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Inverewe Gardens, Poolewe
Inverewe Gardens at Poolewe – just down the road from Aultbea – provided a great place to spend half a day on the journey from Aultbea to Shieldaig. There are 54 acres of gardens to explore with interesting plants from all around the world including Japan and Africa. The location is protected by the Gulf Stream and level planting of Scottish pines which allows many plants which would not ordinarily survive these harsh conditions to thrive.
The gardens and house are run by the Scottish National Trust – there is a reciprocal arrangement with the National Trust so entry is free for members.
There is always something in bloom at Inverewe and – although late September is probably not the best time to visit – there was still lots of interest and colour. The house has been beautifully restored and gives a really good impression of what life was like for Maire – only daughter of the original owner and the main curator of the garden back in the 1930s.
How lovely to be able to leave a legacy of a beautiful garden like this so it can be enjoyed by future generations. I will take away ideas for my own garden in the hope that I can do the same – albeit on a very much smaller scale!
Fascinating Fact:
Eels used to come out of the bath taps when they ere first turned on and you had to wait for them to go down the plughole before you could take your bath!
Russian Arctic Convoy Museum, Loch Ewe
It was cold, wet and very windy today, so walking wasn’t a viable option. Instead, we spent a couple of hours exploring the Russian Arctic Convoy Mission Museum near Loch Ewe. In war-time, the Russian Convoy ships carried out their missions from Loch Ewe.
Learning of the horrendous conditions these brave men endured to get vital supplies across the Arctic Ocean into Russia to fight the Germans was humbling. Their uniforms wouldn’t have been enough to keep me warm today, never mind last the journey on a ship over to Russia with torpedos being fired at you all the way. 3000 men never made it home and perished in unbelievably harsh conditions.
Life could have been so different without their efforts. It was good to be able to support the museum to tell the tales of the past lest we forget the lessons it teaches us.
Makes you Smile:
There is a snorkel trail that has been created around the coastline in this area. I think this must be a fairly challenging way to explore the coastline. You would definitely need a good, thick wetsuit! There is apparently quite a lot to view under the sea if you are brave enough to don your snorkel and patient enough to discover it. No guarantees of seeing anything though – that is all part of the fun, so the very cleverly written marketing leaflet tells you. It is apparently gathering an international reputation though, according to the leaflet – I’m not too sure just how many people need to have tried it and had successful sightings before you can truly make that claim though.
