Moving on – Western Scotland

After a very enjoyable stay in scenic Ullapool, we moved on in the southerly direction along the west side of Scotland…

The views were stark yet beautiful…

Here and there we noticed a few little lochs or lakes that just added to the area’s beauty.

…and of course, low mountains continued to dominate the horizon. 

My plan was to turn off A835 onto A832 and then take the coastal route looping through Gruinard, Poolewe and Gairloch to A896.  From there, it would be on to Torridon and Shieldaig, eventually passing through Plockton before crossing the bridge onto the Isle of Skye.  So much for planning…as I missed my first turn following A835 all the way back to Garve, where I finally turned onto A832.  My mistake turned out OK as we had a beautiful day for driving and the scenery didn’t disappoint us!

This was our view as we approached Torridon…with Upper Loch Torridon and the mountains setting the scene and the village off in the distance.

The village of Torridon is small but it is in a beautiful location.  The Torridon region of Scotland’s Western Highlands is well known to outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts.  The mountains in the area are among the highest in the United Kingdom, rising almost vertically in places to 3,500 feet from the deep sea Lochs.

  

Basically, most of the village of Torridon consists of a long row of homes and a few commercial establishment on the road along the loch.   Due to the presence of the Northern Drift of the Gulf Stream, the climate is mild and plants flourish here that one wouldn’t expect this far north. 

For more photos of this beautiful area, just go to https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=torridon+united+kingdom&id=C629F56D737C444187C15942ADF643CA5080DE4D&FORM=IQFRBA.

The well regarded Torridon Hotel is located nearby on Upper Loch Torridon.  This hotel has 18 en-suite guestrooms, the “1887 Restaurant” and raises its own cattle, pigs and chickens as well as much of its own produce.  Tamworth pigs are the swine raised and brought to table in the restaurant. 

FYI…The Tamworth is a domestic pig that originated in the United Kingdom with input from Irish pigs.  It is among the oldest of pig breeds but it isn’t well suited to modern production methods.  It is a threatened species in the USA and with only 300 registered breeding females, it’s listed as vulnerable in the United Kingdom.

So many places and things to experience with so little time!  To learn more about the Torridon Hotel, go to https://www.thetorridon.com/.

The road from Torridon was challenging but we were rewarded by terrific views and beautiful weather!

…just another pretty picture!

Shieldaig is located on Loch Shieldaig, between Upper Loch Torridon and Loch Torridon where it becomes a sea loch.  As with most of the scenery and many of the small towns and villages in Western Scotland, the setting is very appealing. 

Shieldaig has a population of less than 100 people but it has its own school, a village hall, a pub and more…  Allegedly, the name Shieldaig comes from a Viking word which means, ‘loch of the herring’.  Herring still inhabit the loch.

This is a photo of a couple of homes just across Loch Shieldaig from the town itself.

Shieldaig was founded ca. 1800 by order of King George III for the purpose of training seamen for war with Napoleon.  However construction didn’t begin until 1810 and the threat was over by the time the village was up and running.  Subsequently, the community assumed a new role as a fishing village.

The small island in this photo is just offshore from the town.  Its tall pines were never cut down to rig warships and it is now a nature sanctuary. 

Although the village prospered early on, it was part of the 70,000 Applecross Estate which was owned by a succession of wealthy landlords including the Duke of Leeds.  Under his ownership, (with his wife’s influence), and under later owners, the area underwent a series of “Clearances” as they were called.

The Highland Clearances or the ‘eviction of the Gaels’, resulted in the displacement of many tenants from the Scottish Highlands during the 1700 and 1800s.  This was the result of a change from farming to sheep raising, largely carried out by hereditary aristocratic landowners who previously had status as Scots Gaelic clan chiefs.  The result was a huge emigration of Highlanders to the coast and the Scottish lowlands as to North America and Australasia.  The descendants of the Highland diaspora far outnumber the total population of Scotland today…  

It was time for a break from our driving…and for a snack too!  This is Nanny’s in Shieldaig.  This establishment has been in business since 2008.  Originally it operated in a small corrugated iron building.  That original building was run as a general store by Anne (Nanny) Grant since 1950.  Her father built that structure back in 1918.  This new building was the result of so much success at the previous location… 

  

The inside of Nanny’s is bright and cheerful.  Customers order at the counter and your food and/or drinks are brought to your table. 

This menu board just displays the coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cold drinks that customers can order.  More substantial options include a soup of the day, sandwiches/toasties, a hot smoked salmon plate or salad, a langoustine salad, bacon, double egg or combination rolls, porridge and beans on toast, aka as “sunshine on a plate”.

We stuck to rich and sweet snacks… There was a selection of baked goods that weren’t specifically listed on the board or written menu.  The choices were varied and appealing.  This was the cheesecake…very well received indeed!

Nothing like a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows accompanied by a fresh scone and butter!

The children of the current owner and operator of Nanny’s represent the 5^th generation of Camerons to live in Shieldaig.  Their great, great grandfather Keneth Cameron moved to the village in the late 1800s and became the village innkeeper.  Back in the days when being part of a crofting community meant hard work and pulling together, a typical evening meal included potatoes and salted herring…with meat being served only on Sundays…  

To learn about crofting and its meaning, just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crofting.  Although crofting today is much different than it was before World War II, as of 2013 – 2014, about 33,000 family members, or 10% of the Highlands population still live in crofting households.

Then there was this scone…with butter and clotted cream!  This was a very pleasant and refreshing stop for us along the way to the Isle of Skye…

I had to research one item on the menu…a Loch Torridon squat lobster sandwich.  What the heck is a ‘squat’ lobster?  In some ways they resemble true lobsters but they are flatter and typically smaller.  They are part of the family ‘Galatheidae’, which makes them closer to species of small crabs than to lobsters.  In any case, they don’t ship well and they are a bycatch for local Shieldaig fishermen, one of whom is the husband of the proprietor of Nanny’s… The local catch focuses on crab and langoustines.

As for Nanny’s, sorry to report that they closed for the season on October 28^th.  They will reopen in early April.  In the meantime, during November and December, they will operate ‘pop-up’ restaurants at Nanny’s every weekend… To learn more about Nanny’s and to check out their menu, go to http://www.nannysshieldaig.com/. 

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by to join us as we explore western Scotland!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave