Back To Shore

Lyrics: “Faithful Son” ~ Frank Turner, 2009

One of my (many) plans for this vacation was to go on a few hikes. I didn’t do as much of that in Inverness and that’s ok. Yesterday I went out for a route I found on Walk Highlands, which is my go-to page to find hikes (“walks” as they call it here as if it were just a stroll through the park). I probably should have paid more attention to various aspects of the description for this one like 

Rough coastal walking; there is a fairly continuous sheep-path for most of the way. The ground is boggy and crosses slippery rocks above the cliffs in a few places so care is needed.

It came with a 3 of 5 rating for grade (difficulty) and more important the “bog factor”. Which means it would be wet and muddy in places. Oh so many places.

There were a few times where my mind went into a bit of despair, when I lost sight of the track, which wasn’t always as clearly visible as I’d have hoped. Once I had to scramble up a rocky slope from a beach. Once I had to move downhill through pretty boggy terrain proper drenched parts of my boots. There were a few moments when I thought “Oh God, I can’t do this”. Then it did help to remember what I already did achieve to do on previous hikes. Albeit in much better physical shape, but still. I persevered and walked on and of course made it back to my car safe and sound. In not such a bad time for a 9 km walk along the coast. And the views were worth it of course.

Anyway I was pretty knackered after. I forgot to put on sunscreen, yes I know rookie mistake, and felt rather hot when I got home, as the sun was out shining for the whole time. No sunburn though. I probably also should have brought more water than the 2x 0.5 litres I packed. Next time.

Here are some of my photos

Lyrics: “Choose To Be Me” ~ Sunrise Avenue, 2006

I slept for over 10 hours last night. It was pure bliss and I knew the decision to come here to this rather isolated spot for a whole week was the right one. Like I mentioned last night, it took me a while to get here, because I stopped for photos so many times. Like for this view…

One of the reasons I picked this place was my vague idea to use the time here in this remoteness for some introspection. Part digital detox (though I brought my phone and tablet and there is WiFi; it’s a glamping site after all). Part proper soul searching about some things. Plus lots of sleep and some walks / hikes. And also just sitting on the deck, staring across the sea and doing nothing. 

Could I have done all that during time off at home? Or at least closer to home? Maybe. But I decided a change of scenery to this beautiful scenery would help. And I think it will.

Rather by chance I picked a fitting podcast for the last part before the single track roads (there I needed to focus on the road): “The Way Out Is In Episode 41: The Art of Laziness” and before that I listened to one of the few Bialik Breakdowns (with the wonderful Mayim Bialik aka Amy from The Big Bang Theory) episodes I had downloaded: “Melanie Chisholm – The Discipline of Girl Power“. The title is a bit misleading, I think, they talked a lot about Mel’s mental health issues (depression and such) and even though it’s nothing new, it always helps to hear that those successful women are plagues with the same demons as I am. This morning I bought Mel C’s autobiography as ebook. I can’t help myself.

Talking about books: I also brought a bunch of books to help me with that soul searching and do have lots of time to read here obviously. One is “The Gift of Imperfection” by Brene Brown, which as been on my shelf for ages. The other one, which I had planned to buy for a while, but actually only did buy in Inverness is “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention” by Johann Hari. I’ve only read the first 60 of about 300 pages and already had quite a few “lightbulb moments”. 

And when I don’t want to search my soul any more I currently turn to the fictional: “Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone” by Benjamin Stevenson and I’m having a blast. It’s so so good in my eyes. Like the “Knives Out” movies but in book form. I love it. I’m about half-way through and have no idea who the killer is. Which is as it should be in a murder mystery, right? 

Lyrics: “Rivers” ~ Frank Turner, 2008

I’ve made it to my home for the whole next week and it’s as glorious as I thought it would be. 

More ‘official photos’ on my hosts’ site. 

On Thursday I had booked a tour (and afternoon tea) at the Johnston of Elgin mill (cashmere and such since 18-something.) Fascinating experience, not alone because we saw fabrics for Hermes, Dior and other luxury brands being manufactured right there! I spent some time by the beach after. 

Yesterday I was kind of lazy, but in the end at least went out to Ness Islands for a bit of quiet (see traffic noise during the day) reading time. Today I drove from Inverness to the West Coast; not on the direct route, but a long-ish detour to have a stroll through Inverewe Gardens. It rained quite a bit when I got there, so I took a longer break in the cafe. Stretching my leg in between long stretches on the road felt nice. The drive up here also took me longer than scheduled, because I stopped every 10 minutes (or so) to take photos. What can I say, I like it here…

But now: Sleep. I had such a crappy night last night (see again: traffic noise in Inverness), so the very quiet countryside is bliss.