The hunt for the red squirrel.

 July 24th

 The night was long, road noise continued until 11ish, then all went quiet until 2 am! I was woken by flashing orange lights and banging from outside. A glance as the curtain was pulled aside revealed a road cone wagon bringing in cones. I also became aware of a dull ache in my abdomen, I knew what that was, my diverticulitis had returned! From that moment, sleep was almost impossible. The pain experienced,  noise from bin lorries, camper van doors being slid open and banged shut in the wee hours and the resuming of traffic shortly after 5 am.

I did doze on and off, and a cup of tea was brought to me a little after 6 am. So I'm back on the Paracetamol and liquid diet for 24 hours. Oh, and no alcohol of any sort until the gut settles down again.

Before leaving the Park and Ride and because the painkillers were doing their job, we went for a walk to the Caledonian Canal. Two road bridges crossed this canal, all within about 200m of each other. About to set off along the canal when an alarm sounded and barriers began to be lowered at the furthest road bridge. Well, this couldn't be missed, so back to the road to watch as the swing bridge opened to allow through a cruiser and trip boat.

They were held between the two bridges until the first bridge closed and traffic allowed to proceed, then the alarm sounded again, and the second bridge swung open.

1st bridge

2nd bridge

The walk was continued, and I managed a quarter mile before I mentioned to Ian I could go no further. Every step was painful, and I did wonder if a doctor should be found, but I don't have a temperature, so will continue on soft food and liquids for the time being.

Leaving the Park and Ride it was off to find a resolute washing machine at a nearby garage for our washing. Love these machines, they take about 40 minutes for a wash and 30 minutes for the dry. Whilst waiting in MB, tea could be had and one of our audible books listened too. Then a return to Morrison for Yogurt (thank you, Marilyn, for that suggestion), clear soups and for Ian to choose what he was going to cook himself tonight. He chose a meat pie. Also, the gas ran out this morning. The cylinder was only changed 10 days ago, and Ian couldn't understand why it had run out so quickly. Checking the fridge, realised the dial had been turned up to its maximum! No wonder the gas ran out! Luckily, a place was found in Inverness that only charged £28, so a cylinder exchange was purchased. Hopefully, this one will last longer!

With me not wanting to walk much today, I suggested going to Loch Garton RSPB centre. Ospreys and Red squirrels frequent this place, although I doubted we would see Ospreys. But very pleasantly surprised to see that a male Osprey was still hanging around. After spending a good hour in the centre glued to the live cameras hoping for a squirrel sighting, we came away disappointed. The bird feeders did attract birds, not the Crested Tit that I also hoped to see but Chaffinch, Coal tit, Great tit and Woodpecker.

Great Tit and Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Chaffinch Male

Chaffinch female

Great Spotted Woodpecker

We stopped overnight for free. A warden did appear about 7ish checking if we had a toilet, they would send anyone away who hadn't. I don't blame them for asking, they don't want this lovely place contaminated by human waste!

Another look for red squirrels is planned for tomorrow, they open at 10 am, so fingers crossed.

'Ugly Hollow'

 July 23rd

Last night we stopped overlooking Loch Broom. As high up as we were, not a midge to be seen, and it was nice to open the skylights to let a cool breeze in. Considering the road was very nearby, it was remarkably quiet and no more visits from those jets!

This morning we left early for Corrieshalloch Gorge. Arrived by 9 am only to find cones had been placed across the car park. Blast, so now what? A small lay-by had been passed, so Ian turned around and headed for that.

Twiddling our thumbs for 30 minutes, we eventually set off again. Good grief, the car park was already filling up and the only four motorhome spaces had just the one space left. But one was all we needed, so quickly reversed in just as another two motorhomes arrived. They would have to go to the overflow car park about half a mile further along the road! (note to anyone reading this with a motorhome, this car park has some service facilities, elsan, and fresh water but no grey waste disposal. You pay a minimal fee of £7.50, although as this place is NT, they welcome further donations).

The service point was by the light coloured wooden structure in the centre of the roundabout.

The day was glorious, no sign of rain, so left the waterproofs behind. Anti midge cream was liberally sprayed on, and we even purchased 2 midge nets to cover faces. Yes, midges were about, but in so few numbers we didn't even bother putting them on. 

Two paths could be taken, the easier to the bridge and lookout over The Falls of Measach and the other a bit more strenuous Lady Fowler fern walk. We did both.

So if we can read this, why can't Ian?

Too close to the edge...arghhhh

The gorge

Back at MB, lunch was had before leaving for Inverness. 44 miles to get there, although a short detour would be made for the cheapest diesel we had found. At £1.44 a lt and £1.39 for petrol, it was worth doing the 5-mile out of our way.

Halfway to Inverness, a sign appeared with Rogie Falls on it. Of course we stopped, regular readers will know of our love of falls. Anyway, it was not just the falls to see but according to the sign, this was the best place to see Salmon leap during July to September. 

The trek was about 1km return so not far, all downhill, mind, with some very steep slopes! I didn't bother with the sticks and instantly regretted that with the first long downhill. It was all worth it, the falls were spectacular and yes the Salmon were leaping. We stayed far too long, I got some great shots of the Salmon, though.

I was breathing heavy by the time I had made it back to MB, and glad to kick off the walking shoes and have a long drink of water. I'm sure that path was steeper on the return journey! Anyway, Inverness was reached and Morrison found. We stocked up with wine, to think the last time wine was bought was beginning of June. No, we hadn't gone Tee total, just filled every nock and cranny in MB with bottles and have steadily been going through it ever since.

The park and ride Inverness was motorhome friendly and £10 paid to stay overnight. The only trouble was how near to the road we were.  I think we may have a disturbed night.

And wildlife

Ear-splitting.

 More bites to contend with! How do those midges get in? And unfortunately the loo light came on first thing this morning. Ian had to brave the onslaught to go and change it. He brought a load in with him as the door was opened. That trusty can of fly spray was generously used again.

Before we left, a logging lorry arrived. To turn into the road opposite, he had to use the turning circle in the car park. Gosh, he came close to MB, if we had parked any further over I expect we would have been told to shift! 

We did leave fairly quickly after that, and then had to run the gauntlet of logging lorries along the lanes!

Today we made for Corrieshalloch Gorge. Just a short hop of 115 miles! Two routes were found, the coastal route or the scenic route. Half an hour difference in time, coastal was 2.5 hours or scenic 3 hours. It had to be the scenic route.

Two stops were made, one for coffee and later for lunch. It all added to the travel time. There was also 4 more hold-ups on the lanes which hadn't been factored into the equation.

Boat delivery, road sweeper, grass cutter and road works.

 

  At the lunch stop, an orange butterfly was seen. Camera in hand, I went searching and was rewarded in capturing one butterfly I never thought to photograph, the Fritillary Butterfly.

Could possibly be the Dark Green Fritillary

After nearly 4 hours, we finally reached the Gorge and were promptly dismayed that not a parking space to be found anywhere. We changed plans slightly and found a lookout lay-by nearby to stop for the night. Tomorrow early we will park by the Gorge, we should be able to get parked by 8.30am!.  In the meantime, I heard a shout from Ian to look up to the skies. A noise was heard in the distance and crikey...my eardrums nearly exploded! 4 jets flew over, very low, with an incredibly ear-splitting roar. The nearest RAF base is at Lossiemouth. They must have come from there.

And wildlife

Did we see the scarce Great Yellow Bumbebee?

 21st july

The blighters get in through the smallest of cracks, and here were we thinking we had made MB completely midge proof! Two bites on my elbow, and we had even sprayed fly repellent before going to bed.

Window in the door recess.

 I smothered myself in anti midge cream before venturing out, checked out the front of MB, gosh it had become a graveyard for midges.

Today we travelled along narrow lanes with passing places. No plan other than to admire the views, stop when we saw something interesting and chill out. We would eventually head for Forsinard Flows in Forsinard. It was a RSPB site and today would have been the day to visit. One problem with that, the website stated it wasn't open until Monday. So the drive was leisurely and a good job too considering how many times we had to stop for sheep!

 Several places looked good for a further look. One was a small waterfall seen as Ian drove past. A reverse to a deep passing place gave us the opportunity to stop. OMG. As soon as we stepped out of MB, midges attacked us. I was still determined to get the photo, I won't mention how many bites I had on my face. Ian got away with it, midges find him most distasteful. Shame they like me so much!

At Loch Navar we stopped again. The Loch was seen as we travelled down a hill, definitely one to check out. Beautiful place with the added bonus of seeing a female Wheatear and two small birds I have yet to identify.

By the time we stopped for lunch, we were ready for a short walk to stretch our legs. A boggy ditch ran along the side of the road, in fact the whole area appeared to be peat bog. One plant I had wanted to see was the Sundew. This carnivorous plant could be found in wet boggy conditions, I decided to go hunting. Ian came with me and found Orchids and a yellow plant, Bog Asphodel. 

I think they are all Spotted Heath Orchids, although the pattern on the petals and colours are different.

It's not that I know about plants, Ian with the plant identifier app on his phone named it for me. For him to get a photo, well you can see what position he got into.

This was at the side of the road too. Huge Fungus, not for picking or eating, but it would have made a nice mushroom risotto if I was sure it was safe.

Even taking it slow along the lanes, we found ourselves at the RSPB centre. We crossed the railway at Forsinard, the Scots rail line to Inverness or Thurso and just on the other side was the carpark.

A big sign on the visitor centre window flashed OPEN. So why did the website mention it was closed? It was still early afternoon, we decided to do the mile walk to the lookout. 

Along a boardwalk with bog either side. A couple was met, who mentioned nothing had been seen other than a few swallows. Oh well, it would be a nice walk anyway, we thought. But I don't know what they were looking for but we not only saw lizards but frogs and this very strange caterpillar.

 

 And to make our walk complete, I am sure what I photographed was the very scarce Great Yellow Bumblebee! It's only found in a few places, Orkney, (we saw one there), and North Scotland. The first two photos are very blurred but have included them as reference.