Scotland – Week Four

This was the week of the big solar storm which brought us the stunning Aurora Borealis! 

Saturday 17th January 2026 – 41 miles

We had a lovely slow Saturday morning and little walk down the stream before setting off. Due to snow last time we came along this coast we didn’t get to go along the peninsula from Poolewe, so that is today’s plan. 

We drove along the south side of Little Loch Broom seeing the goats on the roadside again down to Gruinard Bay View Point where we pulled up to enjoy the view. There are so many beautiful view points in this area, it’s always worth stopping. 

We got to our planned overnight spot early afternoon, which gave us plenty of time to go for a little explore with the dogs. We parked in the memorial car park for Rubha nan Sasan, also marked on Google Maps as Arctic Convoy Memorial. I was keen to have a look at the memorial, remaining buildings and read the history surrounding Loch Ewe and it’s naval past, you can read all about the area here and on the Arctic Convoy Museum website.

Such an interesting place to visit with wonderful views, if visiting the area during the summer season, there is a wonderful site called Firemore Beach. There is no facilities but the beach is stunning and for £10 a night it is the perfect place for a few days on the beach. 

Sunday 18th – 27 miles

We were up quite early this morning so set out for a boggy walk along the top of the peninsula, such a beautiful sunny (but cold) morning to be out. 

We did a few miles (Rich went a little further than me, I was sinking in the bogs), then it was back to the lorry for a brew before we set off.

We got set off so we could stop off in Gairloch for a few supplies and the Co-op and fill our water back up at the motorhome service point, it is so great that the community provide this, being on the NC500 route, I imagine it gets busy during the summer season. 

All stocked up we set off to Loch Maree, where we had already stayed, it is an easy overnighter for us and gave us the chance to figure out the next stops. I did try to get down to the beach area on the Loch but the levels have risen so much with all of the snow melt. 

Monday 19th – 14 miles

We love the Torridon area, it is stunning  in the winter and wanted to explore the area more on foot. So we found a route along Loch Clair and around loch Coulin and set off for another early morning walk to make the most of the clear weather. 

It was gorgeous 6 mile walk with stunning views, highland cows and horses along the way. 

The crazies even got some ice skating in while we stopped for a drink.

After such a great walk we wanted to relax and do a little work, so we continued down the valley back to Coire Dubh car park, which we had stayed at previously, it’s so quiet and beautiful there. It had been a lovely day and hadn’t seen any off the hype online about the potential for northern lights after the biggest solar storm on record had happened, we were heading out to take the dogs for a wee before going to bed when one of our van neighbours told us to look up!! 

Wow, wow, wow. We had seen the aurora before but the colours dancing in the sky were so clear to see with the naked eye. We rushed in, I grabbed my phone and Rich got the drone. We spent a couple of hours outside just embracing the beauty in the sky, we we absolutely in the right place at the right time.

We had been so excited we struggled to get to sleep! 

Tuesday 20th – 31 miles

We had received an enquiry for a job near Elgin, we figured we may as well try to get him sorted while we were already in Scotland, with his parts ordered and on the way we decided to start making our way east again. We didn’t need to be in Elgin until Monday so there was no rush.

We drove back to Kinlochewe to join with the A832 taking a short stop at Glen Docherty View Point, we’d set off with no real plan for tonight’s park up. After looking at the apps and map we decided to pop back to Black Water, I’ve lost count how many times we’d stopped there on this trip, but it was a sensible stopover on the route and right direction. 

We settled in for the evening and began planning the next few days, slightly anti-climatic day compared to yesterday.

Wednesday 21st – 29 miles

With a clearer idea of where we would spend the next few days, Rich and Blue went for a mountain walk while I stayed behind to do some cleaning before we set off. 

We found a forestry car park for the Fyrish Monument for tonight, it was just an hours drive to get there. With all of the thaw that had happened over the last week and the higher temperatures, we hadn’t expected to arrive to a sheet ice car park, it had clearly been very thick with snow, we carefully slid into a spot which wouldn’t block other car park users (there wasn’t many) and skated to the back of the truck.

The forest looks lovely with some clear paths through, some leading up to the monument, others doing circular walks.

Thursday 22nd – 24 miles

We made the most of being at the forest and went for a morning walk, still lots of snow and icy patches all around and some seriously deep mud from forestry machines. 

We got back, had a brew and cleaned up (mud everywhere) and set off the Black Isle. We hadn’t been on the Black Isle since before Covid when we did the full NC500 in a bare van with a mattress and a bucket!

We’d found another forestry spot at Learnie Red Rocks, this is a great place for mountain bikers. Again another really quiet spot with the odd car arriving or leaving, mostly people out on the trails. 

We spent the afternoon working on the laptops, getting some new products added to the online shop. 

Friday 23rd – 0 miles

Rich was feeling pretty worn out and I was eager to get out for a walk, so Blue and I to a 5 mile walk down to the Fairy Glen Falls, we’d somehow missed going to them last time we’d visited the Black Isle. 

I sat for ages, just enjoying the water flowing, Blue had a paddle, we really didn’t fancy setting back off, it was a fairly up hill walk to get back.

Because I’d set off quite early there was still the rest of the day to get some more work done and enjoy the location. We decided to stay put until tomorrow, we wasn’t quite ready to hit Inverness again. We knew we’d need to grab some shopping and fuel while there as well as do some washing. That could all definitely be a tomorrow job.

The Aurora Borealis really made this week for us, such a special treat.

Kate

xx