🙂 Stunning scenery. Impressive Whisky bar. Stags. Tough Walk.
🙁 Expensive Whisky Bar! Tough Walk.
OCTOBER 2022
We flew into Inverness and picked up our hire car. Our first night was at the Torridon Estate … a huge rambling old mansion on the Loch which had been bought by a couple from Germany, although his wife was originally from the area – just stunning. Quite reasonable rates, particularly as Scotland accommodation seems to have sky rocketed! It was perfect for our first night as our hike the next day is on the door step. Breakfast was served in our room.
We completed the challenging but spectacular Beinn Alligin Circuit. We had wondered why the chap at the hotel had commented that we ‘should’ be fit enough to complete the hike … it really was very tough – lots of ups and downs! Fortunately we had clear sunny skies which made every painful step worthwhile – it truly is magnificent.
Absolutely STUNNING.
We had a snack before the next summit which was equally fantastic.
As we rounded the horns the mist started to lower – we had timed it perfectly. We watched Golden Eagles flying the thermals while we sipped our soup – divine.
We thought that the hard work was over – it was far from over! There were the horns to contend with and further ups and downs and a very long walk back!
We were half dead.
On our drive to the Torridon, we spotted a family of deer strolling through town.
We arrived at the wonderful Torridon Hotel as the sun set. The Torridon Hotel is a stunning boutique hotel located on the shores of Loch Torridon, with wonderful mountain views. It has been featured in the TV series Amazing Hotels hosted by Monica and Giles who stay all over the world to work in the most amazing hotels. This is Britain’s most Northerly five star hotel. It is an ideal base for a hiking trip. The food at their 1887
Restaurant was also exquisite. Perfectly prepared gourmet meals with attentive service. Our highlight was the bar: cosy and comfortable and with
over 365 whiskies to sample! Not enough time!
It was so cosy and inviting after our long walk! We had a quick drink by the fire place while we checked in and then it was time to soak in the bath! Our room was lovely with views across the Loch and mountains – divine.
We enjoyed a splendid dinner in 1887 – the restaurant gets it’s name from the year the hotel was built, when it was a shooting lodge to the Earl of Lovelace. Dining is for residents only and all produce is sourced from the extensive two acres of kitchen gardens, surrounding farms and lochs.
After an excellent night sleep we were up early to explore the hotel and we did a shorter local walk.
Even this walk proved to be a lot further than we had anticipated! The skies were clear and the views were beautiful.
After our walk we headed to the bar and enjoyed some cocktails. A beautiful stag passed casually by the window.
That evening we went to the pub attached to the hotel for dinner. The Beinn Bar gets its’ name from Beinn Damph, the neighbouring mountain. Located next to Bo & Muc restaurant, the building was the original buttery and dairy on the farm that served the old resort. We bumped into a couple that we had met that day on the mountain. We sneaked them into the whisky bar – but as they were residents they could not pay so we in our drunken generosity said it was all fine …expensive gesture!! Oh well – we all had fun.
The next morning after breakfast we explored the kitchen gardens.
What an excellent stay – just a fantastic place. We bade them a sad farewell and headed off to do a bit of a road trip. This road is just spectacular.
We drove to Appletree – just so pretty with more deer.
The Bealach na Ba climb road rises 626 metres above its sea-level starting point on an incline that is 5.5 miles long. The Bealach na Ba is 20% at its steepest gradient, has lots of switchback turns, and is single-track, making overtaking virtually impossible for cars. Dramatic scenery!
It was wonderful to watch the stags arguing over the ladies.
We met our friends from the previous evening at a lovely fresh seafood shack called Kishorn in Appletree – the seafood platter was delicious.
We continued on our drive and stopped off at Rogie falls where we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the salmon trying to run up the falls.
Another amazing trip to this stunning part of the world.
