From York to Ben Hope is the same distance as York to Paris.
But if you can drive to Inverness, just press on another half hour beyond the Kessock bridge; and then in the morning it's only like going to the Lake District to move into the Far North. Except that the road is single track and then you turn off onto an even tinier single track for 20 miles into lonely Strath More, with its 2000 year old broch fort.
The walk up Ben Hope is straightforward and under 2 hours. As Ang Ryan and I got to the summit, the skies got bright and clear. The views were amazing over vast empty panoramas. We struggled for adjectives. Sat down and just gazed and gazed for nearly an hour. Amazing.
Nancy and Bill from Canada gawped alongside us. "Just another lousy day in paradise" said Nancy.
We took in most of Scotlands northern coast, spotting tiny white beaches in rocky coves. Out to the northeast, the Orkneys were visible as a distant smudge.
Northwest lay Greenland.
Back at Cromarty Firth near Inverness Steve, Amanda, and Angela Collins joined us for Friday night, and another "Lake District" type drive saw us at Inchnadamph before 10.00 and off up to Conival and Ben More Assynt.
Caves in the Tralligill Valley, inhabited 6000 years ago. Limestone mountains, the way up leading through a rocky cove. Stupendous views again. Another line on the horizon, across the sea SOUTH-west of us, was the Outer Hebrides--- Lewis and Stornoway. Patches of cloud forming. Amanda suspected a trick when I started shouting at folk to hurry along the connecting ridge to Ben More - but as we got there, the cloud bank obligingly rolled below us and Brocken Spectres appeared. Each of us waved to a shadow with a halo of light streaming from its head.
Later, we used a monocular to watch deer grazing far below.
It was early evening when we were back down:- but luckily not driving all the way back. Ang Ryan had asked at Bonar Bridge for accommodation, and found Carbisdale Castle. It's a SYHA but in an actual castle ( well, baronial style stately home) ......totally magnificent. Wow.
On Sunday the good weather tokens ran out. Driving south didn't do much good. We swapped the statues, portraits, clock tower of the Castle for a swift visit to General Wade at Melgarve Bothy, and a short wander into the misty Corrieyaraick Pass.
A damp end, but the stunning hills of the Far North easily
outweighed a few raindrops.
Andrew Eccles
