Part 2!
Once we'd unpacked we travelled a few miles over to the tiny little fishing village of Arisaig.
It was decidedly windy.
There wasn't much to see and as the wind was pretty horrible we didn't stay long, only taking a brief look at the harbour area and all the old fishing boats.
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| Naughty rocks get put in the bucket of shame. |
The following day, when the wind had died down a bit, we decided to see what the beach at Roshven was like.
Fun fact, the cottage on the other side of the loch there is only accessible by boat and has no power, but you can stay there if you like!We decided against it - for one thing there's no internet!
The path across the field was accessed via a tiny and well worn path at the side of the garden. It was steep and the recent rain made it extra slippery, though luckily the overhanging branches provided ample support. A rustic plank bridged a little burn and then it was just a matter of trudging across the field and trying not to disturb the sheep.
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| There's the house! |
The beach was mostly shingle, with a sandbank that became more visible at low tide.
To the right there was a little patch of woodland to go through before we got to the really good beach. It could have been anywhere really, there was nothing to suggest we were by the coast...
...but then suddenly...
...there it was.
This was the kind of view you see on travel blogs and scenic calendars so to have it practically at the bottom of the garden was pretty nice!
The next house along had a couple of Highland ponies grazing next to the beach but to my eternal sadness, after looking up when I whistled to them they immediately returned to their lunch and I didn't even get to say hello. T.T
Still, I didn't mind being ignored if I got to look at all this instead!
The finds were pretty good too! There wasn't the usual plethora of bits of glass and well worn china we're used to down south, but instead a whole host of interesting shells and marine life.
I'd never seen this stuff before - coralline! It's not a true coral, it's a kind of algae, but it looks just like coral with all its little arms and branches, and the beach was covered in it. I picked up a few handfuls as I have some plans on the miniature front... :P
(can we also appreciate my nails there for a moment. Shinnnyyyyy)
My find of the day was definitely this Sea Urchin! I'd never found an intact one before and it spoke volumes about how calm the sea loch was and the lack of visitors to crush them.
To my great surprise I found that they were everywhere and I actually thought I'd trodden on this next one, though luckily I'd actually stepped on the rocks around it and it remained intact.
This was Sea Urchin #6
This tiny one actually still had some of its purple spines!
We kept finding these seriously fluffy caterpillars too.
This picture pretty much sums up all our family holidays. XD
I lingered on the beach for longer than my parents did as I wanted to photograph some of my dolls (which I'll show off in a later post!) and as I kept finding more and more urchins, ended up staying for at least half an hour and my dad had to come and find me as I'd said I would be back in 'a couple of minutes' and well, I didn't. XD
After lunch we hopped in the car again, this time heading for Glenuig, an even tinier village than Arisaig with only about thirty folk, but a much more appealing beach. There was a little pub/restaurant and I think a post office, along with a smokehouse and that was about it!
The actual beach was just round the corner.
We couldn't have asked for a better day; the sun was splitting the sky, it was actually warm enough to go out in a t-shirt, and the beach was absolutely stunning.
It was warm enough for a paddle and let me tell you, it never gets old, especially when you've got the whole beach to yourself and all you can hear is the quiet lapping of waves and the occasional curlew.
Amongst the rocks, tiny fish and shrimps shot back and forth across my feet...
...and I found possibly the tiniest crab ever whilst looking for shells.
Another surprising discovery was made as I was walking back across the sand towards the car park. I saw what I at first took to be a very large orange peel, then realised it had legs!
I'd never seen a live starfish before, and it was alive, I knelt down to have a look and saw its little tentacley bits moving. It had obviously lost a few limbs, but I believe they grow back eventually. It looked very dry and with the sun out and it hundreds of yards from the sea, I was afraid it might die, so after showing my mum, (because how often do you see these out in the open like this?) we grabbed a big piece of kelp to cover it up with so it seemed a little more protected, at least until the tide came in.
The sky was beautifully clear that night so, braving the midges, I stood outside the house and tried to photograph the Milky Way. I still haven't mastered my focus, but I'm still pretty chuffed by how it turned out!
As much as I like living in Glasgow,the light pollution is one thing I could do without, and I always relish being able to look up at the night sky on holiday and seeing the entire universe above me.
The fine weather didn't last and the following day was decidedly dreich.
We headed off in the direction of Mallaig, a big (well, for the area anyway!) fishing port and arguably the largest town anywhere in the region. Taking the coastal road proved very scenic, even if the views were significantly dull and damper than the day before. We pulled over and stopped at a few nice beachy bits when we could avoid the showers, and even with a little mist and rain, they were still starkly beautiful.
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| Traigh Beach, Scottish Highlands |
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| Traigh Beach, Scottish Highlands |
One place we couldn't resist stopping at was the Silver Sands of Morar. It was very aptly named, and while a river beach rather than a true sea-beach, it was incredibly striking, even in the gloom.
A (mad!) couple had gone for a swim and from the sounds of their shrieks it was pretty chilly in there.
Next post, more beaches and the photographer's dream that is Mallaig!
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