A Tale of Two Hotels

The first was one of the few buildings in Kylesku, in Sutherland in the remote NW of Scotland. Its stunning location - overlooking a sea loch, old ferry slipway and jetty - made it unforgettable and even the steady rain detracted nothing from its beauty. A fishing vessel was unloading its cargo just metres from the bar window where I was sitting.
Never before have I seen such a presentation of a £15 main course of fish - all dangling from a spike that was sitting on a plate of delicious delicacies, like a chandelier. Its name begins with 'l' and it was a new name for me, I remember or rather fail to remember! But, I do remember that it wasn't my meal!
The village is bypassed by an impressive, soaring, curving road bridge that was opened in 1984. Photos of the five different ferries, previously used over the decades, are posted above the bar in this old coaching inn.

Inchnadamph Hotel, in Assynt, is almost on the same fold of the Landranger map as the Kylesku Hotel but, is 8 miles south. Its claim to fame is the photos and text about the Scottish geologists who discovered the 'all back to front' rocks of the area - much older rocks on top of newer and featured in the nearby crags. A second claim to fame, for me, was a quite delightful, 20 year old looking hotel assistant who, on a quiet Wednesday evening, sat on the other side of the blazing log fire from me. Her complexion was so perfect that it was her pure skin that I noticed first! She was happy enough to chat for a time, even about the politics of the 1960s after she mentioned that the book on the floor by my chair was hers. It was a biography of the newspaper tycoon, Cecil King, who owned the Daily Mirror at that time. I lived up to my stereotype and talked about green politics - and, the charming, affable, humorous Alex Salmond who I like. She came from Sedgefield in the County of Durham. I never did ask her name.