Friday 10 November 2017

Into the Wilderness ... Loch Laxford

I decided to start my "Into the Wilderness" experience by circumnavigating a small inshore Island in the North. For some reason the island of Handa had appealed to my adventuring spirit for quite a number of years.

Perhaps it was the call of the Puffin's which fired my imagination.  I tend to think of them as sea parrots .. or the clowns of the seabirds.



Or perhaps it was my abortive trip that I posted about in my blog around six years ago. You may recall that time ... when my daughter had an accident and I had to return home after a quick foray into Loch Laxford.

Or it may have just been the call of exploring somewhere new .. but whatever it was that attracted me .. that is where I headed for first.

Arriving in the area .. I had a scout round to find the best place to set up camp and also be able to beach launch my inflatable boat. The village of Scourie was an option and I parked beside the beach to have a look.


The setting was appealing ..but as there is a campsite in the village ..I decided that wild camping was not really suitable here. I took a walk along the coast.


It was a lovely warm early summer day. The sea looked blue and inviting for inflatable boating and the warm wind was not causing too much turbulence on the flattish sea surface.


Looking across to Handa ..I started getting impatient ..and wished I was on the water heading there instead of just looking across the sea at the island.

I headed back to the car.. my mind was now made up. I was going to set up camp at Loch Laxford ... beside the old boathouse. Its out the way of civilisation ..and I knew from my previous visit ..I should be left in peace to enjoy my peace and quiet.


By the time I settled into my camp.. it was late afternoon .. so I assembled the boat and explored the sea loch at Laxford.



Then I settled down for the night ..looking forward to a trip round Handa the following day ....







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