The road from Inverness to Lochinver

It was an uneventful day at work, one that bordered on the tedious. A lengthy e.mail exchange with Spike – word games and lists of likes – passed the time. Spike wrote (in part of her answer to one of my smart arse points) that she likes “lots of other things”. I wrote back, “name 23”, which Spike did, of course, then challenged me to do the same. Number 17 on my list was “the road between Inverness and Lochinver via Ullapool”. Spike wrote back saying, “expand”, so I did:

You cross the bridge at Inverness, Beuly Firth below you, town to the left. From North Kessock to Strathpeffer the countryside is tame, pastoral land. It's pretty to look at but in a cultivated, manicured way. You follow the A835 North West rising to Loch Glascarnoch, which has been dammed. It's rough terrain; isolated mountain country where very few people live. Wind, rain and snow are not uncommon. The road follows the route of a mountain pass, the summit of which leads you to a high road along the north shore of Loch Broom; a long, long sea loch the sight of which leaves one breathless. Ullapool is at the western end of Loch Broom. Turn right. Head north. There's a long steep rise away from the town with astonishing views back along the loch. You keep going, though, because there's plenty more driving to be done.

The countryside beyond Ardmair, as you head north, seems immeasurably older than the area around Loch Broom. Beyond Elphin (which has a very weird café) people and cars become fewer and farther between. A narrow road cuts its way between enormous hills, tough plugs that even glaciers couldn't grind down. One feels wholly insignificant in this place, which is no bad thing. Turn left (north west) at Ledmore. Watch out for deer crossing the road because by now it's dusk. Loch Assynt's black water is on your left, a huge scar-tissue ridge sits on your right. Suilven, one of the most glorious mountains in Scotland, pops up then vanishes as the road twists and turns. Just before Lochinver, turn north again then west along the single-track road to Achmelvich where Ray and Anna have a croft with sheep and rabbits and vegetables, two cows, some ducks, geese and a pig. There's a warm fire, a pot of tea brewing and dinner waiting at a table where friends are happy to share news while a storm rages in from the sea.













Suilven