Our return to the Scottish mainland was to Loch Ewe. The entry is marked by numerous look out stations and disused gun turrets, having been the main despatch point for the Arctic convoys in WWII; it is still a NATO staging post.
In spite of this status, and of being within 5 miles of the Loch Ewe VHF transmitter, at our anchorage we were unable to pick up the coastguard weather reports and there was no mobile signal or internet (though wherever we go ashore we seem to almost get run down by a BT Open Reach van so maybe they are working on that). In the end we had to go to the Inverewe garden café for lunch and wifi, just to get a weather forecast. Not a problem, as Inverewe gardens, was our reason for anchoring here: an improbable oasis of plant-life shelters behind a cover of scots pine planted to provide protection from the elements. They were established in 1862 by Osgood MacKenzie and continued throughout his lifetime and afterwards for 30 years by his daughter, before being handed to the Scottish National Trust.
The damp weather did not improve, and we spent most of the following day re-stitching the UV strip onto the genoa. Most of the stitching on the foot and a good number of places on the leech needed attention. With the tough material, this became more and more painful on the fingers, even though we were simply putting new thread through the existing stitch holes. With both of us working on it, it took about 8 hours!
Moving north, with dwindling supplies and depleted batteries after days at anchor, we came into Lochinver, which sits under the shadow of the rather peculiar shaped mountain of Suilven. Walking up it was one of the most spectacular hill walks we have ever done. In rare, cloud-free moments the top is visible from the pontoon where we were moored, so no messing about with buses or bikes to get to the start. There’s a pleasant 5 mile walk in, gradually gaining a couple of hundred metres of height, then it’s a mile straight up the side of the hill to the summit at about 800m and back down (somewhat footsore)the same way. There were some “airy” moments crossing small ridges with big drops on both sides, and a few bits of scrambling but, miraculously, the conditions were perfect: dry, clear and with a well-constructed path (unlike some of our previous walks)that avoid wading the bog and unstable slopes. The views from the top quarter are amazing, the beautiful landscape of north west Scotland is laid out, mountains surrounded by rivers and lochans and far out sea.
Ventata 