318 APPENDIX. 



lovely valley of the JEn&g river, however, retains a well- 

 wooded character for a considerable distance up the 

 glen. A dreary, often misty drive, over the great moor 

 which stretches over the watershed between Oykel Bridge 

 and Aultnagealgach, and then descends rapidly towards 

 Loch Assynt, brings us again to a few patches of wood 

 at Inchnadamph, which have been planted round the 

 farmhouse of Stronchrubie, the manse, and the hotel of 

 Inchnadamph ; whilst amongst the deep crevices of the 

 noble limestone cliffs of Stronchrubie, some fine natural 

 holly and thick -stemmed ivy give shelter to the ring- 

 ouzel, whose notes come clear and distinct on the traveller's 

 ear as he passes along the road below. Then come the 

 more thickly wooded slopes and knolls, and heights and 

 hollows of the birch -woods of Assynt, the lovely birch- 

 clad shores of Loch Letteressee, and Assynt shooting-lodge, 

 and the wooded valleys of Inver and Kirkaig, where spruce 

 and pine have been added to the natural wood and to 

 the beauties of glen and hillside. 



Scattered amongst the sinuous hills of lower elevation 

 throughout the Stoir peninsula are a few very lovely bits 

 of scenery, influenced by perspectives of hill and hollow, 

 lake and birch -wood, and specially amongst those we 

 would take note of the Lochs of Beannoch — already 

 spoken of — and those of Drumbeg in the north of Stoir, 

 and the hollows and lakes close to the road, only a short 

 mile or two, to the north of Loch Inver. North of 

 Scourie scarcely a tree is to be seen, save on a few islands 

 of the lochs, but between Loch Inver and Scourie there 

 are many lovely lochs, covered with water-lilies, and their 

 shores and islets clad with birch and royal fern. Inland, 

 at Loch More shooting-lodge, there is a luxuriant shrub- 

 bery of rhododendron, and the steep side of Ben Stack is 

 clothed in birch to a considerable height. At Durness 

 scarcely a tree is to be seen, but at Tongue there are fine 

 plantations of larch and fir around Tongue House, and 

 here one of the finest old wych-elms in Scotland grows 

 on the lawn. The very temperate nature of the climate of 

 Tongue, snow rarely lying there for any length of time, 



