Sunday 8 September – Cows, coffins, cakes and cascades.

After a delicious breakfast (which, for John, included haggis and black pudding) we were on the road towards our destination, Ullapool.  First stop was Drumnadrochit where we viewed the ruins of the 13^th century Urquart Castle, which sits on a promontory overlooking Loch Ness.  Continuing on, we left the main road and drove through the woods for a few miles to the little village of Kirkhill to visit the Wardlaw Mausoleum, which until fairly recently was thought to house the remains of Simon, the Red Fox – the last man in Scotland to be beheaded for treason (recent scientific research has revealed that the coffin actually contains the remains of five persons, including a young woman). The story goes that while waiting for his execution a stand accommodating spectators fell into the adjacent river and several people died, causing Simon great mirth, as he was supposed to be the star attraction but others were dying.  He was still laughing as he was beheaded, hence the phrase “laughing your head off”.  We were fortunate to meet the local historian, who related the history of the mausoleum and allowed us into the crypt to view the lead coffins, some of which still contain human remains and which were in common use until the 19^th century.

We then continued on and stopped at a farmshop where we were able to get up close to a couple of Highland steers and a llama.  Moving on, we stopped at the village of Beuly and had a walk through the ruins of Beuly Priory, founded in 1230.  The name Beuly derives from the French beaulieu, meaning beautiful place.  The monks of the time were given extensive fishing rights to the river that runs by the priory.  We took time out for morning tea at the Bad Girls Bakery, which has the wifi password of BadGirlsBakeGoodCakes (a bit of a pain to type into a mobile phone).

Next stop was Black Water Falls and a short walk through the woodlands to the cascading river, then a bit further to Corrishallock Gorge, necessitating another long walk down through the woods and across a Victorian suspension bridge to the viewing platform for a spectacular view of the waterfall tumbling down to the bottom of the gorge a few hundred feet below as the Droma River makes it way down to the sea.

Then the final few miles to Ullapool, a small seaside fishing and tourist town (and stopping point for cruise ships); a walk around the town and along the seaside promenade, then to our quaint B&B for the night.