27 - 28 March
Forres, Culbin & Findhorn
Ullapool & Achnahaird Beach
We started the day with a 4 mile walk around the woodlands and coastal trails at Culbin. It is a huge area of forest-covered sand dunes. (Click on any photo to see a larger version.)
Lunch was at Simply Red in Forres. We chose their small dishes offer of five plates for £22:- salad, Chinese vegetable rice, ravioli with pumpkin filling, garlic mushrooms with bread, and potatoes dauphinoise. It was quite an eclectic mixture and I fear that the Chinese dish contained some unwelcome fishy essence, but these were the only (supposed) vegetarian options. (The menu didn't have a notation for vegetarian dishes.) The waitress was friendly and service was pretty fast. The one downside was the table we had picked: next to three doors for exit, toilets and kitchen!
Forres, Culbin & Findhorn
Ullapool & Achnahaird Beach
We started the day with a 4 mile walk around the woodlands and coastal trails at Culbin. It is a huge area of forest-covered sand dunes. (Click on any photo to see a larger version.)
Lunch was at Simply Red in Forres. We chose their small dishes offer of five plates for £22:- salad, Chinese vegetable rice, ravioli with pumpkin filling, garlic mushrooms with bread, and potatoes dauphinoise. It was quite an eclectic mixture and I fear that the Chinese dish contained some unwelcome fishy essence, but these were the only (supposed) vegetarian options. (The menu didn't have a notation for vegetarian dishes.) The waitress was friendly and service was pretty fast. The one downside was the table we had picked: next to three doors for exit, toilets and kitchen!
We went back to the Findhorn Foundation to have a look around the Moray Art Centre, which had been closed on our last visit, then had a coffee at the Blue Angel cafe. The exhibitions were:- Coastal Scenes by Ian McLachlan Scott and a collection of modern art from students. The sea paintings were beautiful - very impressionistic.
On Thursday, we drove to Ullapool, stopping off at Rogie Falls to walk Brock.
We all had a walk round Ullapool, before Brock went back to the car for a rest, while Rob and I had lunch at The Ceilidh Place. It is lovely inside, with a bookshop selling books, mainly about Scotland and the local area; a woodburning stove, polished concrete flooring and wooden-beamed ceiling.
The waitress was friendly, but we had to wait half an hour for our food to appear: too long when you are hungry! Rob had potato, cheese and leek bridie (pasty-type pie) with chips and salad. I ate grilled field mushrooms with taleggio cheese and salad. The food was good. I had ginger beer and Rob had Sencha green tea, which he did not enjoy. I thought it tasted like nettle or comfrey tea.
We walked around the town, taking in the breathtaking views from the harbour.
Fishermens' crates on the quayside
We had an indifferent coffee and cake at the Frigate Cafe before driving on to Achnahaird Beach - about 40 minutes drive north of Ullapool. The mountain views are amazing and the beach is beautiful, with acres of sand, surrounded by sea and mountains, and only a few visitors.
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