Just a quick note to share with you last weekend in Wester Ross, Scotland <BR> <BR>The area around Gairloch, Wester Ross, is rightly famous for scenery and the laid back attitude of the residents. <BR> <BR>A friend and I drove up after work on Friday night, and stopped in the village of Badachro, on Badachro Bay on the south side of Gairloch. It's very pretty- nice harbour and pier, old crof houses, and, most important...a very nice pub. <BR> <BR>The Badachro Inn has recently changed hands and has a few good beers on tap and does good, if plain, food. <BR> <BR>It does not have rooms but does have a small cottage it rents by the night ( 3 bedrooms, 6 beds and a bed settee) which costs from £49 per night if you take if for one night to £27 if you take it for a week. <BR> <BR>There are 2 more B&Bs in the village and Harbour View where we stayed was vry pleasant without being anything to write home about. <BR> <BR>On Saturday we went hillwalking in Torridon- on of Scotland's more impressive ranges-hugely to be recommended but not for the fainthearted. Stopped for a drink at the Ben Damh Lodge when we got down- very hikerish. <BR>Gairloch and Poolewe and beauiful viallges with masses of B&Bs and good local facilities. I once stayed in the Pool House Hotel at Poolewe for a weekend- medium class hotel- very good food. <BR> <BR>Anyone who's doing Scotland in more than a week would be well recommended to give Torridon a go.

Thanks Sheila - I'd asked about Torridon in another post. Heard about a great hotel there - Loch Torridon Hotel. Did you happen to come across it? I was wondering how difficult it is to drive in that area ( the only reference I've come across is a "hair raising pass of cattle" or something like that)!

I have responded to your query elsewhere, but to expand..... <BR> <BR>The Loch Torridon is a Victorian Gothic former country house at the head of Upper Loch torridonin a superb location. It is an upmarket kind of place, and, frankly, wouldn't be my choice. Diff'rent strokes... <BR> <BR>I did meet a retired doctor and his wife on Colonsay in May and thhey absolutely swore by it and go every year. <BR> <BR>If you're driving, which should not be a problem- the roads are narrow but virtually empty, I would be inclined to suggest either the homelier Applecross Inn or the Pool House in Poolewe. I guess I just don't like the kind of place where you could hear a pin drop in the dining room, and I think it would be a bit like that. <BR> <BR>Let me know what sort of place you specifically like and I'll see what comes to mind <BR> <BR> <BR>

Thanks Sheila! I'm looking to stay in places that are gorgeous but not stuffy. Hard to find that, I know. Atmosphere is important - doesn't hurt to have a ghost or two! But I thrive on nature and good scenery can make the trip for me, especially if there is wildlife (ie. seals and eagles, not bars, I mean, although that wouldn't be bad either).

Will you drive? <BR>

Nickie <BR> <BR>It's very hard to describe how "grand" Torridon is for scenery. I really hope you go. It makes achange from the Edinburgh or bust messages I seem to spend hours posting. <BR> <BR>Hotel options and snippets from other people's reviews:- <BR> <BR>Loch Maree Hotel- "nothing seems to have changed since Queen Victoria visited it in 1877" <BR> <BR>Gairloch Hotel- "huge Victorian pile overlooking the sea" <BR> <BR>Shieldaig Lodge- "Victorian Country house right by the water backed by trees with good food" <BR> <BR>Pool House Hotel- "small family run hotel by the brdge where Loch Maree pours out into Loch Ewe" <BR> <BR>Loch Torridon- "a Victorian Mansion with lovely views in 56 acres" "beautiful, complete with clock tower, is one of the nicest places to stay in Scotland" <BR> <BR>Applecross Inn- "right beside the sea" " best pub grub in the Highlands" <BR> <BR>There is another place I have not mentioned, which is Rubha Reidh (roo-a-ree) lighthouse. It's a hostel and Bebd and breakfast place right out on the west which has a great reputation for food. I'm almost certain it has a web site. I'll see if I can find it for you <BR> <BR>I have a couple of restaurant guides in the house and the only place which features is the Applecross Inn <BR> <BR>You would probably love any of these. I personally would choose either the Pool House or the Shieldaig Lodge

Nickie <BR> <BR>It's very hard to describe how "grand" Torridon is for scenery. I really hope you go. It makes achange from the Edinburgh or bust messages I seem to spend hours posting. <BR> <BR>Hotel options and snippets from other people's reviews:- <BR> <BR>Loch Maree Hotel- "nothing seems to have changed since Queen Victoria visited it in 1877" <BR> <BR>Gairloch Hotel- "huge Victorian pile overlooking the sea" <BR> <BR>Shieldaig Lodge- "Victorian Country house right by the water backed by trees with good food" <BR> <BR>Pool House Hotel- "small family run hotel by the brdge where Loch Maree pours out into Loch Ewe" <BR> <BR>Loch Torridon- "a Victorian Mansion with lovely views in 56 acres" "beautiful, complete with clock tower, is one of the nicest places to stay in Scotland" <BR> <BR>Applecross Inn- "right beside the sea" " best pub grub in the Highlands" <BR> <BR>There is another place I have not mentioned, which is Rubha Reidh (roo-a-ree) lighthouse. It's a hostel and Bebd and breakfast place right out on the west which has a great reputation for food. I'm almost certain it has a web site. I'll see if I can find it for you <BR> <BR>I have a couple of restaurant guides in the house and the only place which features is the Applecross Inn <BR> <BR>You would probably love any of these. I personally would choose either the Pool House or the Shieldaig Lodge

Thanks once again, Sheila. Yes, I'll be driving myself, I like the flexibility of it, although I must admit narrow windy roads make me a bit nervous (thus the previous question on what I'd heard was a "hair raising" drive on the "pass of cattle" just south of Torridon). While I will have to be in some large towns (obligatory since my mothers' family came from over there, and have to look up their old haunts) I much prefer being far from town with great loch or sea views. I also love to look at casstles or intriguing ruins.

OK Now I understand. You are talking about the Bealach-nam-Bo; the Pass of the Cattle-a spectacular steep narrow road acrss the southern end of the Applecross peninsula. Cattle were driven from applecross to the east coast by this road. <BR> <BR>I thought you meant some road where there were cows on the roadway!- a not infrequent occurrence, tho' it's usually sheep. <BR> <BR>I've driven it once, and it's not bad. Very open, so you can see for miles what's coming towards you. <BR> <BR>If I can help with your trip, let me know.

While on a "Haggis Backpackers" tour of Scotland a couple of years ago, we made a long afternoon stop in Torridon, hiking up to Alligin Falls. (I believe that's the correct name and spelling the guide gave me.) One of the most beautiful places I've ever been; we lay on the rocks and soaked in the late September sun, watching the beautiful waterfalls. A couple *very* intrepid members of our group even went down to the base of the falls for a quick swim...BRRRRR! <BR> <BR>If you get a chance, take the hike to the falls. You won't regret it.

How long did it take, and was it really steep? While I enjoy hiking, I'm a novice in the mountains.

I'm picking this up at work,( it being a public holiday where else would I be?) and will post this evening. The Torridaon hills are not to be played with, but I have a route guide to Ben Ailigan at home, which gives the walk. <BR> <BR> <BR>Gina's first hand experience would be better tho.

I was a passenger in a car once on the Bealach-nam-Bo. It is incredibly scenic, but as we got to the higher elevations and a big fog rolled in, we got completely, and I do mean completely, socked in. The visibility was so poor that my cautious driver (a Scot, by the way; not an American suffering from wrong-side-of-the-road syndrome) decided to turn back. So weather is a consideration.

Nickie, I'm pretty much a novice in the mountains too, and this hike wasn't difficult. It was probably a half hour's hike from the road to the falls, if I remember correctly (this was a couple of years ago), and fairly easy terrain. Haggis doesn't screen for ability to do serious hiking, so obviously they really can't take you up killer trails that only someone in "hiking condition" can do. That said, obviously anyone doing the walk should at least be in reasonably good shape and wearing good hiking shoes. <BR> <BR>Sheila's route guide should lay it out pretty well. Hey, Sheila, if you don't mind and the text isn't prohibitively long, would you mind e-mailing a sketchy outline of it to me? I've frequently recommended the walk to people and haven't been able to tell them much more than "Ailigin (thanks for the correct spelling!) Falls, near Torridon, call or e-mail Haggis and maybe they can tell you how to get there." <BR> <BR>Have a great trip, Nickie! I'm planning a western Europe trip this fall myself so I have no right to be jealous, but I love Scotland so much that I can't help it. Another time...

A short delay will follow. I forgot about this and need to llok out an old mag that it's in. Meantime it's west of Inveralligan (note spelling. this time it's right)about 1km and to the right of the public road. More follows tomorrowish

Grovelling apologies, but I just cannot find that route. It was in a magazine,I cannot find, and I guess I must have lent it to someone. It really isn't hard to find, and you would get details from anyone in the area. <BR> <BR>Sorry again

!