just before 0930 on a dull, but reasonable, day in Inverness. Once we had packed a vast amount of stuff into the boot, we set off for Ullapool. This designed town was founded in 1788. It was set out by Thomas Telford on behalf of the British Fisheries Society to take advantage of the huge herring fishery that existed off the west coast at that time. The herring have now all gone and Ullapool relies heavily on tourism. It is also one of the gateways to the Western Isles and the ferry sails from here to Stornoway. Many yachts also use the harbour and there are still some fishing boats landing at the port.

The town has a reputation for culture and there are lots of festivals celebrating music and the arts throughout the year. The town also sits on the side of Loch Broom and is surrounded by some spectacular mountain scenery.

Most importantly from our point of view, there is the Frigate Cafe, which serves up some very fine cakes to go with a morning tea or coffee. That’s why we were there. After we enjoyed our choice of gingerbread, lemon and lime drizzle cake and raspberry almond slice, we had a short walk on the pier and along the front.

Whilst there are some nice places to stay in Ullapool, we were moving further north. We set off out of town in glorious sunshine, heading out of Ross and Cromarty and into Sutherland. Our next stop was on the shores of Loch Assynt, at a spot just along from Ardvreck Castle and Calda House. These are spectacular ruins in a fabulous setting. The Castle was the scene of the betrayal and capture of the Marquis of Montrose, after he was defeated by the Covenanters at the Battle of Carbisdale in 1650. The Castle was ultimately abandoned and replaced with nearby Calda House in 1726. Calda burnt down in 1737 and has remained in ruins since then.

However, we were not there to take in some ancient history. We were there to visit Craig’s Cache and bench. Craig was the son of our friends and neighbours, Pam and Hugh and he tragically drowned at this spot in July 2008. Pam and Hugh had a bench erected at the site and we had gone with them just over a year ago to place a geocache there. Robin and Susan had never been and we wanted to check that the cache was still in good condition.

It was very blustery and the wind was bitterly cold, so we did not stay too long. The cache was good and the site still is a very poignant and starkly beautiful place to visit.

Soon we were back in the shelter of the car and on our way again. Instead of going to Lochinver, which has a variety of places to eat and stay in, we turned north on the very narrow and twisting Drumbeg road. Not so many tourists go this way, but the rewards are fantastic. The scenery is outstanding, the road tricky and the beaches beyond compare. We detoured off the road to go down to the beach at Achmelvich. Had the weather been a bit warmer, we might as well have been transported to the West Indies or some Pacific Island! The beach here is magnificent and even sharing it with the other 20 or so people there was no real hardship. Sharon and I have been here a few times, but Robin and Susan had never been. I expect they might go again at some point in the future. It really is too good to miss.

By now it was getting on for lunch time, so we left paradise behind and carried on towards Clachtoll for our next meal. This was to be at Flossie’s. We had never been there, but it has some amazing reviews and it surely is one of the quirkiest places we have eaten in for a long time. Flossie’s is actually a shop for the nearby caravan site, but it is possibly the smallest shop in Scotland. It also sells hot rolls and tea and coffee, which you can eat on the benches outside. You can’t eat inside as there is only room for 2 or 3 paying customers standing inside at any one time. Robin had a sausage roll, but the rest of us had the most fabulous bacon and egg rolls. The bacon was crispy and the eggs had the yellowest yolks we had ever seen. The drinks could have been hotter, but the whole experience was slightly surreal and more than slightly wonderful. Flossie’s fame has spread far and wide and by the time we were ready to leave, there was a bit of a crowd.

It was a fairly short drive to our next stop at Stoer Lighthouse. Sharon and I had visited here before where there is another little kiosk selling food. However, the opening hours are a bit erratic and sure enough, it was closed. So, just as well we had filled up at Flossie’s. When we were there last, the benches had been chained down to stop them being blown away in the gales which seem all too common hereabouts. You get some fantastic views from the lighthouse over the sparkling sea to the mountains of Wester Ross and Skye as well as to the hills of the Western Isles.

The lighthouse was built by Stevenson in 1870. It is actually quite short for a lighthouse, being only 14 metres high. However, it sits on the top of the cliffs which are 54 metres high, which means the light can be seen 24 miles away. It is well worth the visit, especially on a day like today when you can see so much and so far.

There was still food to eat today, so we made our way back to the Drumbeg road, after a quick stop at the little honesty box for the Culkein Store. You can leave your money in the box as payment for a delicious range of jams and chutneys. It didn’t take long for that and then we were at our next stop - the Secret Tea Garden at Drumbeg. This is part of Assynt Aromas, which sells candles and smelly stuff as well as tea and a gorgeous array of cakes. Whilst we didn’t buy any fragrances, we did go for the cakes. Chocolate orange, white chocolate & raspberry, mango & passion fruit and salted caramel were chosen and subsequently devoured and enjoyed. They all came in dinky little labelled napkins.

However pleasant this was, dinner was calling, so it was back to the car and on to our final destination for the day, the Kylesku Hotel. It wasn’t a long drive and we were soon at the hotel to check in. It had been a long day in the car and a bit of a walk seemed like a good idea, both to uncrease ourselves and to work up an appetite for dinner. We drove across the Kylesku bridge, parked and walked down to the old north ferry pier. The elegantly curved bridge was opened in 1984 to replace the old Kylesku ferry which had run across the narrows for more than 200 years. Bob and Sharon had actually travelled on the old ferry. In fact, Bob had once tried to catch the ferry to get from Kinlochbervie to Ullapool for a meeting one dark and stormy night. However, the ferry was off because of the weather and he had to make a 100 mile detour to get to Ullapool. In these days, there was a hand operated petrol pump for fuel at the old hotel. The new hotel is much improved and is far and away the best place to stay and eat if you are anywhere nearby. The walk was nice and the local seal seemed to find us interesting too.

Just when we thought that a damned near perfect day couldn’t get any better, it was time for dinner; though not before a nice drink, a quick bath and another gin and tonic. We had a good table next to the windows overlooking the loch and the old south ferry pier. This was the same pier, where an hour or so before, a fishing boat had unloaded boxes of langoustines into a small refrigerated lorry which would take them to who knows where? The seafood here is very fresh and super tasty. We had starters of spineys, smoked mackerel pate with beetroot & horseradish and black pudding & apple salad.

Mains were scallops with kedgeree & crispy kale, venison with mash and langoustine scampi. It was all very good – faultless, we agreed. Spineys are squat lobsters and are found all over the west coast. However, they cannot be kept alive once caught and cannot be transported south or to the continent in the same way that langoustines are. They may be squat, but they certainly are tasty with a bit of garlic butter and toasted sourdough bread.

This was all washed down with a nice bottle of Sauvignon Gris and a large glass of Chocolate Box Shiraz for Robin who was not having fish. We repaired to the cosy lounge for some fine whisky and liqueurs and a good chat with the duty manager and the barman. They had come from England and Canada respectively and they weren’t for going back! One of the defining characteristics of the hotel is the friendliness and helpfulness of the owners and the staff. They really do go out of their way to ensure you enjoy yourself and they certainly succeeded with us. We will be back for sure.

DAY 2 FRIDAY 13TH APRIL

It was a bit grey and dull with some rain and drizzle in the morning. Nonetheless, the view from the dining room window offered some consolation as well as a suggestion that it might be a bit brighter as the day wore on. It certainly wasn’t so bad that we would have to change our plans to visit Handa Island that morning. The hotel owners had phoned the Handa ferry to check that they were running and when we might expect to make the trip. The ferry was running and we had plenty time to get the crossing which was due to sail at 1100. All we had to do was eat our fine breakfast, drive to Tarbet and jump on the boat. That is exactly what we did. As it is a trip about food, and breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day, we took our time to make sure we had a very decent one.

Aside from the usual juices, yogurts and fruit, we all ordered something cooked. We had kedgeree with poached egg, kipper with poached egg and scrambled egg with honey smoked salmon. Thus fortified we paid the bill and wistfully left in the drizzle for Tarbet.

We got there in plenty time and the rain stopped and it started to clear. We bought our tickets and had a chat with the ferryman. It was then that we had our first failure. We were hoping to have lunch at the Shorehouse when we returned from the island. However, it appeared that the owners had had to leave in a hurry to visit their sick dog at the vets in Glasgow! There would be no lunch in what seemed to be a really fine little seafood restaurant, where the fish is cooked by the family of the fisherman who lands the catch at the same pier we were about to sail from. We might have ordered the fresh Handa crab salad, or the local langoustines or, perhaps the locally smoked salmon. Instead, we had to make do with our Kit-Kat and a cup of tea on the island.

After a 10 minute crossing we landed on the beach, where we were met by Scottish Wildlife Trust volunteers who took us to a small information centre. Nearby, there is still a small graveyard where bodies were brought to from the Scourie area on the mainland due to graves regularly being raided by wolves! The archaeological records for the graveyard make reference to evidence of a small building, which would most likely have been a chapel. The beach that we landed on is known as Traigh an Teampaill – the beach of the temple.

The volunteers told us where to walk, what to see and what not to do and then set us free to find our own way around what turned out to be a really fascinating place. The walking is easy on boardwalks and paths. There is lots to see and the advice to go clockwise was well worth following.

The island was inhabited up until 1847, when the remaining 64 residents left to go to Nova Scotia following a devastating potato famine. This is slightly surprising as the islanders were reported in the Statistical Accounts to have had a varied diet of oats, fish and seabirds as well as potatoes. They may have been cleared for sheep farming. You can still see the remains of the village. Handa seems to have been occupied for a long time. The name itself, in Gaelic, is Eilean Shannda. While the Eilean is Gaelic, the Shannda is Norse in origin, referencing a sandy river. Viking place names are common on the west coast.

The islanders ran a “parliament” like that on St Kilda. The oldest widow on the island was the Queen of Handa. Today, it is a bird sanctuary and in the breeding season there might be up to 200,000 birds on the island. The main species are Guillemot and Razorbill, but there are large numbers of Arctic and Great Skuas, Fulmar and Kittiwake as well as the more famous Puffins. At this time of year, the numbers are low. In fact, only 5 Puffins had been recorded as we were there and we didn’t see any of them. We saw plenty of Great Skuas and Fulmars as well as Wheatears, Skylarks and most exciting of all, a juvenile Sea Eagle.

Of course, it is not just birds, but great views and coastal scenery to see as well. More people have stood on the moon than on the top of the sea stack, below!

There were also lots of rabbits and, of course, the remains of the settlement that housed the last 64 people on the island.

We had to wait to get off the island and it did start to get really cold and the boat journey was quite bitter so we were glad to get into the car. Susan was more grateful then most, given the depths to which she had previously sunk when she stepped into a bog. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo.

No lunch was available, so we had to press on northwards to find some sustenance. We made it to Durness and found ourselves at the craft village – in particular, we found ourselves at Cocoa Mountain. This is supposed to be the home of the best hot chocolate. Susan and Robin seemed to agree. Sharon and I had tea! We all had a chocolate croissant and there was no dispute about how good they were and how essential they were to our continued existence. After that fortification, we had a look about the village, but it was very cold, so we headed for our bed for the night at Smoo Lodge.

Amazingly, we were given some chocolates from Cocoa Mountain with a cup of tea, before we even got our bags to the room. Smoo Lodge is a former 18^th Century hunting lodge brought tastefully up to date with some style. It was cold though, or perhaps we were just cold from the ferry and craft village. It did feel warmer by the end of the evening and after a few drinks. Before dinner we met in the lounge for a drink and a nibble and here we met the only other guest, John, from Liverpool, but living in Devon. He was a retired aviator and a bit of a lady’s man it turned out. He joined us for dinner and had the same to eat as us, as that was his only choice. The lady of the house is Korean and not a professional chef, so she cooks to order and we had ordered weeks before we had arrived. John had no choice. We all had tempura prawns and vegetables with dipping sauce, pork belly, stir fried vegetables and rice and then lemon tart. The tart was the highlight, while the rest was nice, but not fantastic, but I ate it all, without necessarily taking a photo first.

After dinner we spent the evening in the lounge drinking whisky with John and finding out a bit about his quite full love life. However, we were all a bit tired and soon went to bed. The bed linen and pillows were quite the best we have slept in for some considerable time. It really was very comfortable and cosy. So much so, that Sharon checked the labels in the morning for future reference. Suffice to say we slept very well.

Day 3 – Saturday 14^th April

After our really good sleep we were up reasonably sharp as we had a fair amount of mileage to do today. It was certainly a warmer day than yesterday and there was a bit of sun about. We had arranged to have breakfast quite early and we had also ordered in advance, so we knew what we were getting, or at least some of us did. There was a selection of cereal and juice along with ham, cheese and the likes. Freshly cut fruit came to the table. Then Sharon and Susan had porridge, which they proclaimed to be very good. Bob and Robin had the full Scottish, which was also very good and just what you would expect. Sharon and Susan then had the Korean breakfast, which seemed to require a taste that they had not yet acquired. There was rice, some type of coddled egg and Kimchi, which is fermented cabbage. There were sheets of crispy seaweed on the side. They liked the egg and Susan said she could eat the kimchi, but she didn’t actually finish it. It was not a success, at least not for Sharon and Susan. Robin and Bob were happy.

We said our goodbyes to John and tried to settle the bill. There was a problem with the credit card machine and we were allowed to leave without being sure that we had actually paid. The owners were happy to wait and see and, if the payment had not gone ahead, we could transfer the money in a few days time. Remarkably trusting. Did I say that the owners were called Merlin and Kyunghee? It was an experience.

After we left Smoo Lodge, we went to have a quick look at Balnakeil beach and the adjacent golf course. The golf course is supposed to be the most northerly in mainland Britain and the final hole involves a 155 yard drive across the Atlantic. One day, we will go for a game. The beach is quite magnificent and I should have taken a photo. The beach is also the site of a Viking burial. A teenage boy was buried in Viking times along with a huge range of grave goods. He was uncovered by a storm in 1991 by holidaymakers. He was probably buried about 770 – at least 1200 years before.

We then headed east towards Caithness. The road was pretty quiet, but we did meet a group of very expensive, fast and noisy sports cars, probably trying to do the route in a record time. I bet they didn’t see as much as we did. We were quite taken with Ard Neackie on the shores of Loch Erriboll.

This is the site of old lime kilns which were built by the Reay Estate in 1840. Limestone is a soil improver and once the rock had been crushed and burnt in the kilns, it was shipped far and wide. The lime was used to improve the condition and the acidity of soils, particularly in peaty areas, which would mean much of the Highlands. Loch Eriboll is also the deepest sea loch in Britain and was used as a naval anchorage. It was used as the rendezvous site for the surrender of German U-boats at the end of the Second World War. Over 30 U-boats gathered here to surrender in May 1945. All we saw was a wintering Slavonian Grebe.

We carried on until we got to the Kyle of Tongue causeway, where we stopped to drink in the peace and quiet and to look around. The sun was warm and bright and it was all very pleasant. We kept heading east, crossing the very top of the Scottish mainland, passing innumerable empty, but beautiful beaches

We carried on into Caithness, which people have mixed views about. I have to say that the flatness gives rise to big skies that you just don’t find anywhere else. However, we were getting a bit hungry, so we had to find somewhere for a bite.

The place we found was the Blue Door Diner in Thurso. None of us had ever been there before and, looking at it, you could tell why. It was a bit run down and 1970’s looking. It was remarkably busy, though, which we took to be good sign. This is Thurso’s take on an American road diner and it tries pretty hard. It was a bit different, but it has to be said, the pancakes were really pretty good and they kept us going, which is what we were looking for.

We didn’t otherwise stay in Thurso and perhaps we need to think about that on another trip. There are some restaurants with good reviews that must be worth checking out. We carried on a little further east and then turned north towards Dunnet Head, the most northerly point on the British mainland (not John O’Groats). That was not our destination, however. We had done plenty of eating and a bit of drinking, but this was our first visit to a distillery.

It wasn’t just any distillery, but the Dunnet Bay Distillery. It is here that they make Rock Rose, a favourite gin of Susan and Sharon. Astonishingly, they didn’t turn down the chance of samples of a variety of gins, but they did seem to prefer the original. Robin and Susan were kind enough to buy us a bottle as a very welcome thank you.

After that fine and fun interlude, we went across country to Wick and thence to our lunch stop, the Whalligoe Steps Cafe. Whalligoe is hardly marked on any maps and the steps and the cafe are not well signposted. Luckily, we knew what to look for and managed to get parked and then walked to the Cafe. At this point it looked like we were going to some little farm and Robin, in particular, was looking a little apprehensive. Well there was no need. The Cafe is famous for its location and for its food.

The Cafe is inside an old building which was a herring station used for salting and storing herring caught by local crofters. The herring were landed at the bottom of the cliff and then they were carried in baskets up the cliff by the women. There are allegedly 365 steps cut into the cliff to allow that. This must have been backbreaking work and not a little dangerous. The herring were transported in barrels of salt to Thrumster to catch the train to London. The steps were apparently still in use in the 1960’s.

The Cafe has been there since 2011 and the couple that run it have made a real success of it. The dining area looks through a huge window to the cliffs and there is some interesting artwork on the walls. The menu is larger than you might think and they even have a separate home-made ice cream and sorbet menu!

We had some really fresh and fabulous food. Sharon and Susan shared some mezzes of roast onion hummus, honey and ginger aubergine, halloumi chips, tempura hake along with salads and home-made flatbread. Robin had spiced lamb with roast onion hummus, salad and flatbread. Bob had a Ftira, which is a Maltese pizza folded up at the edge to contain the filling of tomato sauce topped with chilli and garlic crushed potato, crumbled sausage meat with fennel seeds, olives, thyme and a little cheese. It was all truly wonderful and a fine end to our trip. We will certainly be back to Whalligoe.

Suitably replete, we had a look at the Steps, with a free soft cloud of a marshmallow in our hands. The steps are really very impressive and probably worth a walk down to the bottom, but time and full stomach would not allow that. Next time, steps first, food after. After that, it was time to go home and we were back in Inverness by 6 o’clock buoyed by the news that Caley had beaten Dumbarton 5 1.

As a sort of first, but long, run at this – 391 miles – our trip was a huge success, due, in no small part, to Susan and Robin being happy to boldly go to places they didn’t know and that we had just come up with after a bit of research. They only knew where we were sleeping, everything else was a surprise – hopefully a nice one. It could all have gone horribly wrong, but it didn’t. It is time we set about planning the next instalment.