Touring the North West Coast of Scotland in two Austin Sevens, as a family

[Ruairidh Dunford]

I thought the very same, Ivor, at this stage in the holiday.

All will become clear, as it did to me, eventually…

[squeak]

A riveting read Rory. The dialog and pictures are a permanent answer to the  question "did we DO that?".
I'll never understand the passion of open top motoring, sans sidecurtains yes, but top up.

[Ruairidh Dunford]

My father has always encouraged me (through floods of tears) to “enjoy the wind in your hair, while you can, son”!

[Reckless Rat]

That's because he's as follically challenged as me!

[Tony Griffiths]

This is a lovely adventure - and so very well told. While, of course, none of us wants you to break down, it does add a little extra spice!

[Bob Olive]

Unbelievable, Ruairidh is human after all! Great story, well told. You keep inspiring us ordinary mortals.
Hope the rest of the holidays go well for you all.

[AustinWood]

There must be worse places to come to a standstill in poor visibilty than close to the top of Bealach Na Ba, but I can't think of any!

[Ruairidh Dunford]

There is more to come…

[Steve Bryant]

I'm envious of your adventure. Great  to have you chronicle it all for us.
Cheers,
Stephen

[Ruairidh Dunford]

Day 3

The village shop at Applecross is about 1 ½ miles from the campsite and I had driven there the previous night in the Ulster, this had also allowed me to fine tune the timing and check that it was running properly again.  The shop was small, but very full,l and as well as buying dinner I had also made mental note of what I could cook the following day for everyone.  As I made eggy bread with honey and banana for breakfast I shared my plans for lunch and dinner, Tanya chose this point to tell me of my 50th birthday suprise, a meal in the famous Applecross Inn that night!  To ensure we would eat there she’d made the booking three months in advance, quite normal for this busy place.  I was delighted – we all love food and tonight would see a lot of that!


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Both gearboxes were leaking on the cars – I seemed to be plagued by this these days – so I topped them up and then drained out the Chummy back axle, despite no obvious play in the pinion it had become noisy of late.  Little tiny flecks of steel were evident in the oil so I replaced with new and planned to check regularly.  We left the cars at the campsite and walked along the coast to the shop, purchased some lunch and then returned to camp to consume it in the sun.  The site was very empty in the day time – just as we’d remembered it – each evening though it now filled with bikers, campervans and 4x4s all “doing the 500”.  They always arrived late and left early, we wondered if “doing the 500’ allowed them to see anything other than their rev counter?

The meal that evening was supreme.  Willow had homemade haggis, Tanya Daisy and Poppy enjoyed squat lobsters and I chose langoustines for starters.  This was followed by Haddock and Monkfish, respectively, whilst Daisy and I chose King Scallops.  Ice cream for the girls and a huge local cheese plate for me completed a 4-hour long meal, it was a superb gift that we all enjoyed.


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We walked back up to the campsite and passed many huddles of 500ers chatting away and felt glad to be at the far end in our quiet corner.

Day 4

This was to be a second 50th birthday treat, this time from my parents.  A lunch at the Applecross walled gardens.  We walked along in the sun and were soon settled at a table with mussels, squid, crab and many other treats.  Local golden ale provided liquid refreshment, after which we spent some time looking at the vegetables and plants all grown within the large walls, a real haven of life and colour.

       
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We finished the rest of the day reading and playing games, tomorrow we would move on, but what a culinary delight Applecross had been for us all.


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