Set off driving in search of a morning coffee and the first one I wanted to try was closed so kept driving to Sheildaig, then Torridon….all closed. I had read about a place at Diabaig so continued on a very narrow one lane road with worsening weather and a steep climb! A pretty scary drive ensued through thick cloud/mist/rain and a two points the road dissapeared and I had thin stick markers to give me an indication which way the goat track went…a relief to arrive in the remote but pretty Diabaig to find the ‘interesting’ cafe closed…Scotland closes on Mondays obviously! With no caffeine I somehow made it back to Torridon for lunch at the quite modern outdoor activity centre. Drove home to Gracies and April took to the lounge and the fire got a workout, although it really wasn’t unpleasantly cold. I walked by the little local stream or ‘burn’ and the shores of Loch Kishorn which I find fascinating with the healthy seaweed growth and different species, wild growing mussels (they are farmed on ropes stung in the lochs), lichens and other flora growing on the rocks and the old croft houses. These crofts where, and still are, small parcels of land that the people farm and build a stone crofthouse on. There are numerous abandoned crofts dotted everywhere and I can only begin to imagine life for families in these in the past in the harsh conditions and isolation.
pinkbirdflies 