Big British Food Map Hiking up the Highlands

Date Published:

16/07/2008

Andrew took a hike up the Highlands to sample Scottish seafood and a wee dram or two

Symbol of Scotland

Covered a lot of ground today. I woke up in the Royal Marine Hotel, Brora, on the east coast then took the A838 all the way to Durness, right up in the top western corner of Scotland. Stunning landscape. Took longer than usual as I kept stopping to take pictures every mile. I even saw a wild deer, (fallow, I think). Landseer would be proud.

Recycling the weather

I was there to visit Cocoa Mountain, which at the time of writing, is the most northerly entry on the mainland on the map. Had a great time. Cocoa Mountain is situated in a craft village. While having a tour round I met Alan, a woodworker, who built his own wooden kayaks. He also had a wind harp, which makes an ethereal sound as the wind (and there's a lot of wind) blows over the strings.

A wee dram...

Put in some mileage today too, back through more amazing scenery. Left the B&B in Kinlochbervie and drove all the way near Fort Augustus to the Tomdoun hotel, built in 1898 on the old road to Skye. The other guests staying were a retired factor and a couple on their honeymoon. The staff were a charming mix of Czechs and one Swede. It would have made for a great modern day Agatha Christie style whodunnit.

...in front of the fire

The temperature dropped as low as six degrees here last night so we got the fire roaring. The Czechs got out a guitar, the whisky was poured and we stayed up telling stories, talking and singing til the wee hours.

Bye bye Branston

Finally said goodbye to the Highlands and pushed on towards the Argyll area. I also said goodbye to Branston, the puppy (pictured, after he'd been playing out in the rain). The marketing phrase for the Highlands is 'Haste ye back', which I'm guessing translates as 'come back soon'. I hope to. The West Coast in particular is stunning. The East Coast, around Caithness, well, let's just say there's a frontier town feel to it. And I didn't even begin to explore the islands. There's so much there you could spend seven months just exploring that.

A Fyne looking loch

Visited Loch Fyne today, home to Loch Fyne oysters. The loch is the largest open sea loch in Europe, apparently. It's this combination of sea and fresh water from the surrounding hills that lend a sweetness to the beautiful bi-valve oysters. I also had a go at shucking one.

Who doesn't?

After a night spent in the George Hotel, Inveraray, with the directors of Loch Fyne, putting the world to rights and toasting the birthday of the landlord, I steeled myself for the five and half hour drive back to Manchester for a friend's wedding. On the way back down the M6 (a road I now know well) I stopped in at Tebay Services where the owners and team were putting the new children's play area through a test run, using their own kids.

Last week Andrew was in Glasgow

Next he's off to Edinburgh.

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