Scotland Trip - Castle Aardvrek, Dun Dornaigil and Tongue

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Monday, June 26, 2006

Sarah and I began the day with a run from the house over the mountain.  The first half mile was on the road and then the rest was on a track through the bog -- it was a pretty rough path.  The views were gorgeous though.

After breakfast we reunited with my parents and then began the trek from Lochinver to Tongue. First, we wanted to make sure we visited Castle Aardvrek, a former MacLoed stronghold that was built in Loch Assynt near the junction of the A837 and A894.  The castle has a stone barrier in the water and it looked like a dream to defend.  It apparently wasn't that easy though as they lost a few battles there.

Castle Aardvrek, Sutherland, Scotland

Loch Assynt

I thought we might take the scenic route out of town along the coastal road (B869) to see a broch, only we couldn't find it!   It was a beautiful, but tough to drive (my poor Dad).  It's a single track road for about 15 miles, but it was VERY slow going.  I also ended up sleeping through a lot of it, my poor Dad.

 We then went up the coast and stopped for a picnic lunch in Scorbie.  The scenery through here is exactly what you would expect the highlands to look like - but it is so devoid of people.

When we reached Durness, we stopped briefly to contemplate Smoo Cave but the tide was out so there was no waterfall.  It didn't seem worth £3.  Up the road a ways we went off the main road down a really small (terrible) road past the car park for Ben Hope looking for another broch.  This one was sign posted on the main road.

It is found at the head of the longer Ben Hope Trail.  On the way, my father drove off the road making the whole adventure that much more exciting!

The trail up Ben Hope

Highland coos

The broch, Dun Dornaigil, was interesting and worth the 10 mile pasture penetrating drive.

Dun Dornaigil, Iron Age broch

The road to the broch

From there we reached the village of Tongue where we stayed at Rhian Guesthouse on a farm.  We ate at the Cragness Hotel which was in a picturesque village (I think it was called Milknes) and had nice seafood.

Rhian Guesthouse, Tongue

Rhian Guesthouse

Rhian is a nice house, but when we arrived it seemed as if they were hosting some sort of party.  Our interaction with the owners was thus very limited.  However, after we returned from dinner we were treated to this view:

Sunset at Rhian Guesthouse, Tongue