DAY 109: Sandwood Bay to Kearvaig Bothy

Sunday 17th June 2007
Today: 12.5 miles
Total so far: 1549.5 miles
Percentage Completed: 92.8%

 

(Click map to enlarge)

 

 

Sandwood Bay

A wonderful nights sleep, if a bit blowy in the night but I slept like a baby until 8:45. Rich was good enough to let me lie there, knowing it wasn't a colossal day today. But it was a magnificent day.

Campsite, Sandwood Loch

It's trackless, virtually all the way to Cape Wrath, where you pick up the tiny little road that takes the trippers from the Kyle of Durness to the Cape.

Richard White, Sandwood Bay

You pick your own route through the crags and bogs, avoiding the sheer drops of the cliffs at the sea. There are a number of river crossings that in poor weather we could see could be quite a handful and the ground was for most part rough wet bog. But we were very fortunate, as the weather has been very kind to us over the last two weeks and so the going underfoot was almost crunchy at times and just very spongy at others. The hills are quite hard work and there are a few little gorges that take a bit of clambering in and out of, but we made it triumphantly to Cape Wrath.

Richard decided to snooze on the very edge of the northwestern-most tip of Mainland Britain and I sat a few paces back from the edge, taking it all in. At times the sun shimmered on the North Atlantic and a small tanker could be seen slowly making its way round the turning point. The birds on the stack in front of us were making a din, but that was the only noise that could be heard. It was totally peaceful. A fantastic spot, especially so if you compare it to the Hell of Land's End. More akin to Lizard Point, but with no people.

Richard, Cape Wrath

Photographs were taken and then we were off in the sunshine once more, to Kearvaig; another little piece of paradise. A wonderful white beach with towering sea stacks at each end and giant vertical cliffs and a welcoming MBA bothy.

 

Kearvaig

Kearvaig Beach

Not a huge day in terms of mileage, but a massive day for me, in terms of jaw dropping coastal scenery and another milestone nailed on the walk, with great company.

As I am reading the bothy book, I notice an entry from April this year from 'Old Gregorlach', wishing me luck on my way later in the year as I pass through Kearvaig! Wonderful!

Me - Cape Wrath

DAY 108 Rhiconich to Sandwood Bay

Saturday 16th June 2007
Today: 12.6 miles
Total so far: 1537.0 miles
Percentage Completed: 92.0%

(Click map to enlarge)

Full of the joys of summer and after a 'Full Highland Breakfast' we are off on the minor road to Kinlochbervie. This promises to be a day to break Richard in gently as I am not sure if he has yet forgiven me for his first day when he walked with me back in Somerset.

Riconich after a Big Day

So we make the Kinlochbervie Hotel for a good lunch - they have Bellhaven's Best on, but it will have to do. Three pints to wash down the really excellent Cullen Skink and a three hour lunch break later (we were writing postcards to loved ones as well) and we were back on the track, heading off to the start of heading north again, along the north west coast.

Highland Traffic Jam

It is a pretty bleak walk in; there is not a sight of a tree, with low rolling hills and the low grey clouds and northerly winds coming straight at us. But then, we reached the spot where you see Sandwood Bay for the first time - stunning.

We walked along the beach with the sand dunes on our right to the northern end and found a pretty fine spot alongside the shallow stream escaping Sandwood Loch and flipped up the tents. A lovely evening with a fine breeze to keep the midges at bay.

After supper, we strolled down to the beach and chatted with the lone camper - a Polish chap who spends all his life in front of a computer screen and comes here every year for a week, just to get away and let the beauty of the place seep into him.

A magnificent evening in a magnificent place.

DAY 107: Newton Lodge to Rhiconich

Friday 15th June 2007
Today: 21.4 miles miles
Total so far: 1524.4 miles
Percentage Completed: 91.3%

Morning Route (Click map to enlarge)

After a really good day off to re-charge my knackered batteries, I am away at a sensible time from the hotel, 9:10am. I have a biggish day in the back of my mind: Richard White is coming up from London and getting to Rhiconich tonight a further 6km through pretty trackless very rough stuff than on my planned route and if I am to meet him today the whole day comes to 21.4 miles, which is a big ask for me with a very heavy food bag (five days of breakfast, lunches and dinners) in Sutherland.

So, I resolve to see how it goes and not push it too hard and wait and see in the afternoon.

I walk over the Kylesku Bridge; a wonder of Structural Engineering (built on a curve, spanning the Atlantic). You must visit it: It has won awards, you know! (Concrete Society Award amongst others) I then dive down the Duke of Westminster's new Landrover Track (a truly wonderful chap for giving me a good thoroughfare across his estate, along Loch Glencoul.

 

Arkle

I am soon having an early lunch on top at the Shielin with fabulous views of Arkle and Ben Stack (where Robin Cooke lost his life). It is all quite splendid but I don't hang around too long as the wind is quite fierce and cold from the north. I am soon down in the warmth of the trees and off again to find the lochans that head towards Rhiconich.

Trackless to Rhiconich

Afternoon Route. (Click map to enlarge)

This is Extremely Hard Work Indeed (the capitals are important here) and I am wondering if I am doing the right thing in trying to meet Rich. You struggle through incredibly rough heather and very wet bog indeed. The heather has loads of invisible rough rocks, so you take it very carefully. It is hot and I am now tired, but by plugging on, bit by bit I finally make a rough track of sorts by the boathouse.

I make the hotel just after six, pretty good going, and make straight for the bar for a shandy followed by a few Guinnesses (for the iron, you know…)

Richard is on his way and has a room booked, but the hotel is full, so I take his floor. Photos are posted to Mr Hee to put on the blog and we slip into catching up with each other after we had last met in Somerset, drinking until quite late.

DAY 105: Inchnadamph to Newton Lodge, Kylesku

Wednesday 13th June 2007
Today: 7.8 miles miles
Total so far: 1503.0 miles
Percentage Completed: 90.0 %

(Click map to enlarge)

After an incredibly good day yesterday, I wake feeling decidedly 'second hand.' I don't know what it is, but I am shivery, have Galloping Montezuma's Revenge and feel utterly exhausted. Perhaps in my zeal of yesterday I over-did it?

I Diocalm myself up and decide on my FWA (foul weather alternative) for the day - Only the second time on my trip, and the weather is absolutely perfect! There is still a long way to go and so I am not risking overdoing it two days in a row, which is a bit of a pity as today's walk looked to be an absolute peach through the magnificent Geology of Assynt.

Two Very Famous Geologists, Peach & Horne, spent a good portion of their lives up her sorting out the incredibly complicated geology of Assynt and geologists the world over now make pilgrimages to Assynt. Quite a few geologists in recent years have revisited their work, but only to modify superficially what these two magnificent chaps achieved.

Anyway, I take the Loch Assynt shore road and divert to pay my respects to the gents at the cairn erected in their honour, at a spot where you can see Canisp and Quinag and the huge area to the west of low rough & tumble Lewissian Gneiss. An awe inspiring spot.

I find a family of stoats living in roadside rabbit burrows and so I snap away as they are guarding the home quite fiercely, chattering at me to send me on my way.

Roadside Company

Next stop in my incredibly easy day is to visit Ardvreck Castle - the ruin on the loch-side - that had seen more skirmishes and sieges than the average Millwall supporter. The castle had changed hands a few times, imprisoned a Duke before he was dispatched later down in the city and generaly lead a traumatic time.

 

Then it is up an easy track to run the break in slope between Glas Bheinn and the moor. An absolute corker! Views to my left and I realise that I am now well and truly in the North! I have made it definitely to the 'North'! I say this as I can see Suilven away behind me with its famous western end at the right! It is incredible. Quinag now dominates and then I am over the top and can see the mountains of the Very Far North ahead of me and the deep blue of the North Atlantic Ocean off to the north west. What a fantastic spot.

Suilven from the north!

Anyway. I make the hotel for a gentle lunch of tuna salad sandwiches, still feeling decidedly wobbly and shivery. I lay down and snooze for the rest of the afternoon. I really need my rest day tomorrow..

View west from the track

Derek and Marian arrive from Kingussie to lift my spirits and a few lagers later and I am feeling somewhere near back to form and its off to Kylesku for a spot of supper.

The Moine & Glencoul Thrusts

A landmark day in terms of statistics - 90% of the walk completed. Yikes!

DAY 104: Oykel Bridge to Inchnadamph

Tuesday 12th June 2007
(Posted from Kylesku)
Today: 19.1 miles
Total so far: 1495.2 miles
Percentage Completed: 89.5%

Morning Route (Click map to enlarge)

I left Oykel Bridge at Hotel Hours (ten to ten) knowing that this was going to be a long one. My schedule told me it was 19 miles with over 1000m of ascent; the guide book also told me there was a lot of rough country to cross. Perhaps I should have started earlier?

Anyway, I beetled along and bumped into some 'trainee' fishermen, being taught the rudiments of fly-fishing on the Oykel. They seemed to be making a fist of it, and their ghillie seemed pleased enough with them - a splendid chap in tweeds, two pairs of glasses and a rather good BBC accent.

The only way I was going to get today finished in a sensible time-frame was to keep going; so I did.

Salachy is no longer at the end of the track as they have lengthened the track, so I doubled back the few hundred yards I had walked on and climbed up through the trees to the upper track. I made Ben More Lodge in pretty good time and gazed wistfully at the Miller Construction crew taking their tea in their cabins - the Lodge is being refurbished.

Lunch was taken on the hoof as I made my way up the Oykel River, and soon I was in the rough stuff that had been promised. The ground wasn't too boggy, but the weather was coming in quite quickly now.

Afternoon Route (Click map to enlarge)

It was a drizzly rain to start with that slowly became a rain with some wind behind it - fortunately, from behind me. As I was climbing up to the steep bealach beneath Conival I played tag with a group of deer - we climbed together, slowly into the windy gap - they were keeping their distance at about 50 yards. They helped me over the pass but once at the top the rain and cold really came in. It was soaking stuff and the boots gave up the ghost and I was sloshing around inside them.

The pass, ahead

The picture doesn’t really do the pass justice – so I thought a little computer wizardry added after the walk might assist here:

(Click on image to enlarge)

The rocks at the top of the pass on the south side (Breabag Tarsuinn) are incredible - huge bands of folded over limestone and marble in huge waves above me. I was walking on a path of marble chippings until the path gave way to more soaking bog before I cleared the next river in a gorge and made the track opposite.

The descent was straight-forward enough, but it was enlivened considerably by meeting John & Ericka Gorman, on holiday from the west coast. They had taken a cottage on the track and brought with them their two dogs, their cat and a whole lot of doves!

John was originally from Morpeth, and in the intervening years up here has not lost an ounce of his Morpeth accent. You could shut your eyes and hear Pete Shepherd - it was uncanny. He had the same twinkly eyes and passion about the countryside. They both told me about the proposed wind farm near Stac-Pollaidh which it seems the majority of the locals are in favour of! Incredible - to live in one of the World's most beautiful places and to want a wind farm...

John thought it was all to do with filthy lucre - they could all see the pound signs rolling. A wonderful, passionate couple.

I made Inchnadamph as the rain was easing to nothing, and made straight for the hotel. It was 6:10pm. Not bad at all, if I say it myself! A pretty special day. The low clouds and rain actually made the crossing of the Ben More massif a little more magical.

No phone signal here so will post this from elsewhere!

DAY 103: River Douchary to Oykel Bridge

Monday 11th June 2007
Today: 13.7 miles
Total so far: 1476.1miles
Percentage Completed: 88.4%

(Click map to enlarge)

I need to invent a new verb: 'to douchary'

I wander down the right bank of the River Douchary in the morning sunshine, confident that today will be a doddle, daundering down the Douchary.

I hadn't taken into account the sheer beauty of the place. It's impossible to daunder down the River Douchary without stopping every five minutes, taking off the pack and just marvelling at the sheer naked beauty of the place. If this was in Derbyshire, there would be car parks full of Astras and Escorts, all with their occupants out; their stoves out making tea, taking picnics and leisurely strolls and snoozes.

River Douchary, Waterfall

The gorge is an absolute delight, with cascades and waterfalls at every turn and rock promontories standing sentinel over stretches of burn that only the dipper and 'Morse Code" bird will ever patrol. (More on the Morse Code bird later!)

The very big gorge downstream is avoided (sadly) and I make my way up to the loch, with sweat and toil through rough ground and then plod purposely along the shoreline towards the bothy at the end. It is surrounded by sheep but I clack them away with my walking poles and make the safety of the inner sanctum.

Knockdamph Bothy is an absolute beauty; possibly one of the most perfect little hideaways I have ever visited. I am there for a very early lunch, so I spend an age, luxuriating.

My food bag is enormous; I can never possibly eat all this food! I make an effort, but the bag is just as large and as heavy after my strenuous efforts... The sun is still shining outside, so I reluctantly haul the sack onto my shoulders and head off to what promises to be a Major River Crossing (note the capitals.)

The three miles are effortlessly achieved (I am walking on spring-loaded boots today) and I positively waltz across the remains of the stream; it has been eight days since I have seen any real rain.

After an easy walk down the track I make the hotel at Oykel Bridge. This is a strange affair - and, I LOVE It! It is the watering hole of the Chattering Classes. It is HQ for Newmarket at play. Lloyds of London cannot possibly function as all the Senior Staff are at play here today with their glorious wives!

I know two of the hairdressers in Newmarket that the ladies are gossiping about. I have heard about the others from magazines in Dentists' waiting Rooms. The ladies are immaculate; the Gents nicely turned out in their raspberry corduroys and Viyella shirts.

The wine list is very readable and so if this posting is not quite up to par, forgive me - my excuse is the excellent '98 Santenay. Cheers!

DAY 102: Strath na Sealga to River Douchary

Sunday 10th June 2007
(Posted from Oykel Bridge)
Today: 17.6 miles
Total so far: 1462.4 miles
Percentage Completed: 87.6%

 

 

(Click map to enlarge)

 

The midges where I camped were incredible. Looking out of the Wanda's top mesh vent, I tried to estimate their numbers (well, I did have some time on my hands) Conservatively, and I really mean that, I think there were about 100 midges per cubic foot of air. This was quite a difficult calculation as I was looking out of the vent, which was itself seething with the little devils.

I had camped around 5 o'clock the previous evening but the sun was still strong. This left me stranded in the tent with the door tightly zipped up against the marauding hordes. It was like a sweat box, so I lay there until quite late, snoozing.

Anyway, come the morning I pack up inside Wanda, (there is lots of room so this is quite easy), don the jacket, tightly done up the sleeves around the gloves, don the Midge head-net and exit Wanda.

By Gum Lad! The little buggers are at me in a flash!

I calmly drop Wanda and pack her away neat and tidily and make my way up the track, vowing never, ever to camp in such a ridiculous spot ever again: Next to two streams, a nice bit of bog, in a sheltered location away from any wind...

Enough of the Midges!

Early morning mist, Strath na Sealga

This is going to be a biggish day and so I am off up the track, taking it carefully. The track gently raises me to commanding views of An Teallach, and if the photos come out and Mr Hee posts them you should all get to see a smidgeon of the beauty of this morning.

An Teallach

I meet a host of walkers; coming from Shenaval, going to Shenaval and the more adventurous heading for An Teallach. True to its name, the Forge is boiling away, with steam rising from its 'crater' and clouds lowering over the lacey tops.

It's straightforward enough down to Corrie Hallie and soon I am on the second climb of the day up and over to Inverlael. Tricky route finding to start with to find the track, then a glorious path that leads diagonally over the moor with fabulous views back to An Teallach, that so dominates around here. The way the Sandstone rises from the Lewissian Gneiss in collosal orgasms of mountain architecture up here is incredible to witness.

Coming down off the moor is a little tricky, and following the 'North to the Cape' guidebook came in handy until the falls of trees and the landowner's new deer fences come into play.

 

However, a jolly nice lady from one of the cottages puts me on a route that gets me past these obstacles and passes me a glorious cup of tea through the deer fence as we chat. She had moved up here some twelve years ago to live with her husband, and they now live next door to the cottage where he was born. Their nearest town is Ullapool some twelve miles away, and once a month they visit Inverness, but are being put off now as the traffic congestion in Inverness is so dreadful!

They live an idyllic life.

Then it is off to the third climb of the day - from Inverlael up and over to the River Douchary. There is a bit of a struggle up a bouldery stream getting to the higher forest track, but after that the walk is one of unimaginable pleasure through the Inverlael Forest - a wide open spaces place where the ground is soft (after a few dry days, that is – I think it could be a nightmare after lots of rain), the sunlight dashing now and then through the lowering cloud cover. The moor is emerald green with the dark edges of the peat hags to the south of me as I head east.

 

Wide open spaces, Inverlael Forest.

You can see for miles up here and there is absolutely nothing to see except mountains, glens and more mountains and glens!

View from the cairn

I arrive down at the River Douchary 7km ahead of my schedule, knackered and delighted after a magnificent day.

Upper River Douchary

There are no signs of any midges and I am spoilt for camping spots choices in the warm breezes of Gleann a Chaga Dheirg. Up the glen, the view is staggering - more fantastic rock scenery so predominant in these parts.

It doesn't get much better than this.

DAY 101 Kinlochewe to Strath na Sealga

Saturday 9th June 2007
(Posted from Oykel Bridge)
Today: 15.5 miles
Total so far: 1444.8 miles
Percentage Completed: 86.5%

(Click map to enlarge)

I leave the B&B at a reasonable hour and raid the Post Office for cash, as its a precious commodity around here - there are no banks.

 

Above the Heights of Kinlochewe

I am soon ambling up to the Heights of Kinlochewe and making steady progress in the very hot sunshine. Not a breath of air and the midges are about. The walk up to Lochan Fhada is exquisite with views opening up all the time of Letterewe and its magnificent hills: Beinn Tarsuinn and Mullach Coire Mhic Fhearchair dominate magnificently and I snap away all morning.

Letterewe

More Letterewe

Then the hard work starts. It's trackless heather bashing all the way up and over to the Lochan and then over to Bealach na Croise with the added fun of good old peat bogs. The river from Coire Mhic Fhearchair is crossed, thanking my lucky stars it isn't in spate as it would be a right swine with banks of slippery gneiss and big water slides with big drops.

 

Mountain Views

There is an old stalkers path on the western side of the burn down to Loch an Nid, so I decide to follow it. It has had no work for years and it comes and goes pleasantly enough and I follow it to the Loch as the rivers are pretty empty (but don't follow this if they are in spate as you will have a big crossing to do!)

Rest Stop

I had planned to stop at the Loch but it is still early so I saunter slowly for another 5km taking in the magnificent views of An Teallach.

 

Loch an Nid & An Teallach

I am quite tired after all the rough stuff, so flip Wanda up and doze for a couple of hours in the sunshine and midges before having some pitta bread and sardines and cheese for supper washed down with hairy lemons.

Wanda - Strath na Sealga



A good day and tomorrow should now be easier too, as it was going to be quite a big day.

DAY 100: Rest Day Rant!

Friday 8th June 2007
Rest Day, Kinlochewe: DAY 100
A Heavy Post...

Well, a chap can get it wrong. I am back in the Kinlochewe Hotel and I have to say, their system works. The food is excellent, the staff friendly and the meals arrive on time. Before they introduced their rather strict system it had been chaotic in the kitchen but now everything is smooth running and the quality excellent. (I am on the Schiehallion and Fraoch this evening with Tomato Soup and a rare fillet on its way.)

But enough of the gourmandising!

Today I have been a slug; wandering between the Post office cum shop cum tea room and the pub and generally doing not a lot apart from the smalls and the boots and reading TGO - which had a rather brief article by Cameron on the Cape Wrath Trail - a walk that really should merit three times the space he allocated to it.

There was a good piece (strangely heavily slanted towards TGO's involvement) on the Backpacker's AGM at Bellingham that I missed by being there two days too early. It did bang on a bit about all the lightweight stuff. This seems to be the current evangelical push over at TGO HQ.

Why can't there be a bit on comfortable backpacking? (eg Exped Down Matresses)

Seriously though, on a long trip it is absolutely essential that you get a decent night's sleep; the consequences of night after night of troubled sleep on skinny mattresses could be horrendous in remote countryside - a tired walker slipping because of tiredness, or making poor decisions near the end of a long day really should be examined.

Hopelessly skinny sleeping bags, American tarps and plimpsoles are being held up to be close to Nirvana in the mag lately. Can the average reader of TGO seriously be expected to take one of these inadequate bags, wind shelters and soggy plimpsoles on a long trek through the bogs of the Highlands?

It is time that a balanced viewpoint was put forward in what is OUR magazine (the readers) rather than the Gear Manufacturers' and lightweight zealots'.

With the advent of the internet it seems that those who shout longest and loudest are the ones who seem to be getting their points of view across Currently, that platform is dominated by the 'lightweight' boys.

I am not suggesting that all the lightweight stuff is inappropriate. Indeed, if you examine the contents of my pack on this trip you will find an obscene amount of titanium and tiny electrical odds & sods (this computer for example).

I just feel that a lot of fairly young, inexperienced walkers are being duped into buying stuff that could actually be harmful to their well-being on a longish walk in difficult weather & terrain.

Each bit of kit on its own does not make a huge difference to someone's safety. However, if you combine it all together and add it into the mix of a relatively inexperienced walker, or worse still, team of walkers, then you have a potentially lethal cocktail.

So, Cameron, LW Bob, Chris T and other lightweight zealots - if you read this - take a long hard look at who your audience is, and then think hard before advocating the complete lightweight solution. The important thing I am stressing here is the audience; the readership. Not all are as experienced as Cameron and Chris and they should take care when blindly following TGO's latest direction in kit selection.

As I see it, it is far more important to be fit, slim and expereienced in the hills than it is to carry the latest lightweight tarp. TGO should be ramming this message across rather than their current lightweight gear fetish month after month.

I am about to head off into the North West Highlands for five days without resupply. I consider myself reasonably experienced yet there is no way I would be doing it following TGO's current direction of gear selection.

DAY 99: Torridon YH to Kinlochewe: Evening Report

Thursday 7th June 2007
Today: 10.4 miles
Total so far: 1429.3 miles
Percentage Completed: 85.6%

(Click map to enlarge)

Slioch from the Torridon Road

You've seen where I have been on the lunchtime report, so I will be brief: All the way through this walk when I have been walking with or have met people on the route, they have been telling me "Oh, it's far better a few miles north of here."

Well, I can see their point. In the Pennines the grit of the south was magnificent in its wildness. This was transformed in the Yorkshire Dales by the limestone beauty and perfect little hillside flowers. As I moved further north to Northumberland there were the wide sweeps of moorland and the majestic Cheviots.

Then the border country and the perfect St Cuthbert’s Way's woodlands and streams. Then mainstream Highlands for the two crossings of Scotland; west to east and then back again heading further north as I went. Then came the last two days. What can I say?

Incredible. And that doesn’t do the place justice.

When John Hee arrives back from his own sojourn " up north" you will see what I am trying to struggle with in words as he will post some pictures to the blog for me. This place is truly amazing and I am catching it in wonderful weather. Apparently most of Scotland has had pretty poor weather today (from talking to chaps in the pub) but here it has been sublime.

Indeed, I wore my sunhat for the first time on the trip today after carrying it for over 1400 miles. I might try on the sunglasses tomorrow if it stays fine!

So: Having a wonderful time: I bet you wish you were here?

DAY 99 Lunchtime Report

Thursday 7th June 2007
Kinlochewe Hotel, Lunchtime

I am making a habit of leaving civilisation at a tardy hour and I finally escaped the pleasures of the Torridon Youth Hostel just after ten. The morning has been absolutely glorious. Wall to wall sunshine with fluffy little cotton-wool balls of clouds and a cooling breeze.

I gave up on the idea of slogging around the back of Liatach & Beinn Eighe and opted for a relaxed stroll up the glen on the quiet little road. I bumped into one of the assessors for the myriad groups of DofE groups who was anxiously scanning the hillside above us searching for one of his late running groups.

He is a retired GP from the Borders, who is enjoying every minute of his retirement after the slog of the last few years working under the new contract system. He is certainly looking well on it and is joyfully putting back into the DofE scheme all the pleasure he has gained over the years from the hills.

The walk along the road gave me wonderful views of Liatach and Beinn Eighe from all the southerly angles -a fantastic pair of hills that I shall definitley re-visit without a rucksack! I saw three eagles playing and soaring from above Beinn Eighe and sweeping over to the southerly bulky mountains, spiralling upwards on the updrafts. I stood and watched them for a full ten minutes before they disappeared over the horizon.

I am now safely ensconsed in the hotel bar where I missed having a sandwich by one and a half minutes (!) as the kitchen has 'now to ready itself for the evening's meals.'

I notice on the window that it has a two star Scottish Tourist Board rating. I would not even give it that. Straight after me they then refused a sandwich lunch to a group of four for the same reason. They obviously do not own the place as they just turned away a small fortune as the group promptly about turned and went back to their cars to find somewhere that will treat them decently..

I have to say that this is a rare example of shocking hospitality I have recieved on Scotland - elsewhere it has been first-class.

However, in their defence, they DO serve good beer - currently sampling an Isle of Skye 'Summer Blonde' which is delicious. Will try the Red Cuillin and Beinn Eighe next...

This might be a long afternoon. I have no scruples.

DAY 98: Strathcarron to Torridon Youth Hostel

Wednesday 6th June 2007
Today: 12.2 miles
Total so far: 1418.9 miles
Percentage Completed: 85.0%

 

 

(Click map to enlarge)

A late start (always a good plan when in a hotel) saw me ambling up alongside Fionn-abhaidh on an excellent path to the bothy for an early lunch. The bothy is a little beauty, with small paned sash windows and four rooms all in good order. I had it to myself and then strolled on up the valley in the glorious sunshine.

I caught up with an American organized walking group who were making steady progress. The views of Sgorr Ruadh and the magnificent cliffs of Meall nan Ceapairean were inspiring but when I reached the bealach, well! The views the other side were stunning!

Beinn Damh from the bealach

There was the massive bulk of Maol Chean-dearg and the jaw dropping cliffs of Beinn Damh over to the left. I must have spent hours dropping the rucksack and digging out the camera, takng the picture, putting it all back together again and walking on a few hundred yards to be confronted by another equally jaw dropping scene, that demanded a repeat rucksack performance.

Beinn Alligin & Liatach


I made incredibly slow and wonderful progress down into Torridon; It was one of my most memorable hill days ever. The views of Liatach, Beinn Alligin and Beinn Eighe will never be forgotten.

Liatach

Beinne Eighe

As I had dropped over the bealach, I bumped into a chap called John and we spent a fine time talking about going into the hills. We were neither of us Munro 'baggers' but both felt that the hills and being amongst them was a medicinal compound; “most efficacious in every case”. You go into the hills perhaps stressed from everyday life and you leave them cleansed and wholesome once more.

I reached Annat and decided that the Youth Hostel would be a suitable destination for this intrepid Groatser and made straight for the shower and then the kitchen.

Youth hostels are places where you meet an unreal world. I don't think there are any youths here, most are middle aged and middle class; Scots from Edinburgh with English accents.

Anyway, its clean, spacious and I have just had my second tin of pear halves. I think I may now go onto the cling peaches.

Beinn Eighe & Beyond

DAY 97: Gleann Gaorsaic to Strathcarron

Tuesday 5th June 2007
Today: 18.4 miles
Total so far: 1406.7 miles
Percentage Completed: 84.2%

 

 

(Click map to enlarge)

 

Early morning, Wanda in Gleann Gaorsaic

Away at a sensible time, I was soon following the faint track to Loch Lon Mhurchaidh and to the precipice. Glen Elchaig's southern wall is a formidable beast, and my route was designed to avoid the Falls of Glomach as I had been up them with Lord Elpus the previous year on the Challenge and had no intention of going down them as going up them was terrifying enough. So I was doing a bit of a detour, heading down Allt Coire Easaich, hoping for a gentler descent...

Looking down into Glen Elchaig

There are a few stacked waterfalls marked on the 1:50 map, so maybe that should have given me an inkling. The path suddenly takes you down the nose of a very narrow, very steep ridge, straight down the side of the waterfalls in stacked hairpins no more than two metres in each direction.

Now most people climb up into Gleann Gaorsaic up the Falls of Glomach, so maybe that's why that path is fairly well maintained. This one had great chunks of it eaten away by landslips, leaving me faced with the occasional descent down loose mud and rocks on my backside to regain the old path the other side of the slip some ten metres below.

Okay - it's only like this for ten minutes or so but they were the most careful ten minutes of my walking life! I was incredibly thankful that my pack was nice and small and cinched firmly in to my body - the idea of a big unwieldy pack going down there would be a nightmare.

Glen Elchaig

I made it to the bottom to take a rest at Carnach, then bimbled down the Glen to Killilan for a spot of lunch (indeed a spot as I had miscalculated the food at Ft Aggie and was running out!)

Then I was following the book (North to the Cape) to Strathcarron: And what an excellent route it was too, if a trifle boggy. I made heavy weather of it, perhaps because I felt quite tired (Possibly lack of food? - an after-thought) but made it to the bealach for great views back to Glen Ling in the good weather.

On the way down I bumped into a very smiley chap - Farshid - who had been up to a bothy and had been bagging Munros in the clouds earlier in the day. Amazingly within a couple of minutes of conversation we found a mutual friend in Jean Turner (a Challenger who was also in the Royal College of Surgeons with Farshid)

Farshid

We took each others pictures with the Torridon mountains as a backdrop and then Farshid was on his way on his mountain bike and I skipped down to Attadale and then on to Strathcarron for a few well earned pints of Directors before the usual grind of washing shirts, socks and pants! I feel like Toad in his Washerwoman disguise! My fingers are more wrinkly than my feet!