Gairloch Day 10

We had a pretty busy day today. When we woke up Charisma had already left, along with all the other boats from Stornoway. After a much needed shower we headed up to the campsite to do our laundry. Lucky for us, we managed to get a lift half way there. We had our customary coffee and over-sized scone while we waited for the washing to finish, then stocked up on meat and vegetables at Morrisons the butchers. On the way back it started to rain pretty hard and we were soaked by the time we got back to the boat. We had wanted to go for a walk but it didn't seem appealing in the rain, so Graham blogged while I attempted to tidy up the boat (which is difficult when there is half an engine dismantled in the cabin). At about 3.30pm the rain started to ease so we decided to go for that walk after all.

The walk we wanted to do started in Shieldaig which is about 3 miles around the loch, so we set off and 4pm and got to the start of the walk at about 5pm. From the start the path was really very wet and boggy and I soon had soggy feet. We climbed high above the loch and then down into a little hollow with a beautiful hill loch - it looked like a mini Scotland, with islands, rivers and the sea.



But the most fascinating aspect of this walk is that these hills were the site of a terrible air crash and most of the debris remains as a memorial to the 15 people that died. It was in 1945 when a US bomber, on its way back to the USA via Iceland, lost its way and crashed in the hills with no survivors. It was very strange to see the remains of the fusilage scattered around the hillside, engines lying on rocks and the propellor blades poking out of the water. If it weren't for the small plaque marking the area as a war grave it would be quite a frightening sight for anyone coming over the hill.



After leaving the crash site we popped over another little hill and were treated to a fabulous view of the Torridon mountains - absolutely stunning. The walk back was a little easier and less wet and as we headed back along the path to Gairloch it was turning into a very nice evening. On the way back Willem the mechanic happened to pass us in his car. He stopped to give us an update on the engine situation. Finally some promising news - he managed to get the cylinder head skimmed in Inverness and plans to re-assemble it and come down to fit it tomorrow. We have everything crossed for a successful outcome.