Attadale and Loch Carron

Mornings in Plockton have been really great this week and most have involved a pre-breakfast walk along the waterfront. Today is the first day that it has been breezy, so no paddleboarding, but it's probably been the brightest start we've had. Having the sun come up over The Crags (the hills that we walked up on one of our first days here) was spectacular.

It's probably quite a bustling little town in summer, but at this time of year, we seem to have the place pretty much to ourselves. It's a sleepy vibe, but one that we're very much enjoying.

A relaxed brunch back at the loft set us up for a little more local exploration. We didn't fancy going too far and the weather didn't lend itself to mountain climbing. There was certainly some good blue sky moments, but also some terrific downpours (some with sleet and hail) in between. 

A low-level hike seemed to be the best option and nearby Attadale, which heads south from Loch Carron seemed like a pretty good bet. The drive along the loch shore was spectacular in itself and on arrival at the estate, we saw a red squirrel. There are some impressive gardens and house, which you can have a look around, but we wanted the exercise of heading up the valley.

The stalkers trail leads up to a forest and a lochan, where we had partly thought we might go for a swim. However, incoming showers put us off this idea before we got there!

The River Attadale runs through the flat bottomed valley and we stopped a while on the bridge before it begins to climb up into the hills. We had the unusual, yet effective mountaineers weather protection of Uncle Ken's Essex County Cricket umbrella for the return leg of the hike. It just about stood up to the testing winds and certainly made things much more pleasant.

Back in the warmth of the loft, we watched the weather come and go from the comfort of the dormer window, while making further plans...