Where were we: Badcall
Intended destination: Badcall (exact spot!!)
Date: June 30th 2017
Driver: Andy Cowan in a big Volvo
Badcall was a return to the original World Tour of Scotland that was devised by both Andys way back in 2006 or 2007 so we celebrated this trip in late June 2017 as our testimonial year. Andy Tait even brought bubbly and then Andy Cowan pointed out that last year was actually our tenth year and we felt a little deflated that we'd missed our tenth year. But not to worry. We drank the bubbly anyway and it tasted rubbish like bubbly always does to me. But it gave it a sense of occasion.
Over the past couple of year the three of us have met up much less frequently. This is down to us getting old and not having the energy and time we once had. Nobody has kids yet so the main hope is that kids doesn't completely derail our friendship and possibly even worse...the camping trips!
We had met up a couple of weeks beforehand and regularly kept in touch using our Whatsapp group chat.
I had been a little skeptical about Badcall as it was almost a 6 hour drive away and it was my turn. I'd always wanted to go to the corner of Scotland but it was so far away. However, both Andys talked me round and we agreed that Andy Cowan would drive in his new car and we'd all take turns. We also loosely agreed that we'd leave at 445. Well Andy Cowan decided that and then claimed he just said he'd get up then when he got to my house about 5.30. We left Dalry about 6 and stopped at Linwood McDs for breakfast. I got three double sausage Mcegg muffins or something like that with a coffee. They were delicious and it set me up for the day. Andy Cowan kindly drove the whole way. It was a spectacular drive and we even had time to stop for an impromptu game of keepy ups at a lay by on a country road.
Ready to roll
Viewpoint over the Moray firth near Bonar Bridge
Spectacular scenery on the Lairg to Scourie Road
Andy Cowan always spends ages on google maps beforehand in the hope of finding a good spot. You may remember this from the Lochranza debacle of a couple of years ago when we discovered that you don't see hills on google maps!
This time however was spot on and Andy pinpointed a car park and perfect spot that we went straight to and set up camp. It was a lovely day and a lovely spot beside a quiet bay that had seals playing in the calm water.
Upper Badcall Bay. Where we camped
A slippery sea dog. There were scores of them
A pre stone throwing beer
A pre stone throwing lie down
It wasn't long until we opened a beer and started throwing stones at a can on a rock. This then changed to game where if you hit the can everyone else had to drink a shot of Jager. If you missed the rock you had to do a shot of Jager. Things escalated quickly as I kept missing the rock and Andy Tait hit the can twice. I then hit a run of form that meant four shots for the Andy's. Andy Tait's conservative throwing became more aggressive and this led to more shots as he missed the rock more often than not. We had such a great laugh and looking back it was unquestionably the highlight of the few days we had there.
Idyllic
Enthusiastic Jager Smiles
The cans in the background was the ones we were hitting
First attempt at a picture with us all in it
Just for the record that was my stone that hit and it was one of the Andys that missed.
We eventually headed for the tent and Andy Tait crashed out half in the tent and half out. In all fairness he did well to make it half in the tent after the number of shots he'd had! Me and Andy Cowan made black pudding and sausage rolls and then crashed too.
The next morning We had a nice easy start and cooked breakfast before walking into Scourie for two lunches.
The walk up from the tent. We camped in the trees on this side of the water
A quiet road into Scourie
Approaching Scourie
The bin with the angry message. I wanted to put my rubbish from the food I'd bought in that shop in the shop bin but I was too scared after reading the message that threatened me on the bin. Zoom in to read it.
Lunch at the campsite cafe
Ready to head back down
We got back to play our favourite Nepalese card game Dhumbal for hours. The next day we had a nice easy going morning before we headed for a game of football. I started a little to enthusiastically with sprints and 50 yard shots. It wasn't long til I was seeing stars and had to lie down. It was 20 minutes of great football tho. Highlights were Andy Cowan rolling back the years and screaming in a right footer at the near post.
A radio, cards, food and a bottle of Jager is all you need for good times. Those Lidl Bratwurst were unbelievably tasty
A wee fire out the tent window.
The new cup was a success
You can see by the happy faces that Scourie was another fantastic success. The weather was decent. There was a wee bit of rain but we were happy sitting in, listening to the radio and playing cards. I would highly recommend this part of Scotland for a wild camp. Just remember to tidy up afterwards and leave no sign. I wonder where we'll go next year?
Next stop on the friendship calendar is our Christmas walk with our friend Rusty.
