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I really try very hard not to complain about the weather - after all you don't live this far north for the weather.  But I would be the first to admit that our spring and summer this year has not been the best.  Wet, cold and windy just about covers it.

But something you learn to do when you live here is to make the most of the days that are good.  And Friday was glorious.  So I downed tools and off we went for a walk.  It was partly work (we were doing a bit of research for the Yarn Notes from Assynt Yarn Club), but mostly it was purely for pleasure.  And what a pleasure.

We set off along the cliffs above Stoer Bay, remonstrating with ourselves for not doing this walk more often as not only is it a lovely walk, but the views are spectacular.  Initially the climb is gentle, and with the tide out you can see how Stoer beach is a mix of white sand and pebbles:

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The orchids are at their best at the moment, although there were none of my favourite deep purple ones.  I had to settle for the pink orchids

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We kept climbing, stopping only to look back towards Clachtoll and, with a very long lens, capture home in its beautiful setting.  It can be quite hard to spot at first, as the house  blends in so well with the rocks behind it:

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Eventually we climbed to the top of Stac Fada.  And from here it is where you get the best view of Stoer, Clachtoll, and the iconic hills of Assynt beyond - Canisp, Suilven, Cul Mor, Cul Beag and Stac Pollaidh.

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We've promised ourselves we'll not leave it so long before we head up onto the cliffs again.

For those of you who use Twitter, I'll be tweeting with 2 accounts this week.  My usual account, @RipplesCrafts, but also for an account called @HI_Voices, a twitter account which has different people from the Highlands and Islands tweeting each week about about their life in the Highlands and Islands.