Trip Review: Exploring Gairloch, Scotland
Compared to the remote wilderness of the Isle of Skye, the next region of Gairloch is nature’s favorite friend. With rolling green hills and beautiful lochs, Gairloch is very different!
Gairloch’s Quick Hits
From my whisky tasting at Seuma’s bar, I had the luxury of being a passenger and official navigator! Thankfully, these Scottish backroads are quite easy to both drive and navigate! Onto our end destination of Poolewe, we had a few quick pitstops.
Victoria Falls
Unlike the overview of Loch Maree, Victoria Falls is perfect for a picnic on a long road trip. Or, if you need to stretch your legs. However, it is not worth a special detour similar to our excursion. Once we arrived at the parking lot, the hike was a quick 100 yards, and we were there! The waterfall view was superb!
Loch Shores
Out of all of our pitstops, there was one that we literally went back to the next day because the serene still waters and surrounding mills was amazing. For this spot, it was one of the last things to do on a road trip AND it was simply a picnic spot. I highly recommended making a pitstop here, instead of the other places we visited! Moreover, we were the only people there!! We set up our camera and tripod and took loads of pictures! We found a real stillness at the Loch Maree.
Boating at Badachro
Located near the sea, Badachro is a small fishing village. In order to get to Badachro, we had to find take a very small and narrow road through other small villages and cross very narrow bridges. Once we arrived at Badachro, we had a fantastic little pub opportunity.
Thankfully, I made a reservation weeks ago, but we could easily tell this was a local’s only pub. If only we were staying the night! Despite a slight mix up in our reservations (they thought we were coming last night!), they still managed to find us a seat in probably one of the smallest pubs.
While we enjoyed the incredible atmosphere of locals and fisherman, we were in awe of the amazing view. Just outside, there was a small little port with boats bobbing in the water and a glorious sunset (if the clouds weren’t in the way!).
Now, I suppose for the main reason why we came to Badarcho, the food! MF ordered the classic fish and chips and I ordered an oven baked salmon with mash potatoes and vegetables. MF thought the fish and chips were the best ones she had in a long time while my felt super healthy and light! Ever since the Cuil Lodge, I have to have the Scottish smoked salmon while I can get it!
Middle of Poolewe
Because we were staying quite north Gairloch, we had to journey to Poolewe after our fantastic meal. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of nowehere. I’ve never been so lost before! We even went to the complete wrong house at first and I stood there knocking and banging on the front door!
Once we finally arrived at the right B&B, it was quite lovely! We were the only people there and we had a nice little room with all the comforts of home! After a long day exploring both Isle of Skye and Gairloch, we were thoroughly exhausted!
Last Day in the Highlands
Similar to most Monday morning in the summer of 2019, we woke up early and watched Game of Thrones, Similar to others, we were sorely disappointed by the series! Oh well, at least we had a fantastic homemade breakfast prepared for us!
Both of us ordered a half Scottish/English breakfast where we removed the tomato and mushrooms. It was quite lovely, especially as the sun was peaking over the hills and glistening on the Loch Ewe’s waters.
Is this the Arctic Ocean?
Our lovely host gave us a little history lesson and informed us that this village use to be a crucial WW2 shipping port. In order to avoid the German submarines, all shipments to Russia began in this little harbor. The journey to the far north began in the most random and isolated Scottish ports! Obviously, as a huge history nerd, I wanted to go see it! Plus, our host also mentioned that there was a beach so that is how MF was sold!
Once we arrived at the cold, empty beach, well, it was freezing cold! We obviously had to go touch the water!! There were also famous Scottish cows and old WW2 bunkers. Thus, we quickly ventured to explore these wartime relics! Between the great bunkers, sunshine, and the amazingly blue waters, we had a fantastic photo opportunity!
As we were heading to the car, MF asked me if this was the Arctic Ocean since the goods to Russia were shipped here. Oh boy, I had to teach some geography as we drove away…
Gairloch Estate
For our next activity, we went on the easiest or a very light hike near the Gairloch Estate, home of the famous Clan MacKenzie. We had a great time walking through the very green woods to the great overlook!
Cafe Lunch
After a “tough” hike, we obviously deserved a hearty meal worthy of kings and hikers! Thus, we went to a highly recommended cafe just down the road, XXXX. Little did we realize, this cafe would be absolutely incredible!!
All the Dessert
First of all, I was in awe of the mouth watering cake display! They had everything from chocolate cake, cheesecakes, to normal scones!
For our main lunch, we ordered and split the burger. Because then we had to order dessert!!! We had the chocolate cake, cheesecake, and a plain normal scone with our tea.
One Last Beach
Not far from the great cafe is the great Gairloch beach! For our last stop of the entire trip, we decided it ought to be at the beach! With one of the best views, we greatly enjoyed the cold, windy, and very sunny beach!
Photo Stops
Throughout the entire trip, whether in Isle of Skye or Gairloch or somewhere in-between, the Highland views are incredible! Not only did we take advantage of the random roadside pit stops, but we also stopped at random villages with good looking cafes! Rather than hike, especially since that is MF least favorite activity, we chose to soak in the breath taking views from the road! Thus, I compiled all the photos that I cannot map to actual locations below!
The UnChartered Summary
Similar to Skye, Gairloch offered magnificent views throughout the area. We enjoyed our hikes and photo pitstops! Plus, we were incredibly lucky with the weather!
- Badachro is worth the drive - possibly even an overnight stay! The pub is fantastic and the seafood is tasty and fresh!
- Poolewe is a great, quiet destination if you need a break from driving in Scotland. While the drives offer great views, you don't want to drive the entire trip!
- Stop wherever you want and can - the views and memories are absolutely worth it!