We were based at a lovely country house hotel in Contin - Coul House, which is set in beautiful grounds with magnificent views. The excellence of service and fine hospitality we received made this truly a stand-out event. The quality of the food was also fabulous.
The Gain-an-Hour formula continues to work well, with suggested driving routes for the days and everyone enjoying dinner together on the Saturday night. As usual, there was a theme for Saturday's dinner, "Tartan & Tweed" this year to go with the "country house party" vibe of Coul House.
On the Friday our drive headed north, passing over Struie Hill and the Cromarty and Dornoch Firths. We lunched at The Pier restaurant at Lairg and continued beyond Altnaharra before turning east through Strath Naver via Kinbrace to Helmsdale. Open and treeless for much of the way, the single track roads had good visibility for driving and to the spectacular views. We returned past a sunlit Cromarty Firth down the A9.
The Saturday drive led south-west via Loch Carron towards Kyle of Lochalsh, and a lunchtime meeting with old friends at the Kintail Lodge Hotel, where our Gain-an-Hour weekend was hosted in 2009 and 2012. Return was past the Five Sisters range of hills towards Invermoriston, but turning East through Glen Garry to Invergarry before following Loch Oich to Fort Augustus and on up Loch Ness to Drumnadrochit. Here we cut off west again to Cannich and up Strath Glass to get to Muir of Ord and so back to base.
Dinner on Saturday night produced the usual range of fantastic (or fantastical) outfits. Derek & Kay (Tartan Pyjama Party) and Ray (Sid Snot) won prizes for their interpretation of the night's theme.