Driving off the Tobermory to Kilchoan ferry it was still only 8.00am, the roads were quiet - (even for such a remote place) so we opted to drive further west before heading north, our western destination was Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, at Corrachadh Mòr the most westerly point on mainland UK.
West is the most difficult of the four of the UK cardinal points to access, (the only one left for us to do is the most easterly point at Ness Point near Lowestoft......watch this space).
The road to Ardnamurchan was dramatic mainly due to the remoteness and its geology of volcanic activity, single track roads were populated by sheep and their lambs, so much stopping to gently encourage the toll keepers to let us through.
Arriving at the lighthouse was through what is probably the most western traffic lights on mainland Britain, controlling just a 100m of one way track around a tight blind bend.
The lighthouse itself offered a great viewing platform out towards the Isle of Coll to the south and the Isle of Barra to the west, the western isles weather suggested the large red fog horn was regularly put to use.
Fun fact: Did you know when the American and Eurasian tectonic plates began to drift apart 55-60 million years ago, and the North Atlantic Ocean began to open up, what are now the islands of Mull, Rhum and Skye, together with the Ardnamurchan peninsular formed a chain of great volcanoes, the magma fields still evident today.
We also took the opportunity to continue on the sheep filled single track road to the remote beach at Sanna, where we passed large sand dunes leading down to the crystal blue waters and stunning white beach of western Scotland.
Retrieving our steps back past the Kilchoan ferry terminal (aka small shelter at Mingary Pier) we continued to make our way along the single track road (B8007) on the western fringes of the mainland, along Loch Sunart towards Loch Shiel.
Our next stop was at the general store at Acharacle, a shop that sold everything, where we picked up some bits for lunch and a few miles on found a scenic spot by Loch Shiel to enjoy a brunch break.
It was then on to Arisaig, specifically to a place called "Back of Keppoch", away from the main road with a stunning coastline just a few miles south of Mallaig.
Firstly, we opted to pop up to Mallaig for some supplies, the town was busy, a ferry had just docked from South Uist, the steam train had just arrived bringing throngs of Harry Potter enthusiasts on the "Hogwarts Express" aka The Jacobite steam train from Fort William through the Glenfinnan Viaduct.
We made our way back to our campsite at Back of Keppoch (Silversands), a place that aptly described its fabulous location, our pitch backed onto the beach looking out to Skye, Eigg and Rhum. It had to be one of the best rear door scenic views of the trip so far.
We have both been to Arisaig before, and agree it is one of the best places to visit in the UK.. truly stunning, scenic and beautiful.
As the weather was rather lovely, I opted to go for a sea swim, the water remarkably warm, (the wet suit did help). Jo was found to be wading around in the shallows looking at the marine life... the sun was out ... this was Scotland showing its best side off.
That evening we were treated to a stunning sunset ... a 10/10
The following day we took a trip out to the Glenfinnan Monument, around halfway between Mallaig and Fort William.
The place has changed over the years, (my first visit there about 40 years ago) previously just a quiet spot at the head of Loch Shiel with a 18m monument built in 1815 to commemorate the 1745 Jacobite uprising when Prince Charles Edward Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie") raised his standard on the loch shores.
Nowadays it's also a haven for boy wizard fans to see a glimpse of the steam train going over the viaduct that used Harry and his mates off to Hogwarts, as the viaduct is directly opposite the monument.
Our time in Arisaig was up and it was time to head further north.. we were off to Inverness. Packed up we first headed east towards Fort William, before turning north through Spean Bridge.
Our first stop was at Fort Augustus, previously known as Kiliwhimin pre the Jacobite uprising. Fort Augustus is a pretty scenic little village on the shores of Loch Ness, and home to an impressive loch ladder as part of the Caledonian Canal.
Before long we were in Inverness at our campsite at Bunchrew, on the banks of the Beauly Firth, looking out towards the Kessock Bridge, Black Isle and the Moray Firth.
We would be meeting up with Jill, a fellow new Vantage owner and local to the Aberdeen area. I've known Jill for many many years through our professional work, and only recently we discovered a shared interest in buying camper vans, so it was nice to catch up and have a look at each others new vehicle, the vans are the same, except a few minor differences of external colour and minor internal layout.
Parked up next to each other on site, we had a lovely evening catching up (wine and gin were involved!).
The following morning the sun was shining, so we opted to go for a walk, the initial plan was for about a 2.5 mile stroll to the local pub at Clachnaharry and back..... well that was the plan....
Our walk took us up through the forest and along farm tracks, most of which were not that clear, only one u-turn was made after we had clambered over a locked farm gate, and came across a hide complete with stash for hunting.
Thankfully as we retraced our steps along the path we noticed a Hebridean Sheep with its rather ornate curly horn stuck in the metal gate, not knowing their temperament, we opted to alert the local farmer to get the sheep to freedom.
A few minutes later alerted a local who lived nearby (she seemed unphased and used to the sheep's predicament), we watched her go off on the rescue mission.
Our walk continued and we eventually found a forest track before turning off and going "off road" a little further on.
My choice of wearing shorts in nettle infested narrow tracks became a bit of a regret! Jill was trail leader (she had the OS map on her phone!), and she opted to take us on the scenic route ... the local goats would have been proud of our ability to traverse the hilly overgrown terrain ... we eventually arrived at the pub... we had walked 6.2 miles.
A few refreshments later we opted to take the main road back, a little quicker, (just over 2 miles) the only concern was in dodging the traffic, as there was no pavement or track, the grass verge being a refuge from time to time.
On arrival back at camp we found some interlopers had squeezed themselves on the the area between our vans... rude!
It was more of an issue for Jill as the interloper van opened onto Jill's door side, the planned BBQ meant we would be hosting closer to our van.
The interlopers were in a hire vehicle (so may have been blissfully unaware of van ettiquette), the camp site seemed to adopt a laissez-faire approach to parking, Jill also got hemmed in at the back with van visitors from the Netherlands.... cozy!
Despite the rather odd circumstances of a van between us, we enjoyed another nice evening before the weather broke and we headed indoors.
The following morning the weather had improved, we said our goodbyes to Jill (her close neighbours had slinked off early), she was heading east to home, and we were heading south.
Next ... heading south towards home... stopping in the Cairngorms, Dunkeld and the Peoples Republic of Peebles....
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