Recreation in Achiltibuie

Achiltibuie, a small coastal village north of Ullapool in Wester Ross, might be familiar to some German readers from a column called "Mail aus Achiltibuie" in the German newspaper "Die Zeit". Reiner Luyken - its author - and his wife Sheileagh run two luxury self-catering cottages named "The Brochs of Coigach" in Achiltibuie that were designed by architect Stuart Bagshaw.

Before travelling to Inverness and Edinburgh, we spent a very relaxing week there - with a terrific view over the Summer Isles.

To get to Achiltibuie, drive the A385 up to Drumrunie, then turn (for the lack of a better description) and simply follow the signs until you reach your destination... ;-)

Our GPS had no problems finding the place, either.

"Brochs" are windowless stone roundhouses from the iron age which were about 15 metres (approx. 50 feet) high.

There are still lots of broch ruins in Scotland.

The "Brochs of Coigach" are built to resemble that type of building while offering state-of-the-art comfort.

The superb view from our window kept changing constantly with the weather and its lighting conditions.

As mentioned above, we spent most of the time relaxing during our week at Gille Buidhe's Broch.

However, we did explore our surroundings a little and we also went to Ullapool.

Unfortunately, I had not planned enough time for a trip to Stornoway as we would have had to stay overnight :-( .

Then again, another destination to look forward to in the future... ;-))

Some impressions from our walks (click to enlarge):

After leaving Achiltibuie on a spectacular scenic drive, we visited the lovely Inverewe Garden.

The 50-acre garden (I would rather call it a park) was created by Osgood Mackenzie in the 1860s and displays plants from all over the world.