Whale Watching to Shiant Islands

87 miles boat trip in Orca 1
Skippered by a dour Yorkshireman
Seats very uncomfortable after 4 hours at high speed.
Amazing experience.

We saw:

Minke whale

Puffin
Guillemot
Black guillemot
Razorbills
Kittiwake
Shag
Gannet
White tailed (sea) eagle
Porpoise
Grey seals
Dolphins

Fairy Lochs

Distance: 14.8 miles
Ascent:
Weather: warm and sunny

Fairy lochs, fairy mallard, roe deer, heard cuckoo, wren, golden eagle, small fish, Highland coos.

We walked from Strath to the harbour in Gairloch, calling in for additional bottles of water and boat trip information,  before taking the Old Road (now forestry track) to the road junction to Shieldaig. 

The road is single lane with passing places, with a flower edged stream with little fish in it.

Near the hotel, the path heads up on to the hills, a little rocky mostly dry but obviously one that is usually very wet. Especially on the tops near to the memorial site to the crashed WW2 plane and towards the loch. The aircrash site is very poignant, also stunningly beautiful.

We crossed the boggy moorland (that was relatively dry) between the lochs towards Loch Braigh Horrisdale,  where I attempted to inhale water, saw a wren and then a golden eagle. And then another.

The walk back to the road was mostly spend scanning the skies for more eagles. Did see a deer's bum.

A couple of beers and dinner at the Old Inn were most enjoyable,  before walking the two miles back to the cottage, calling in at the shop for disappointing milk.

Rubha Rèidh

Distance: 9.3 miles
Ascent: 430m
Weather: warm and sunny

Buzzard, pipets, wheatear, stonechat, shag, gannet, otter, seals, great skua, swallows heard. Cuckoo

We parked at Melvaig and walked along the coastal road to the lighthouse at Rubha Rèidh which is about three miles of single track road with passing places. It was a bit busier with cars than I'd expected, more people going by car than on foot, although later on the return we saw more pedestrians. From the lighthouse,  the route is paths over peat moorland, looking inland seemed quite similar to the Peak District, the other way steep cliffs with sea birds, rocky stack, arches, caves and deserted beaches (Camas Mòr - large bay, apparently called Troll-Vik - troll bay - when the viking were here.)

After lunch on a little midgy pile of rock, we headed back by the same route we'd come, rewarded by seeing an otter running up the stream, and then later seals swimming in the waters around the lighthouse.

As we walked back along the lane it had warmed up considerably, the sun bright, the sea shining, Skye and the other islands in the distance were hazy on the horizon.

Flowerdale, Gairloch

Distance: 8 miles
Ascent: 300m
Weather: warm and dry but windy
Siskin, troll bridge, toad, hooded crow, little lambs.

A morning spent watching gannets diving into loch Gairloch, we then ventured out,  along the path between the golf course and the beach to the harbour,  and up Flowerdale to the waterfall, where there were lots of wildflowers along the way, including primroses, violets, celandine and bluebells.

The waterfall was impressive,  but unfortunately one of those that you can't see well when close to. The path down was easy but a little wet. We gad lunch at a bench in the car park at the bottom of the hill doing the arboretum walk through the steep woodland and back through a damp meadow to the road.

Wirral Circular Trail Day 3 - Hoylake to Liverpool

Distance 17 miles

Ascent

Weather: damp and overcast

 

The trail goes along the north promenade and Meols parade, passing the Leasowe lighthouse and Leasowe Castle, before coming into New Brighton. We called in for a look at Birkenhead Park (inspiration for New York's Central Park and very pretty, although I expect on a much smaller scale) before catching the ferry back across the Mersey. There was a bit of a wait (ice-creams in the café) but at least we didn't have to pay the full price cruise tickets for this trip back.  We walked to the hotel via Albert Dock, had a very value intensive meal out in the evening (or at least it would have been if I'd felt like eating anything) and then headed back home on the train the next day and I went straight to bed.

Wirral Circular Trail Day 2 - Ledsham to Hoylake

Distance 16 miles

Ascent:

Weather: sunny but cold

Lapwings, bullfinch, windsurfers

The walk back to the trail was uninterrupted by cows this morning, although the cold/flu germs were making themselves well known. It was about 10am as we joined the disused railway line that was quite busy, mostly with cyclists and dog walkers - we overheard snippets of conversation including promise of an ice-cream kiosk (very exciting!) and talk of people coming out of the ground (slightly worrying.) We made a detour into Neston for more drugs and some lunch supplies, which we ate at Parkgate in the sunshine. We also stopped on the promenade to have ice-creams from one of the many ice-cream shops on the front. There was some interest from a couple of blackheaded gulls, but no violence today.

Coming along the coast, we called in at the Thurstaston visitor centre and had a bit of a sit down in their bird hide (bullfinch) and then along the headland towards West Kirby. Seeing people out walking around the marine lake was unexpected, it looked from afar like they were just out on the sea, as the tide was just starting to go out. As we approached, the water was just starting to recede and a few people were just starting to walk out over the wet sands towards Hilbre Islands. There were some very fast windsurfers out on the marine lake, very pleased with their jumps which I expect felt a lot more exciting than they looked.

Around Hilbre Point there was a bit of walking on the sands required but not too much, and it was quite damp and solid so not unpleasant. The Holiday Inn isn't far from the beach, so we added a bit more sand to their door mat on arrival.

Wirral Circular Trail - Day 1 Liverpool to Ledsham

Distance: 13 miles
Ascent: 120m
Weather: overcast, drizzle turning heavier
Goldfinches, cormorants, shelduck, oyster catchers, little grebe, tufty ducks, mallards, black-tailed godwit, heard woodpecker and chiffchaff.
Mr Squirrel 1

We got the train from Manchester to Liverpool last night and had a very comfortable night at the Indigo Hotel, cold germs aside. At 10am we caught the ferry cross the Mersey (expensive as it's a bank holiday) down to Woodside and set off walking south on the Wirral Circular Trail. The main aspects of today's walk were housing estates (the highlights being the very edge of Port Sunlight and Bromborough Pool) and industrial estates (highlights being Prestige pans and the smells coming from a Nestlé cereal factory.)

Along the banks of the Mersey we saw lots of wading birds (black-tailed godwits) and many spring flowers, including bluebells and cowslips.

We stopped for lunch at a very pretty little tea garden café in Eastham Country Park, and had a few stops for topping up the decongestant levels.

Along the disused railway line at the Hooten end of Wirral country park we didn't see any glow worms, but there were some bees and lots of flies.

As we turned off the route to detour to Inglewood Manor where we are staying tonight it started to drizzle. We would have made it to the hotel before it really got heavy if it hadn't been for a cow delay.

Nevertheless we made it OK and have been welcomed with cakes and prosecco.