One of the biggest benefits I've found to living in the Scottish Highlands is being able to easily get outside and enjoy time in nature. I've realised how much of a benefit my mental health and my general wellbeing has from simply getting outside and enjoying some time in nature.
Last week, on our day off, we spent a couple of hours exploring the woodland trails at Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve in Kinlochewe. Despite only living just over an hour away from Beinn Eighe, we had never visited before. We always end up opting to visit the Isle of Skye rather than driving north to Wester Ross, but I hoping 2024 can be a year where we can get out and explore some more of this incredible part of the Scottish Highlands.
After having a delicious lunch at one of our favourite spots in Wester Ross, the Midge Bite in Achnasheen, we decided to head a little further north towards Kinlochewe and Beinn Eighe. If you are heading to Wester Ross and are heading through the village of Achnasheen, I cannot recommend The Midge Bite enough. They serve breakfast and lunch 7 days a week, as well as coffees and cake, and have some of the friendliest staff members in the West Highlands. We first visited the Midge Bite in October 2022, and I've been thinking about returning for the cooked breakfast ever since.
Founded in 1951, Beinn Eighe is the oldest nature reserve in the UK. It spans 48 square kilometres of beutiful land in Wester Ross, covering woodlands, rivers and mountains. We decided to park the car in Kinlochewe village and headed towards the visitor centre. We enjoyed chatting and listening to the sounds of the Scottish Highlands waking up to spring. It's been a long and interesting winter here in the Scottish Highlands, but there's such a sense of excitement and hope that comes with spring and it was lovely to be able to feel that excitement at Beinn Eighe.
We spend just over 2 hours exploring some of the trails around the nature reserve. All the trails were incredibly well sign-posted, with well maintained paths. We did one of the steeper trails, giving beautiful views over Loch Maree. Even though this was steeper, it was still perfectly manageable with incredible views, and our 13 year old dog Bru was able to enjoy the walk without getting too tired.
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