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    EAMBLES NOETHWARD. 249

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    •*— The Road From Melvich To Tongue Skir...

    justice ; " haggis and singed head" having fairly established themselves in pur favor . Cockles appear to form a _larg-e item in the

    daily food of the Tongue population ; the road for a mile or so before w & reached it being thickly strewed with the large white

    shell , while in all other directions we came upon traces of their universal consumption , some contemplative spirit having apparently

    climbed even to Caistil Varrich with his pocket full of hot cockles hy way of refreshment !

    It was at Tongue we were furnished with the ramshackle dogcart and harness already mentioned . May " Sandy ' s " words have

    proved the -words of truth , and may the traveller find the " new cart and harness " at his service , should he determine as we did

    to traverse the steep and somewhat perilous road which lies between Tongue and _Durness , via Xfoch Erribol . The one great

    drawback to this route lies at its commencement : the broad ferry across tlie Kyle of Tongue , which is performed in an open

    flatbottomed sail-boat , requiring fair weather and wind , if one would not start wet and uncomfortable on a long day ' s journey .

    The morning of our departure from Tongue was gusty and threatening , and the negligent host , whose otherwise excellent

    establishment certainly does not shine in its posting arrangements , having neglected to give notice that the ferry boat would be

    required , we were kept waiting a considerable time while the boat was signalled for to the other side , and effected its sail across .

    The ferry once crossed , we found ourselves upon a magnificent mountain road , which opens upon an extensive and highly elevated

    tract of hoggy moorland , stretching from the base of Ben Hope and Ben Royal to the sea , across which a most excellent road has been

    constructed , affording striking views of these mountains in all , their rugged grandeur ; the most picturesquehowever , is that

    , from the ferry across the river Hope , where , looking up the narrow valleyBen Hope is seen erecting his shaggy sides to the height of

    some three , thousand feet , the waters of Loch Hope laving his base . This is indeed a scene of _surpassing grandeur and beauty , well

    worthy the song of poet or the pencil of artist , and presenting in its comparative novelty , a charm of which these geniuses must sadly

    feel the want as they roam in search of inspiration over the wellworn tracks of ordinary travel .

    The scenery around Loch Erribol , which is in fact a sea bay , is for the most part mountainous , indeed the aspect of the iron-bound

    coast here would be savage in the extreme , were it not relieved here and there by soft _patclies of cultivated land , and even comfortable

    farm-houses , and fine Bheep farms , nestled among the folds of the hills receding from the coast ; while a few fields in high arable

    cultivation , here , as elsewhere , impress one alike with the thrift and daring of the Scotch farmer and the wonderful fertility of the soil ..

    Many a dreary mile of moorland did we also traverse , rendered all the more dreary by the inefficiency and suffering of the poor

    tojd . iv . t

    Eambles Noethward. 249

    EAMBLES NOETHWARD . 249

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Dec. 1, 1859, page 249, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01121859/page/33/