Private House Stays

The Treacherous Bealach na Bà to Ancient Applecross

archie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:47:56 +0000

The historic road to Applecross is one of the most treacherous but beautiful roads in Scotland (and probably Great Britain) and it links ancient Applecross Bay with Kishorn and the rest of Scotland. If you do start your adventure at Kishorn be sure to pop into the wonderful Kishorn Seafood Bar!

The Views on the Bealach na Ba

The road is situated in Wester Ross on the Applecross Peninsular and is named Bealach na Bà Gaellic – ‘Pass of the Cattle’ as it was historically used as a Drover’s Road. The road was rough gravel until the 1950s when it was modernised.

Nowadays there are two ways to get to the Applecross and its 1300 year old history but we highly recommend the Bealach na Bà! It may be rougher and you may have to take extreme care but the views are astonishing and watching the road unwinding beneath you is like watching a scene from The Italian Job on the Swiss Alps!

The winding road to Applecross

Once you hit the ‘island existence’ of Applecross and have had a hearty lunch at the famous Applecross Inn there is still a lot to do, Applecross is packed with history and beautiful walks. When you are heading back to your B&B if you fancy a quicker route out you can take the quicker (but much less pretty) coast road to Sheildaig.

The road to Applecross is a wonderful route and an exciting adventure for all the family – watch out for the very unique road signs warning of narrow lanes and cautions to learner drivers!

The 'unique' road signs!

Seals, Game and an 170 Acre Oil Rig Repair yard!

archie — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:47:09 +0000

The Cromarty Firth is the middle of the three sea Lochs in between the Dornoch Firth and the Beauly Firth. If you are heading up to famous Helmsdale for a spot of fishing you will drive up the A9 towards Tain and Dornoch and will follow the road as it snakes around the beautiful Cromarty Firth.

Views over the Cromarty Firth

As you cross the long Cromarty Bridge stop at the delicious Storehouse of Foulis the perfect place to break a long journey for soup and a sandwich. They have picnic benches and a wonderful Seal (who flock onto the beaches on the firth for a sunbathe) viewing platform, if it is a sunny day you can sit out and stretch your legs looking at the Seals and views over the Firth of Cromarty to the Oil Rig repair Yard at Nigg.

Views over the Cromarty Firth of the Oil Rig repair yard

If you are turning left off the A9 at Cromarty Bridge towards Ardgay I would highly recommend stopping off at Ardgay Game, they sell great quality fresh wild game on the spot and a lot of the game is from around the Cromarty area – ask for Ruaridh and he will be sure to load your car up with delicious meat!

I would also highly recommend taking a quick drive to Nigg and viewing the huge Oil Rig repair yards. The yards at Nigg used to employ over 5000 people and after lying dormant for a number of years it has recently been bought by Global Energy. If there are rigs being serviced in the yards it is worth hopping on the Nigg Ferry to get a closer look – the yard is about 170 Acres so it is quite a stunning sight!

The drive along the Cromarty Firth is well worth it with alot to do and see, in the winter the scenery really demonstrates the ruggedness of the Highlands but in the summer the fields are ablaze with bright Oil Seed Rape. Book your stay at one of our B&Bs near Cromarty and Nigg or the surrounding area for a wonderful highland break.

Views across the fields

The Rugged Tarbat Ness Peninsular

archie — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 12:41:39 +0000

Tarbat Ness is a peninsular on the rugged north east coast of Scotland and it has a lot to offer. From the Tarbat Ness Lighthouse and the seaside village of Portmahomack to beautiful walks around the Tarbat Ness headland and the excellent Tarbat Ness Discovery Centre, this beautiful area of the east coast is fun for all the family.

The Church at Tarbet Ness

The Tarbat Ness Lighthouse is at the northwest tip of the Tarbat Peninsula and was built in 1830 by Robert Stevenson, the lighthouse is something of a tourist attraction being the third highest lighthouse in Scotland. After 16 ships wrecked just off the coast in the great storm of 1836 the Lighthouse was built at a cost of £9,361!

Tarbet Ness Lighthouse

When visiting Portmahomack and the Tarbat Peninsular I would highly recomend having a fantastic Michelin starred lunch or dinner at Glenmorangie House, it is not far from Portmahomack and well worth the visit for such an exquisite dining experience.

Tarbet Ness Discovery Centre

As well as award winning dining the Tarbat Ness peninsular is home to the award winning Tarbat Ness Discovery Centre and museum. This superb resource gives you an insight into the areas Heritage and the very interesting Pictish history in the surrounding area.

Plaque at Tarbet Ness Discovery Centre

Tarbat Ness is home to a number of excellent highland walking circuits of varying fitness levels. The views along the rocky coast and beaches are stunning but remember to wrap up warm!
Stay on the Peninsular for the weekend or in one of our wonderful B&Bs in the area. Not only is Tarbat Ness a great place for a weekend break but is the perfect way to break a journey if you are travelling north up the A9.

Over the Sea to Skye

archie — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:09:38 +0000

To really get the experience of the most historic route to Skye you have to take the Mallaig to Armadale ferry. Mallaig is the end of the “Road to the Isles” and either you retrace your steps or you step out on the splinter of the North Atlantic Shelf that should be in Iceland or Norway that we know as Skye. Once upon a time this would have been a busier trading location than Liverpool. To get to Skye you can either drive over the Kyle of Lochalsh bridge but this is a good 2 hours drive (even though you do see the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle on the way), whereas Fort William to Mallaig on the ferry is only a little over an hour, really much more fun!

Mallaig Harbour

I recommend that in the high season that you book your ticket in advance with Calmac as it understandably gets very busy! I particularly recommend booking the 1.45pm sailing as you can watch the Jacobite steamtrain come in to the station and if your children smile sweetly you may even charm the engine driver in to letting them inside the drivers cabin! Lunch has to be the fabulous prawn rolls that you buy at the station cafe that you can eat on the seawall while watching the ferry come in.

The view of Skye from the ferry

If you have children and fancy spending the night before in Mallaig there are many wonderful B&Bs around the area, grab a bite to eat at the Cornerstone Seafood Restaurant. Remember to book your accommodation on Skye before you head over! It gets wonderfully busy in the summer!

The Wonderful Glenuig Inn

archie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:53:34 +0000

One of the most beautiful drives you will find anywhere on the West Coast is the drive through Acharacle at the south-west corner of Loch Shiel heading northwards on the A861 until you reach the road to the Isles near Lochailort.

The Glenuig Inn

After you have sampled the delights of Loch Shiel and Loch Moidart, you can then head to one of the most surprising Inns that you will ever find, perched on the south side of the South of Arisaig – the Glenuig Inn.

The Glenuig bar

It has been completely refurbished in the last couple of years to make it one of the most energy efficient, warm, cosy and welcoming places that you could ever expect to find in the middle of nowhere! The day I visited we were greeted by the owner Steve and made to feel incredibly welcome as soon as we walked through the door. The menu looked sensational and if I was a sea kayaker or a hill-walker I would unquestionably have booked myself in here for a hearty lunch or dinner.

The Glenuig bar area

Places like this simply do not survive unless their reputation brings people from miles around and Steve deserves every success.

The Delicious Loch Leven Seafood Restaurant

archie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:46:29 +0000

The Loch Leven Seafood Restaurant is located down the road to Kinlochleven from North Ballachulish near lots of lovely B&Bs. Not only is the food fabulous at Loch Leven but the restaurant has a vast wholesaling business attached that happily retails fish to the public.

The seafood cafe

When I went there in July, I bought an enormous 6lb lobster that they cooked for me on the spot and loaded me up with soft clams, razor clams (very under-rated), languostine, scallops, kippers, sole and white-fish fillets. Not only were they incredibly lovely people, but they vacuum packed our fish, threw in lemons and some home-made mayonnaise and charged me a very reasonable price for it all!

Loch Leven lobster

You could even take your gorgeous fresh fish back to your B&B and have it cooked at home to perfection! If you go late in the afternoon you may even be given some of the fish that has been unsold from the restaurant that day. I could not recommend The Loch Leven Seafood Restaurant highly enough.

The outside of the cafe and the wholesaling business

Visit To Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse

archie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:31:41 +0000

In July I took the family to Ardnamurchan Point lighthouse. It is a full hour and a quarter drive along single track roads from Salen but it is well worth it particularly on a bright summers day. The real joy of coming here is that there is no other point on the west coast that gives you a chance to really orientate yourself in relation to the scattered islands of Skye, Mull, Arisaig, Coll, Tiree and the Mainland. This part of the west coast can get very confusing with all the bays and lochs of the coastline but this just adds to the beauty.

Looking out from Ardnamurchan lighthouse

The lighthouse itself is also of some interest – a Stevenson lighthouse, which I thought was one famous engineer but I discovered was several generations of the Stevenson family who built lighthouses all over the British Isles.

Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse

The exhibition centre and entrance to the top of the lighthouse itself is the perfect way to learn more about the lighthouse and the family and the staff were wonderfully friendly particularly to the children. The exhibition was atmospheric and had some really interesting facts and stories to tell about the pioneering spirit of those building the lighthouses around Britain in the early days when lighthouses were so important as so much trade was carried by ships and shipwrecks could cause such collossal financial ruin. Definitely a fun and educational day out on the west coast, suitable for all the family.

Ardnamurchan Lighthouse foghorn

Arisaig, perfect for all the family

archie — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 15:20:54 +0000

The village of Arisaig is otherwise known as ‘the safe place’ and this is the perfect safe place to let your children play outside and really explore.

The beaches around Arisaig became particularly famous after the 1983 Bill Forsyth film Local Hero came out. The beaches around Arisaig are really quite idyllic and perfect for children because of the little inlets and coves for them to explore. Within the bay, that could stretch as much as half a mile out, there was sheltered water so the children could play without going out of their depth. There were brilliant jumping rocks and sea urchins to find and space for the children to explore without being too far out of earshot.

In and around Arisaig there are lots of wonderful places to stay, take your time and stay for the weekend to fully appreciate the beauty of the beaches and the surrounding area!