Tuesday 3 July 2012

Drumbeg - a lovely village in north-west Scotland

On our recent holiday up in the north west of Scotland we stayed in Drumbeg a lovely little village. It's midway between Lochinver and Kylesku on a one track road (that thankfully has plenty of passing places) that is famed as one of the most picturesque roads in the country. The scenery is stunning! Crafty Green Boyfriend did a great job of driving this road and avoiding injuring any of the many dippit wee sheep and lambs that seem to see the road as their playground.

Drumbeg is situated between a beautiful bay (where we saw a group of four orcas (killer whales)


and a lovely loch.

Every morning at breakfast we watched a group of greylag geese (including around ten goslings) cross the loch to the closest shore, where the adults lead the young on a foraging trip up the hill.

Drumbeg Village Store is officially one of the best in Scotland, and sells a good range of environmentally friendly cleaning materials, organic and fair trade snacks, fruit and veg, books about Scotland and locally made crafts (I particularly liked Maureen's clocksmade from driftwood and sea pottery and tried to find her website to link to, unfortunately she doesn't seem to have one, but I do know she's based in Kylesku.) Drumbeg Store also has an adorable resident cat (who hopefully doesn't kill too much of the local wildlife).


At the opposite end of the village, The Little Soap and Candle Shop sells a lovely range of toiletries, candles, incense and pottery. It also has a lovely tea garden,


where we were visited by a friendly blackbird as we drank our green tea (in my case) and coffee (in Crafty Green Boyfriend's case). Just next to this shop, there is a footpath that takes you into the beautiful moorland that surrounds Drumbeg.


19 comments:

Glenna said...

Ohhhhh, so lovely. There will be no vacation for me this year, so I am going to feast my eyes on yours. I adore Scotland--I've been twice, and now I see a good reason to go again.

The Weaver of Grass said...

dippit is a word I have never heard before Juliet - what does it mean. This looks such a lovely place. My experience of being in Scotland is limited to Galloway and Dumfries and a fortnight's holiday in Kincraig - both lovely but I would like to see more.

Naquillity said...

sounds like a great time was had by you both. those pictures are lovely. i especially loved the tea spot. were you able to get any pictures of the orca? i bet that was so cool seeing four of them... hope all is well. have a great day~

Cuby said...

This just looks a wonderful place to stay. I have been to both Lochinver and Kylsku (even when there was a ferry before the magnificent bridge). I love the area and now Drumbeg is on my list as a must visit' place). Thanks for this post.

Ms Sparrow said...

That sound like a lovely spot to visit. The idea of a tea garden brings to mind trellises covered with ivy and clematis and linen tablecloths on little tables where one sits caressed by soft breezes.
Sigh...

P. M. Doolan said...

Your photos and description remind me of rural West Cork and Kerry in the west of Ireland.

Crafty Green Poet said...

Weaver - dippit is a Scots word meaning silly, one of my favourite Scots words in fact!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Naquillity - we did get photos of the orcas, but they're very distant, I'm going to see if i can zoom in on them and if i can I'll post the photos here!

Anonymous said...

It looks like a wonderful place for a quiet vacation.

Carol Steel said...

I can feel the relaxation in your description. What a lovely place it must have been for both of you.

Sandy's witterings said...

Drumbeg looks to be the perfect contrast to Edinburgh life. And killer whales too, well that's a bonus and a half.
(I've just checked out Drumbeg's location - it certainly is a long way up!)

dosankodebbie said...

Oh thank you thank you for this lovely mini-tour. It looks and sounds magical.

Selma said...

What an absolutely charming spot. I would so love to visit it. It is a very special place!

Carver said...

Wonderful shots of a beautiful place.

RG said...

Pretty place!

Did you know that here in Puget Sound there are 3 pods of "resident" orcas - 89 in all - that only eat salmon and co-mingle. Every single one of them is uniquely identifiable and has both a number and a name. Granny is more than 100 years old! There are also numerous pods of "transients" which also eat seals and sea lions and larger whales and many of them are identified and recognizeable as well. They travel all up and down the coast from Mexico to Alaska, following food and water temps.

Caroline Gill said...

Assynt and the Sutherland area are magical! I think you were amazingly lucky with your weather. How exciting to see the Orcas. We kept looking for whales in the Clachtoll area ... but without success. Love the 'kind to wildlife' feline!

eileeninmd said...

Juliet, I love images from your trip to Scotland. The orcas are a cool sighting, congrats. I would love to see them. The driving sounds a little hairy though. I assume it is on the wrong side of the road too. I have been researching a trip to Ireland and I am too scared to drive, I might have to do the escorted tour. I enjoyed this post and your photos.

Crafty Green Poet said...

eileen - it's not on the wrong side of the road for us! Lol. The single track roads are just that though, single track, there are no sides to the road and when it comes to passing you can really do it on either side

Jillayne said...

The scenery is so wonderful, and the way you describe everything I feel as if I am trudging alongside you!
I'm saving now for a trip to a Scotland and will definitely put this area on my list - thank you!