WANDERINGS

I didn't mean to be away so long!! My wanderings have kept me distracted from both this blog and any woollie creations.....

This weekend was a trip to the North West of Scotland with the National Trust. We were going to do some conservation work at Corrieshalloch Gorge a box canyon running for over a mile, including the Falls of Measach - with their 46m drop. You can cross the gorge on a suspension bridge that was built in the 19th century or view them from the viewing platform built in the 21st century - not quite as dramatic as the new Grand Canyon Skywalk but still hovering on the edge of a long drop.




The gorge is close to the village of Ullapool, a planned village built in the 1780s to support the herring industry. By 1900 the fishing fleet had diminished and the small village with it's white cottages and grid plan wide streets remained. In the 1980s the village played host to over 60 Russian Klondykers - floating fish processing factories - and the longest queues you have ever seen for a telephone box began. With the continued decline of the industry the village now relies heavily on tourism for its survival. The surrounding scenery is just amazing, with the village located on the shores of Loch Broom, a vast sea loch, surrounded by mountains. Close to shore lie the the Summer Isles a sanctuary for wildlife and a great day trip.

I don't recall ever having visited Ullapool before and I was struck by the wide village streets, the beauty of it's surroundings and the number of tourists - there weren't many Scottish accents to be heard.





I saw the cutest caravan (yes I know - I'm strange if I think a caravan can be cute!!) I have ever seen - it looked like it belonged in a lego set, was made by Swatch or by Dyson. If I was ever to have a caravan it would need to look like the one in this picture!! A caravan with a view!!

We arrived about 1150pm and we were staying in the village hall. Our accommodation - the hall floor - was actually one of the better places that we have stayed, but there were still no showers and a lack of kitchen utensils. We adapted well to our surroundings, even boiling our potatoes in a teapot and eating our steak pie with spoons!!



The work consisted of clearing brash and burning it, but also planting trees - it is a very rare occurrence this planting business. Most of our work is usual destructive in a constructive sort of way so it was fun to be planting some trees instead!!



My next planned wander is to Stockholm this weekend, let's hope that SAS Airlines strike (which has been on-going since Friday) is over before we have to fly on Thursday!