More Murderous Midge
Consolidated B-24 Liberator 42-95095
Fairy Lochs, Sithean Mor, Gairloch.
 (Distance covered = 2.8 mile/Ascent =+207m)

 Another of the crashsites I visited back in 2001 and another one that I need to find the missing photos for in our loft!(Found them!)

 During a week long caravanning holiday I had previously been up into the hills near Brora where I failed to find 3 crashsites, we had then relocated our caravan inland to Altnaharra where I found the crashsite of a Wellington and a Hampden in nearby Hills. The campsite at Grummore near Altnaharra was right beside a Loch, because of this there was what we called a Midge Curfew, anybody still outside their Caravan after dusk would be systematically savaged by the local Midge, it was the same in the morning until about 9-00am when they would disappear.

The Old Abbey Caravan at the Caravan Club site at Altnaharra.

  After Altnaharra we relocated again to Kinlochlewe where we were joined by my Sister and her Husband. From Kinlochlewe, along with my Sister's Husband, Neil, I made a second visit to the Lancaster on Beinn Eighe and also to the B-24 at the Fairy Lochs.


Heather and Natalie beside Loch Maree

The B-24 was easy to reach as it's only a mile or so from the nearest road but we couldn't spend much time there as we were savaged by Midge which seemed to be even more ferocious than the ones encountered at Grummore. While we were at the crashsites a couple of Lads arrived who told us they were from Nepal and they wreckoned the midge were worse than anything they had encountered there!.When we arrived back at the caravan it would seem the little bastards having had a taste of our blood, had followed us back,(the midge not the lads from nepal) as the campsite was teeming with them. Neil went to the local shop and bought every anti Midge product they had, by the time he'd finished our caravan looked like it was inhabited by pot smoking hippies!.


Some dickhead being a dick on a hillside in Scotland!

above and below:-The area where the B-24 crashed is covered in numerous small Lochs and is known as 'The Fairy Lochs'. A B-24 engine sits on the tiny island in the photo below.


Approaching the B-24 crashsite.


When I said "We were savaged by Midge" I meant my Brother in Law Neil was, as they never seem to bother me much, they musn't like the taste of B+ blood!

above and next 3 photos:- A memorial plaque and a sort of shrine on a rock face adjacent to the crashsite. Unusual here was a substantial pile of money people had been leaving, even more unusual was the fact it hadn't been stolen!


Neal examining one of the engines.


Up is down!


Main collection of wreckage, the engine on the island can be seen in the background.


The small Loch adjacent to the crashsite is full of wreckage.


An engine on the right and a propeller on the left.


The main collection of wreckage is just uphill from Neal, the shrine is on the rockface off camera to the left.

above and below:-Other peices of wreckage


View of the engine on the island from the other end of the small Loch,the shrine is on the rockface on the right.

above and below:-Another engine at the edge of the lock and some of the wreckage scattered up the hillside.

As the walk to the B-24 and back hadn't taken long we spent the rest of the day having a walk around Gairloch and enjoying some dinner in the local Pub which included some rather nice home made broth with fresh crusty bread buns.


Heather and Natalie sitting outside the pub in Gairloch, seems they have fallen out with my Mam and Neil who are sitting on the table up the other end of the carpark and I've no idea where my sister was!


Gairloch Harbour.

 Our day out in Gairloch heralded the end of a very enjoyable and memorable holiday. Travelling home the following day it was slow and steady back down the A9. The turbo had seized on my Montego Diesel and it could only manage a top speed of 30mph while towing the caravan. On the way up the A9 I had to keep pulling over to let traffic past, but on the way back it was a sunday and later on in the day so I didn't have to pull over as many times. As I passed Perth and floored the accelerater pedal to climb up the incline there, the turbo on the Montego decided to free itself and because I had altered the smoke inhibitor to eak as much power out of the turbo less engine as possible, with a functioning turbo we got home an awfull lot quicker. Of course Sod's Law dictated it would free itself more than halfway home and not on the way up!
The trip however had proven too much for the old caravan which had to be humainly put out of it's misery.