An account of our visit to Ardnamurchan Lighthouse and its surrounds, with a ohoto gallery.
On Wednesday afternoon we visited Ardnamurchan Lighthouse. This post looks back at that visit. This is a transition point in one way – after spending most of yesterday travelling I am back home in King’s Lynn now.
THE WESTERN TIP OF MAINLAND BRITAIN
The lighthouse, a Stevenson design, is reasonably impressive but hardly distinctive. Behind the lighthouse there are some stunning views, and a small exhibition about some of the sea creatures that can on occasions be seen in this part of the world. There are also a few other bits, including an area where stone was once quarried (if there is one thing other than water that this part of Scotland has in abundance it is stone).
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from the environs of Ardnamurchan Lighthouse
Me, standing as far west as is possible in mainland Britain.
An account of day two, including a walk I took after we were safely ensconced in the house at Achosnich.
Welcome to the second post in my series about my 50th birthday holiday in the far west of Scotland. I started by explaining the snags of day one and consequent rearrangement of plans. This post completes the story of getting here. Yesterday provided material for several more posts – it featured one of two major events planned for the week, the other being the birthday meal on the day itself, Saturday.
LONG AND WINDING ROADS
Though there were a few minor issues with the journey from Callander where we had overnighted on to Achosnich where we are staying for the week there was nothing to compare with the upheavals of day one. There are two land routes to the far west of Scotland, the direct route that involves using the Corran ferry and the longer route by way of Fort William. We had opted for the Corran ferry route, and until 12:20, by when we were very close to our destination there were no problems. It was then that we hit a delay in the form of a temporary road closure. Fortunately, the village of Strontian (where the metallic element Strontium was discovered in 1790 – like the four elements Ytterbium, Yttrium, Terbium and Erbium, all named for Ytterby in Sweden where they were discovered, the element is named for the village) was only a few miles behind us, and it numbers a cafe among its amenities, and since the road was reopening at 1:30 filling in the necessary amount of time was less of a drag than it might have been. Once the road reopened it took us a couple of attempts to locate the property, but we got there in the end.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Here are my photographs from the day…
We investigatred this walk early in our journey, but it was not that impressive.The Corran lighthouse, visible from many angles while crossing on the Corran ferry.Information boards at Strontian (five pics)Internal decor at the cafe (four pics)Pictures from the Strontian river (nine in total)Even a place as remote as Strontian has a bus route.This is the Paddle Steamer Waverley – there will be much more about this vessel and its history in later posts.Some pictures from the house at AchnosnichI ventured out for a walk later that afternoon.
An account of a tour of the Ardnamurchan Distillery.
Welcome to the latest in my series of posts about my recent Scottish holiday. This post covers the tour of Ardnamurchan Distillery on the day of my birthday, now eight days ago.
A VERY NEW DISTILLERY
The Ardnamurchan distillery was built over the course of 2011 and 2012 and produced its first whisky in 2014. The tour was very comprehensive, taking in the warehouse and every stage of the distilling process. It ended with a sample of the product, which is very distinctive – virtually no smokiness or peatiness to it and sweeter than most whiskies. I rate it very highly myself. I will leave photographs to tell the rest of the story – click on an image to view it full size…
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