We left Edinburgh on a very misty morning to recommence our tour of the coast at Scourie where we finished in late April. After we stopped at Pitlochry for coffee, the sun and blue sky appeared. We had lunch at a viewpoint near Easter Fearn which had good views over the Dornoch Firth.

Eventually we arrived in Scourie and settled into the campsite. I had a walk around the bay and the harbour.

Later in the evening I watched the sun go down.

The next morning, we continued down the A894 past several small lochs and Lower Badcall where there was a fish farm. There was a viewpoint looking towards Assynt.

The road continued downhill to Kylesku Bridge.

A side road runs past the houses, the fishing pier and ends at the slipway.

There are views of the Assynt Mountains.

The name Assynt is derived from a Norse word meaning ‘rocky ridge’. The Vikings ruled here over 1,000 years ago. Most of the place names however, are derived from Gaelic. Near Unapool was a good view of the rock strata across the water. The area is part of a Geo Park.

Shortly afterwards we diverted onto the B869 which is a windy single-track road into Northern Assynt. The first village we came to was Drumbeg which had views over Eddrachills Bay

and a sight often seen in Scotland, an abandoned croft.

Most of this part of Assynt is owned by the Assynt Crofters Trust who bought 21,000 acres of the North Assynt Estate in 1993. They own the fishing rights (and sell permits) and have undertaken conservation projects near Achmelvich. They also run a Hydroelectricity project. Past Drumbeg we took the minor road to Stoer Head lighthouse.

Cattle we grazing around it

and there were views from the headland.

Back on the B869 we passed through Clashnessie and then arrived at our base for two nights: Clachtoll Beach Campsite.  Clachtoll is a crofting township and many years ago sheep outnumbered people by 25:1. The campsite is family-run and they have free range chickens next to the site with sheep grazing nearby. The beach is a short walk down a track with a couple of paths down to the sand. I went down on our first morning when it was quiet and enjoyed a wander. The rock at the end of the headland below is known as ‘The Spilt Rock’.

I did some beach combing around the boating pier where I found some small shells and pieces of sea glass to add to my collections.

A fish and chip trailer arrives on many evenings so we treated ourselves to that on our last night. Afterwards I had another beach walk during the half hour before sunset.

The next morning we left to continue our journey.