West of Scotland - Lochinver

We stayed just outside of the port town of Ullapool located on Loch Broom and the gateway to the Hebrides. The drive up the evening before was spectacular with single lane roads through high mountains and forests.

After breakfast we headed further north through similarly spectacular landscapes along the coast road to Lochinver. We enjoyed a lovely brunch at a local café before heading to the Lifeboat Station.

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Lochinver Lifeboat Station

The small station building was located at the end of the commercial harbour area near the fish dock. The Severn Class lifeboat was moored on a pontoon constructed in 2004 right opposite the station. We knocked on the door and were welcomed by full-time mechanic Douglas. We had a lovely chat with him about the challenges faced by such a remote station in a small town. They also compete with the retained fire service and HM Coastguard for crew.

The station was established in 1967 to expand coverage of the western isles. In 1992, the RNLI received an extraordinary bequest of £4 million from the estate of Mrs Eugenie Boucher, specifically to be used for the construction of new boathouses. Originally from Penza in Russia she requested that eight so named 'Penza' boathouses would be constructed, including the one at Lochinver. Incorporated in a harbour redevelopment, the station building and lifeboat berth were completed in 1994.

Douglas kindly took us down to the boat and showed us around. The Severn Class, 17-40 Julian and Margaret Leonard has been on station since 2003.

Lochinver Lifeboat Station marks the 3/4 visited milestone

As visit number 179, Lochinver marked the 3/4 milestone of our 238 visit target.

We said our farewells and headed back towards Ullapool via more spectacular scenery and plenty of photo stops along the way.

At Ullapool we boarded Caledonian McBrayne Ferry, "MV Loch Seaforth" for an evening crossing to the town of Stornoway on the Isles of Lewis & Harris in the Outer Hebrides. The crossing was smooth with glorious sunshine and flat calm seas. We spotted porpoise along the way and enjoyed the almost three hour sail. We sampled the famous "CalMac & Cheese" for dinner as we would be arriving late in the evening.

Staying overnight in a lovely B&B on the outskirts of Stornoway, we were all set for the final three stations working our way down the Outer Hebridean Archipelago.