West Coast of Scotland
We’ve recently come back from several glorious days in the West Coast of Scotland. I’ve always said that if Scotland had the weather, it would be overrun with tourists. Fortunately we had 5 fantastic days of sunshine with little cloud. We arrived in Ullapool at teatime on the Saturday. We were greeted with a wee whiskey and shortbread biscuit at the Harbour House Hotel. Our accommodation was one of three delightful lodges overlooking the loch.
The views from the lodges are outstanding. The perfect place to sit, relax and enjoy a drink. We were advised to book our meals in advance which we did. The first port of call was the Ferryboat Inn which served us well.
Summer Isles
The following day was spent driving around the stretch of coastline that overlooks the Sumer Isles. The single track road that takes you there off the NC 500 is full of spectacular views. There are plenty of passing places and the drivers were all courteous and quite chilled out.
I managed a sketchbook watercolour of Badentarbat Bay looking towards Achilitibuie before exploring further. When painting scenes like this, I’m not too concerned about the topographical accuracy of the subject. It’s more about recording the light, colours and mood of the place.
Achilitibuie
On the way to Achilitibuie, we passed a remote beach with white sands. We decided to check it out. The beach is called Achnahaird Beach. Despite the warm sun, it was quite windy, however we managed to find shelter behind some rocks. I painted a 12″ x 9″ watercolour of the beach with foreground rocks. I think this study will work well as larger watercolour.
Back in 1998 I recall painting a watercolour of Eigg & Rhum from a beach south of Mallaig. I think this trip to Ullapool will be equally inspiring.