Laxford Bridge

Its a long time ago now, Mrs SJR and I got a decent deal on flight tickets and did our own fly drive tour around lower British Columbia and Alberta. We stopped each night at very good clean cheap motels and the like and had the most amazing 2 week holiday. I actually have a journal of the trip written long hand in a jotter and probably have several boxes of slides to go along with it. What still sticks in my mind is the huge distances covered on wide well engineered highways without actually encountering any civilisation. Even checking routes on the atlas you would come to a road junction or a bridge and that point would have a name yet upon arrival you were looking out for a filling station or some habitation but there was simply a road and empty wilderness.
What brought that to mind?
Roy Bridge, Spean Bridge Carr Bridge Bonar Bridge all have street lights, a shop of sorts, a school, even a hotel. Driving in Sutherland you pick up road signs for Laxford Bridge some 35 miles or so ahead. The first time visitor would be forgiven that -considering its spotlight on the traffic signs- that they were going to come to a pretty village in the Highlands, perhaps with a tea room or a post office. Laxford Bridge is like a junction in wilderness BC, you get there and literally there is a bridge at the road junction. It’s an observation not a criticism. This part of the far north west Highlands is difficult to reach even for us. It is wild, rugged and absolutely beautiful even in today’s gales and pouring rain Like many journeys for my work it leaves a taste for a return visit on a family holiday.

From near Laxford Bridge you can look towards one of the most controversial mountains in hill walking circles. “Foinaven” was originally a Munro as listed by the man himself. Later survey refinements put its summit at sub 3000 feet, below Munro’s own height criteria, and it was subsequently removed from the official list. It and its neighbour Arklre look like a wonderful day out in the mountains and I would personally not be swayed by lost Munro status.