The nearest petrol station to you is at Laide about 8 miles to the north. Gairloch also has a petrol staion, a small Coop, the Farm and Garden shop(its name can be a bit misleadin because in addition to hardware it has a small range of outdoor clothing, the usual groceries and beers and wines. There is also a small Morrisons(as in the supermarket chain) shop but it is overshadowed by the newish Coop, there is also a Chinese Takeaway and an excellent butchers called Kenneth Morrison.
If you fancy a sea trip about a mile south of the Coop shop is Charletown harbour where this id located -
https://www.hebridean-whale-cruises.co.uk/
We have been out a couple times with them and seen gannets, great skuas, raozorbills, puffins, guillemots, golden and white tailed eagles.
Dave
Rain until Wednesday 1.00pm,Dave. Heavy cloud Thursday, we leave Friday morning so will pack the car Thursday pm. Two reasons we came up this far are my wife wanted to see the NW and despite being brought up near Kilmarnock had never been. Not even to Mull or Skye. Also, so I can give my dad's RN arctic convoy photos. to the museum here. I got an Email this morning asking me to go there in the morning and the curator will go through them. She's really pleased. It's a small building but has a lot of visitors. It's recommended a lot in the visitor's book at our accommodation.
A lot of guests fly to Inverness and hire a car..the guests from Kent,next door..same owners...have done that, but I like to have my photo gear which includes my tripods. It's too far and fairly narrow road and windy,too past Inverness. They are upgrading it, A832...so lots of long roadworks. We would have done a boat trip but that window of opportunity re the weather has gone. As I write this post the rain is hitting the windows like a monsoon. There's been no shoreline wildlife since Sunday....hunkered down somewhere sheltered, I assume. Re Gairloch ..for some reason I've kept spelling it Gaerloch. I imagined it was a small place but,from what you say it's not. But....here's what AI says about the roads. Btw..We'd also planned to go to Ullapool.
The Coastal & Mountain Sections (e.g., around Gairloch, Loch Maree, and towards Ullapool): This is where the road gets much more challenging. The route becomes highly convoluted, with steep climbs, sharp descents, hairpin bends, and numerous blind summits.
Width: While some parts are wide enough for two vehicles, much of the coastal stretch narrows down to a "single-track" road with an abundance of passing places. You will frequently need to pull over to let oncoming traffic pass.
Tbh..We underestimated the drive here. We split the driving but my wife prefers to do the lion's share and the prospect of doing even more driving doesn't exactly fill her with enthusiasm., especially on the type of roads as outlined above.
So.. The scenery en-route was great. We stopped for photos. The view across Loch Ewe, includes the Isle of Ewe right opposite. is fantastic with more mountains beyond but because of the inclement weather they disappear from sight for long periods. It's only 7.20pm but we have the lights on.Sunset is 10.25pm. Would we come again ? No. It took us 48 hours to get back into our stride. It's certainly been relaxing,reading books,..not so relaxing trying to watch the World Cup on a wi-fi tv that kept dropping out just as a free kick outside the six yard box or a penalty was about to be taken..lol. At least we'll get back home in time to watch the final. Hopefully, between now and then our next week in Southerness, Solway Firth will be better...
We'll be back to sunnier climes in September...lol.
And it's not a narrow road - it's an A road with white lines down the middle. Just watch out for the sheep and deer and goats. Oh dear........
