Raven's Roads
Living an interesting life: the travels and musings
of motorcycling author Linda R. Moore

8th November

The forecast today was “sunshine and showers” so we set out to see what happened. First we went to Strathpeffer, which is a Victorian resort complete with hotels and an old railway station, now converted to little shops. Of interest to me was the Eagle Stone, an ancient marker stone carved with the image of an eagle which one reaches by a leafy footpath. Mam and I both like to kick the leaves to make a swishing sound, so we had fun.

The stone had a certain charm to it and must once have been lonely and magnificent. Now, it’s in an urban place, but they did make an effort to give it some space, not like the stone circles that are on the village green in places like Aberystwyth.

Once we’d had a look around the town, we went home for lunch, but first we stopped by the Neil Gunn memorial. You go waaay high up above the glen, and it’s a memorial to a writer who loved to go hill walking, and no wonder. From up there you can see just how lush and green the area is, farmland and loch and grass and woods. It’s a fitting tribute and he must have been well-loved.

In the afternoon, we went to Shin Falls. This is a beautiful set of falls not too far away, but I’d have to get up and look at a map to tell you exactly where. Here I discovered the amusing Loo of the Year Awards, which I’m sure will provide me much entertainment for years to come. The loo in question, if you’re interested, is a small wooden hut with grass growing on the roof. No, I’m not kidding. They planted a lawn there.

Back to Shin Falls - the salmon come this way when they are returning to their breeding grounds. No salmon at this time of year though. The water is brown because of all the peat. At first we thought it would be dull, but the sun came out and what a difference it made to all the photographs!

You can view it from an old bridge nearby and also from a couple of fenced off platforms. I felt relaxed and happy there. The trees are covered in long lichen; that is, it grows and kind of dangles off the branches. It’s light green and sort of eerie, but is simply a function of the damp.

There’s also a touristy gift shop there which is fine if you want touristy things. ;-) It’s owned by Harrods, from way down in London. As such, most everything was overpriced.

Later, we went past Carbisdale Castle, aka Castle Spite. The signs are in English and Gaelic, which is cool in and of itself, but the actual story is a real hoot and an exercise in historical pettiness. I loved it and will reproduce it later.

We went home on the other side of Dornoch Firth, and passed Skibo Castle where Madonna had her latest wedding. There’s another ruined castle down that way as well, but we couldn’t find out its name.

This - Scotland - is a gorgeous, magical place. But I’ve known that for most of my life. ;-)

Just a few random posts

• Look out for licence plates (4)
• Turlock (6)
• Thursday Thirteen: #6 — 13 experiences I would never have had without a motorcycle (20)
• And lo, there was chocolate (4)
• Last week on Raven’s Roads: 25 November 2007 (0)

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