Stevan had been asked to take a photograph of the Druid's Cave on the Clachtoll Peat Road so as today was forecast to be the best day of the week weatherwise we donned our walking boots, packed sandwiches and tea, and set off.   On our way to Lexies Loch we had to pass a deer store which, despite some of its decoration clearly indicating what the contents are, there was a slight softening of the blow by the hanging baskets!



Stevan set a cracking pace, forgetting that my legs are not quite as long as his, and before long we were looking back over Lexie's Loch with the Minch beyond.



On and on we went, until even the sea disappeared and it was just us and the hills.



It was a glorious morning, with just a light breeze to keep the midges away, although with the dry summer we've had so far they have not given us too much trouble this year, thankfully.  After a few miles we saw our goal in site - well the rocky outcrop indicating we were close to what is known locally as the Druid's Cave.  If you didn't know it was there it would be easy to miss.



But we spotted it - just a tiny, tiny entrance that is really only big enough to squeeeeeeeeze through.  I'm not that good with caves, and I couldn't do any more than put my head and shoulders through the hole to try to get some photographs.  It definitely looks like the cave has been constructed rather than it being a natural cave.   To give you an idea of the size of the entrance, Stevan snapped me while I was taking some photographs.  And yes, that is a Stripe Study!  I was grateful that I grabbed it while walking out the house as it was a little chilly once we stopped walking.



Inside the cave was remarkably clean.  I had expected to find the remains of animals who had perhaps crept in to die somewhere dark and quiet.  But there really wasn't much to see at all, except for the incredible walls.  It didn't even smell of anything.  I expected it to be a little musty,  but there was no real smell at all.



The cave extend beyond what we were able to capture on camera, but I wasn't in a hurry to explore inside.  Lexie seemed quite keen as she kept pushing past me trying to get in, but we were not that keen on the idea of her disappearing into the cave when we had no intention of following her!

So instead we went and found a spot to have our lunch and relax after the morning walk.  Lexie agreed it was time to have a good roll in the heather.












Once all the sandwiches were eaten and the scalding tea was drunk it was time to head home again.  We took the slightly easier way back by using the peat road - a road which was built to allow folk living in Clachtoll to make their way to and from the peat diggings.  In more recent years the road has been used by four wheel drive vehicles which is the modern way of transporting peats - although I'm not sure I'd be keen to drive over this bridge:



Especially when you see the structure from underneath:



 

Eventually we had to leave the relatively flat peat road and head back into the hills to get home.  We hadn't expected to see any deer in an area that is relatively close to houses at this time of year in so I'm not sure who got the bigger fright when we surprised a small herd of deer:



It was a lovely walk, and one to be recommended if you're visiting Assynt.  Just find the Clachtoll Peat Road to set you on your way, and explore to your heart's content.

On a completely different note, I have added a new yarn base to the shop today.  I am thrilled to have added a sport weight base to the collection.  Sport weight isn't a weight that is commonly found in the UK, but it is a popular yarn in North America where many designers use it for their designs.  You can find it here, and for one week only it is at the special introductory price of £10.00/100g.