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Am heading up to Gairloch next weekend with my girlfriend. We got a good deal on a couple of nights in the Gairloch Hotel.
Our plan is to drive part-way up from Edinburgh on Friday and camp somewhere (Glencoe maybe), then finish the drive up on Saturday.
So, two questions.
1) Any good campsites around Glencoe? (My girlfriend isn't really into sleeping in a ditch and likes to poop in a toilet unlike us STW-ers)
2) What's good to do around Gairloch? We've got a wee inflatable kayak, so thought we'd have a paddle about in one of the lochs. Thought we'd go to the beach for a wander as well.
How about bike rides? She's not much of a cyclist, but could do 10 miles or so on forest tracks or whatever. I can get a mountain bike for her.
Is there anything else worth seeing/doing in the area? I don't know it well - only been up to cycle round Torridon once and also did a high speed pass on a motorbike about 10 years ago....
When I read the title I thought it must be a teenage boy just joined
Not the famous Gulag Hotel ? There is a decent pie shop if I recall correctly.
Good Friday title.
You could always run around naked celebrating that there are no midge.
#reasonstobecheerful
Have a daunder up to Lochan Sgeireach starting from just behind Shieldaig lodge and have a look at the WW2 aircraft wreckage.
have a look at the WW2 aircraft wreckage.
who says romance is dead
Go to Red Point and just drink in that view.
Famous gulag hotel???? It did look pretty old fashioned in the pictures.
I am sure the girlfriend would love to go poking around in some old wreckage.
Red Point looks lovely - good shout
I'm an old wreckage - as long as she's gentle I'm in!
When I read the title I thought it must be a teenage boy just joined
This made my day. 🙂
Ride to the lighthouse at smooth point.
Very quiet road. Couple of short sharp hills. Lovely ride with amazing views from the cliff tops. And the rocks at the end by the lighthouse are amazing.
There's a campsite in Glencoe (Red Squirrel?) just along the old road past the Clachaig Inn. There's also the youth hostel.
Easy riding near Gairloch. There are a few estate tracks leading in towards Fisherfield, most start a bit further north towards Gruinard. Completely non-technical and are "out and back" unless you've a packraft but good views.
If you've a fine evening then Red Point as above.
If the weather's crap and/or you are into gardening then there's Inverewe Gardens. Apart from that there's not much "tourist" stuff.
If you've got to Gairloch via Torridon then it's worth returning via Loch Broom and picking up the Ullapool-Inverness road. This is part of the NC500 route but the views are stunning.
I'd go up the A9 and break the journey in Aviemore. Rothiemurchus, Glenmore, Dalraddy and the new campsite up by the go karts are all good with staggering distance to food/entertainment.
And Mellon Udrigle beach is defo worth a gander.
I have only vague memories of going there on family camping holidays - then stayed at a mate's house up by Mellon Charles. Damn - got me keen to revisit it!
A bit further south than Glencoe there's the Pine Trees caravan park. There's a river running through it. The same river is next to commercial gold mines upstream from the campsite and staying at the campsite lets you pan for gold in the river
Do actually have a packraft....
Good shout on the gardens too, the gf is a keen gardener
We were kayaking from Gairloch in August and saw, in Gairloch itself, maybe 800m offshore, a basking shark, and later dolphins and a minke whale. There were tour boats out looking at them as well. I don't know what the chances of spotting them are, but might be worth checking what's on offer.
From the title, I thought it would be about the Isle of Ewe...
Yes, Inverewe Gardens are worth a look. plenty of interesting trees/plants etc, even if not really into gardening. And some red squirrels. And the cafe is not bad.
Also a boat trip from Inverewe, looking for seals etc.
Gairloch Museum has recently moved into a new building, could be interesting, or at least out the weather.
Things to do around Gairloch with my girlfriend
See if you can get her to Poolewe?
If the weather is calm, paddling to the islands on Loch Maree is wonderful. It does, though, get weird winds very quickly if it changes.
We rode up from Gruinard to Loch na Sealga. Good Landrover track, though a ford got me when I tried it full pelt!
You can ride up towards Fionn Loch, a wild spot with amazing views into the Fisherfield Forest, though the ride itself is relatively ordinary.
The Barn cafe at Sands Campsite is outstanding, more restaurant in the evenings. Might be worth exploring that direction then calling in.
The hills around are, of course, fabulous. Just pottering about in amazing scenery will fill several days.
A group of us were there in May staying in the Gairloch hotel, it's not a bad hotel. Whilst I was riding around Torridon, my wife cycled up the side of Loch Ewe just North of Gairloch. Apparently it was the assembly point for the Baltic convoys during WW2 before heading off to Russia. Not sure how much infrastructure remains but she found it interesting.
A paddle round Anthrax Island would be pretty erm.. sick.
Came in to give an answer, then remembered you're not at centre parcs! !
centre parcs! !
LOL
Just recalled as well - sometimes still there are, or were, nuke subs appearing in Loch Ewe. Certainly mate's house has some pills / tablets to take in case of radioactive emergency 😉
Yes, there is a NATO fuel depot and pier at Aultbea. So could be some interesting boats around, possibly submarines.
*update*
Turned out to be a great wee trip!
We stayed in the Red Squirrel campsite in Glencoe the first night, after doing some walking around the 3 Sisters of Glencoe. Good campsite - nice toilets/showers etc, great setting:
Next day we drove over to Skye and had a wander round Armadale Castle - had a look at Knoydart - may have to get over there at some point!
There's a really bad bit of road on the way up to Gairloch, near Attadale. An A road which is single track with passing places. Ended up bursting a tyre on the car after a campervan coming the other way didn't pull into the passing place and I had to swerve off the road to avoid them... So, on with the space saver and the rest of the journey at 50mph
As expected, the scenery was great - had a lovely sunset coming up into Gairloch:
The hotel was a bit old fashioned and staffed by incompetent backpackers - loved the carpeted lift:
Found a nice, American hippy style cafe the next day and ate cakes before taking my packraft out around Loch Maree, which supposedly has the only island in a loch in an island in a loch in Scotland:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B3ARHYljwFF/
Then home via Dingwall to get a new tyre.
Nice! Did you go visit the sub-sub-island? Went there a couple of years ago with the wife and camped on one of the other islands.
I'm needing a West coast trip soon.