A visit to a secret beach

Experience has taught me, when Gail announces we're going for a walk to some "favourite beach", not to expect a palm fringed tropical paradise populated with bronzed, rip-muscled surfer dudes and blonde bikini clad beauties...

But I admit I was surprised on Saturday morning when we started at Kenmore, by the shores of Loch Torridon (a sea inlet, you'll remember) and headed inland and uphill.

Even more of a surprise was the fact that, following a rain sodden few weeks, we were finally enjoying a day of crystal clear blue skies and zero mph wind.

After a couple of miles of walking directly south into the low winter sun, our eyes were feeling somewhat dazzled and we were both pleased to descend to our destination, a small loch nestling in the hummocky hills.

Gail then located a little bay, almost hidden by the heather, where the water was edged by a few meters of sand.

"Is this all?" I wanted to bark, but Gail seemed well content with her secret beach. She sat down and took the cheese sandwiches (a big one for her and a small and somewhat dry one for me) and a flask of coffee out of her daypack and exclaimed: "What a lovely and peaceful place, don't you think Bertie?"

I didn't disagree. After all, it would have been churlish to point out the shortage of space for zoomies and the disappointing absence of decomposing marine life...

We stayed there for about half an hour, disturbed only by a solitary hill runner loping past, then walked back to the car, enjoying the views across to Loch Torridon with the sun thankfully now shining on our backs.