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One of the delights of Scotland's most northern county, Sutherland, is an area called Assynt. The first time Isabel and I ever went to Sutherland it was to spend two weeks holiday staying at a B&B in Gleann Leireag. It was also the first time I had ever driven on a single-track road, and I certainly found the tortuous road to Gleann Leireag from near Kylesku very challenging as a novice single-tracker!
After what seemed an endless drive through a completely uninhabited wilderness, a couple of houses appeared at the bottom of a steep hill which I took to be the 'village' of Gleann Leireag. Stopping to inquire at one of the houses I knocked on the door I asked the gentleman who answered it if he would tell me where Mr & Mrs MacAulay lived.
"No I will not!" was the loud and completely unexpected reply I received. Thinking that I had inadvertently intruded into some local clan war I turned to walk away in case I should be accused of being an enemy spy.
As I did so the gentleman broke into a smile and admitted that he was the said Mr MacAulay! And so began a friendship with Nina and Ian MacAulay, a delightful couple with a great sense of humour, charm and endless interesting conversation. We had a wonderful two weeks stay with Iain and Nina that we shall never forget.
This photograph was not taken on that holiday, but taken as a result of a visit in 2007 to make contact with Nina again. Sadly Iain had died a few years before and we had not met Nina since then. The visit was to be a surprise and it was good to meet up and catch up on each others lives.
After our visit and not long after leaving Nina we came to a view that I've always loved. This is of Canisp and Suilven at a viewpoint on the Assynt coastal road just north of Lochinver. This view is typical of the Sutherland landscape, widely spaced mountains rising out of the rugged plain.
Copyright © 2007 Gordon C Harrison All Rights Reserved