free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Day Eight - Incheril to Shenavall 25k We had some rain overnight but managed to get the tent away dry - every little helps with the extra weight. The painful skin over my iliac arrests meant that I couldn't tighten the hip belt as much as I should, resulting in more weight on my back o=and shoulders. Allison was feeling her extra load too. We walked up to Kinlochewe Heights, good views to Slioch but the rain began again, showers first, then persistent heavy stuff. Allison continued to do a grand job of navigation and we lunched by the Allt Coire Mhic Fhearchair before heading down to the south east of Sgurr Dubh with its slabs glistening in the wet conditions, and reaching Loch an Nid. A very wet, boggy walk along the loch then the Abhainn Loch an Nid followed, with numerous river crossings to deal with, shallow enough to make it over with boots still on. Plans to camp by the trees, just after the track splits, were abandoned because of the weather, and we continued on towards Shenevall. It was empty when we arrived at around 5pm. I've never been inside before and the description someone had made in the bothy book of it resembling a run-down crack den didn't seem far from the truth. We commandeered hooks and lines to hang our wet stuff. Predictably it started to fill up - first with a guy from Sunderland who had hopes to climb An Teallach tomorrow, then with a couple of older men, Mark and John, who told us more folk were on the way. Another two older English guys arrived and we all sat around a little uneasily, dripping, no fire to warm us, each party probably wishing they were in sole possession of the bothy space. One of the guys had forgotten to take the plastic cover from his stove and melted this onto his burner, which took some removing. I shouldn't laugh, as I'd managed to forget to remove the orange gas stand from my jetboil and boiled this up along with the water for our tea. Ian and the two of us had already laid our sleeping gear out upstairs, the Mackem had taken the small cold room through the back, and the older men all took their kit upstairs, so that there were seven of us lying in the upstairs floor space. I wasn't really looking forwards to the night to come, and wondered just how Allison was feeling about it. Everyone was very civilised, came to bed fairly early and there wasn't too much snoring, but it was hardly the most restful of nights.
0A64F1DD-ECCD-415E-96D3-80385A482531_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Lunch
31908741-8613-447C-BC2A-94854C48A471_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Approaching Loch na Nid
DAF775D0-DEBD-4467-86EC-13F8DE7FE3D9_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
AA912350-395E-41B4-82D7-325BCA6AE375_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
We might have camped near here had it not been so foul
FEF0083D-3084-4E44-B643-153A8C6B97E6_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
The Beinn Deargs
D0503496-D74E-4BE5-8642-1A3A2D5EB7CE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Shenavall
D13425F9-55FA-4E13-9BFA-E8651D9D22EE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Not a bad view...
3BC9D98F-2B2A-426C-8DA3-A9CF7C4D44DD_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Inside the crack den
3D86D306-D437-487D-AFCB-74A3248AF551_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Day Nine - Shenavall to Inverlael 21k The weather had continued to be very wet and windy overnight, as we could hear from our crowded sleeping quarters. We rose first, at around 6.30, had breakfast and got our kit sorted out whilst we waited for Ian to get ready - in the end we didn't set off until 8.30. I had thought this would be an easy, short day and - knowing camping options at Invelael to be limited - had hoped that we might get over the summit of Beinn Bhreac and down into Glen Douchary, although the map didn't suggest camping there would be much fun either. But it turned out to be a soggy slog of a day again, probably my least favourite of the whole trip. The path from Shenevall wasn't too bad - we've done it before, but it just felt longer without the mountain views to help one along. We reached the tree lined section - the cows were away from the path, thankfully. Another short section of road walking when we reached Corrie Hallie to reach the track one uses to get to Badralloch. The river was high at the stone bridge, and we weren't quite sure where the path went here - then Ian noticed a path line higher up in the trees and we found the muddy thread leading to it. This next section seemed endless. We saw a young lad with a tiny rucksack come skipping down towards us - I joked to Ian maybe he was doing CWT North to South as an Ultralight. Funnily enough, he was! From Germany, this was him after resupplying in Ullapool. He had lightweight waterproofs, trainers and ordinary socks and suggested he intended to get to either Kinlochewe or Strathcarron today. He did add that he'd never been dry or warm since he started out. A good case in point for my dissing of the ultralight mode of travel.
There was a somewhat challenging crossing due to river levels as we came to the waterfall - ahead of us an English couple were removing their boots to wade. We looked for other possibilities to get over, but with the force of the water, a slip here would have serious consequences, so we too (except Ian with his long legs) de-booted and waded up to mid thigh across the short section of river at the path. Fortunately the current wasn't strong at that point. The English couple had been on the trail two weeks and were finishing up today in Ullapool. Ian, too, would be finishing there, but only because he had to return south to his job. The remaining walk to Inverlael was wet and unpleasant - little to look at because of the rain. We'd done the nearby Marilyn of Meall Glac Tigh-Fail last year, so we knew what views we were missing out on. We laundered down the coffin road looking at the farms and manicured fields at Inverbroom - quite a change from the wild land of the last couple of days. The noisy A835 also intruded on our senses, more so when we had to walk along it for a mile or so to the phone box. I was in two minds what we should do. Ian was getting a taxi to Ullapool and intended to stay the night, have a meal and a pint. Given the dreary weather it was tempting to join him - he'd been great company to walk with, had cheered Allison up when she'd been struggling and we both fancied the idea of a good evening together. We could pick up the track into Glen Douchary from Ullapool tomorrow - this seems to be an increasingly common option folk are taking. However, at the back of my mind was the sense that in breaking our "continuous footprint" we'd be doing the Trail an injustice and would likely regret it. Allison felt much the same, so it was with heavy hearts we left Ian to head north whilst we ploughed on into Inverlael forest.
It was clear that we were not going to be doing another big walk in what was left of the day. It was 8km to the summit of Beinn Bhreac and another 8k down into Glen Douchary. We both felt tired and grouchy. However, where were we to pitch - there's very little in the forestry. After some ups and downs along the track, we walked down to the hydro power station (where there were unlocked portaloos) and followed a path into the trees where some archaeological digging is currently going on. Being careful not to disturb this work we continued to the river's edge where there was an acceptable grassy spot (full of ticks, yes, becoming a theme). The rain went off, we sat on stones by the river eating our tea and hung our wet stuff on tree branches to dry off. The evening was windy once more, but we were adequately sheltered in our spot. We had a look at the book (which I'd photographed onto my phone so that we didn't have the weight of it to carry) and the map, noticing we had 4 long days ahead, but if all went to plan, we'd be finished in six more days. That felt really strange - to be more than halfway through our trip already.
A569EB21-2A9B-432E-85EA-06FF2FD9D69D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Farewell to Ian
55100CE8-63BF-414A-9911-AD3EEE61DC62_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
7BCA7B30-32FB-4552-9EB8-9E13A3561AA8_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
EF1839F1-517A-4718-A3F8-98F96D2444C5_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Day Ten - Inverlael to Einig Woods 30k We slept fairly well last night despite the wind, the rumbling of the nearby river is something that's always conducive to a better sleep I find (unless you are worrying about it flooding your camp spot). Spent quite a while picking ticks off each other when we woke at 6 and breakfasted down by the river. The presence of midges as we were dismantling the tent enraged me ("Midges!! it's only May 14th!!) and we were a bit later in setting off than I'd hoped, leaving not much before 8. Glen Douchary was an entirely new section for us, and the guide book wasn't very complementary about the going, so it could be a long day. We rejoined the good forest track which continued to the lower slopes of Beinn Bhreac - there were some good camp spots by the Allt Badan Seasgach near where the track deteriorates. We had shed our waterproofs - after the last few days it felt kinda weird to be walking without them, and we hoped the day would stay dry for a change. Some work involving diggers is currently going on, and I took an ATV track north, heading towards the summit of Beinn Bhreac. Might as well bag a Graham while we're here, especially as it only requires another 100m or so of ascent from the path you'd follow otherwise. The views from the summit are well worth going up for - views to An Teallach/Fisherfields; the Assynt and Coigach hills, Seana Bhraigh and the Deargs. We could also see, off in the distance, Loch an Daimh, which was our next destination. We headed off in an easterly direction down into Glen Douchary, making for the ruins we could see scattered on the flat bottomed section of the valley. Allison was lacking in energy and drive today and struggled with the rough ground. But things improved when we got onto the grassy plain along the River Douchary - plenty of good camping spots here. I really liked this glen and was glad we'd resisted temptation to go into Ullapool and miss it all. There's a real sense of remoteness (spoiled slightly by the scar of a track carved into the northern outliers of Seana Bhraigh). We stopped for lunch by one of the larger ruins, finding an iron cartwheel rim and some other iron objects made in Carron ironworks near Falkirk.
We followed the river on its eastern bank, having to cross a few tributaries, mostly manageable without removing boots. Then the river ran in a gorge with quite high walls in places - really scenic. We came to a quite new looking deer fence and were not quite sure where to go - there were tracks on both sides. Stay on the east side and follow it round for a bit until you join a more defined path heading to Loch an Daimh. There's a marshy section to cross to get to the fisherman's hut, then a short steepish track to follow that leads to the good gravel track along the Loch. We saw hoof prints ahead of us and reckoned that Pansy and Eliza must have overtaken us somewhere. This was confirmed when we reached Knockdamph bothy, where we called in for a cup of coffee and a snack and saw her name in the bothy book with today's date. We also found Blair, the only Scot we met on the CWT, camped out in the main room, sorting through his supplies. He'd had a succession of long days and had arrived at the bothy at 1pm, planning on going no further today. That seemed rather a shame, as this was the first sunny-ish day we'd had in ages. We said farewell having replenished ourselves, and continued along the track. Tadpoles swam in puddles, greenery around us, a very pleasant late afternoon's walking. Allison seemed a bit subdued, finding her back hurting with the re-supplied pack - I had taken the heavy bag of snacks she was carrying when we were in the bothy and was hoping this would improve matters. We decided to continue on to Schoolhouse Bothy and see what to do from there, maybe have our tea and walk a bit further towards Oykell Bridge.
Schoolhouse bothy actually has a road that you can drive along up to it and a hillwalkers' car park outside. I was surprised by this and wondered if it leads to problems, although Oykell Bridge isn't exactly in the middle of anywhere. There were three lads inside one room, and a bearded old man reading in the small store room, so we went into the right hand classroom and made our tea. It didn't seem like the best place to spend the night, so we enjoyed the hospitality of the shelter, the books on the shelf and headed back out into the evening air. It was about 7km to Oykell Bridge and I wanted to cover maybe half of that distance, to avoid falling behind in our schedule. Trouble is - there's not many places to camp - the woods are dense, despite being "natural" plantations and I didn't fancy having to make do with camping in a passing place beside the road. However, the track crosses a wee river at Meur Liath and there's a deer fence gate on the south side of the road, behind which are some acceptable camping spots - with the usual load of ticks, naturally. It was nice and quiet, apart from one car going past on the road. It was about 9pm when we pitched, a longish day, but it felt good to be out in sunshine and good weather again.
Beinn Bhreac
BF06FE71-2A52-4F34-BCF6-F485F0B60D63_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
B01E3A98-453C-494A-AA53-33C5F66C852C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
40D5EE13-6AD4-4D42-B174-892796DE268D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
View to Loch nam Daimh
1A7B69D3-89CD-4F1F-8198-741C14A64701_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Glen Douchary ruins
38BA0AD5-2A50-4CD9-97B7-7854F39EFA14_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
CBF4E995-48A7-46D7-B1E4-25B0989D7DFE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
C7DB8E33-6187-4099-9FEF-227B8C84515C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
49476575-B66C-4463-B4A9-2D0A357F9C96_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Knockdamph
113A5A24-201F-4AC5-986A-4D1AD4D550B0_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
EE013A59-44FE-4998-B513-DBE2A809EEF8_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Schoolhouse
B3C0A59C-A054-4963-B97B-F757C97C8096_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
17AA5B57-E459-415E-9DB4-D0508A2A26F4_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
800173E1-996D-4BC9-8816-62AD97E68EB6_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Day Eleven - Einig Woods to Inchnadamph Forest 32k Once again we were up just after 6am, knowing we had a long day ahead of us. The weather was dry and sunny - I picked about 20 ticks off Allison, only a couple on me. Sometimes it's good not to be the favourite...We walked along to Oykell Bridge for about 9am - actually as there are two bridges, shouldn't it really be "Oykell Bridges"? Anyway - checked the weather (rain and strong winds later), texted home and set off along the River Oykell following good quality track. The morning was warming up to the point that shedding some layers was becoming a good idea - we decided to change into shorts (so bringing them wasn't entirely a waste of time) and a lighter top and wash our other clothes when we came to a suitable spot on the river. It felt to me that we were really in Sutherland today - a change in the light, in the air, the hills around. Anyway, it felt good and I reflected that it was a pity that the Trail spent so little time in this part of the world. Occasionally we'd get glimpses of Ben More Coigach and the pointy top of Sgurr an Fhidhleir - it was a little disconcerting walking for a while with the road running parallel, albeit a kilometre or so away. Blair passed us early on, having covered the extra miles from Knockdamph quickly - he was planning to camp around Ben More Lodge, he said. He also apologised for not recognising us from WH until after we'd left and he'd read our entry in the bothy book. Forgiven
We reached Caplich Farm, where two noisy, friendly black labs ran out at us, past curious cows and a number of fishing beats by the river. We stopped where the Allt Rugaidh Beag joins the Oykell and washed our clothes, pinning them on the back of our packs to dry in the sun and went a little further to a fisherman's hut where we took lunch, sheltering from the wind. A bit further on, spotted the low stone wall that marks the ruin of Salachy, backtracked about 100m to where there's a ribbon tied to a tree branch marking the path up beside the stream, spotted the ruin almost completely enveloped by trees and had to huff and puff for longer than expected to reach the forest track. From here it was dull walking through the trees, without being able to see much apart from trees until we got to where our track meets that coming in from Stratheskie. We were back on familiar ground, having walked in this way twice to do the southern Munro Top on Ben More Assynt. It had taken us longer than expected to reach Loch Ailish around 2pm - we'd only done about 18k today and had a good deal further to go. And that was on good track. Too much faffing, enjoying the scenery and general laundry business
Ben More lodge has a really fine outlook - would make a fabulous bothy - I bags one of the rooms with turrets. On the track further along we met a MRT ambulance with a woman crew member - there was a search on for a 76 year old man who'd gone off into the hills 3 weeks before, with a tent, but possibly also confused. Not a lot of chance of finding him alive. There was another MRT landrover just after the footbridge, parked beside what we took to be Blair's tent. We continued on for a bit, stopping by the river for a coffee and a bar. We met a somewhat corpulent German who was doing North to South ands finding the going tough, especially the bogs. He'd been going for a week.
We wanted to get to Bealach Tralgill by the end of the day, but with a climb up towards Dubh Loch-Mhor we were some way off that. We passed numerous excellent camp spots at the head of Glen Oykell and took the WH route rather than the map, to head up towards the coire and contour round the south slopes of Conival rather than just go straight up at the glen head. Allison wasn't convinced WH route was the better option. But we stopped for our tea where the path diverges from the track up to Dubh Loch Mhor and enjoyed the return of the rain. There was a waterfall to get over, then some steepish contouring to do before we met a recognisable path (well it had bootprints as well as deer prints) that headed round to Am Bealach and then Red Well, where the River Oykell first bubbles out of the ground. The wind was picking up strength all the time and was due to increase in strength overnight - the bealach would therefore not be a good place to stop. The forecast also said we'd have SW winds of 40mph all tomorrow, with giusts over 60mph and fog to contend with. Brilliant! We pressed on, the path becoming more distinct as we crossed over to Bealach Tralgill and started down the path from Conival. It was now after 9pm but we were both feeling that we could just go on walking for hours - the wind being on our backs probably helped with that. We could see a shaft of golden light hitting Canisp as sunset neared, the great, intricate bulk of Quinaig beyond. How great it felt to be amou=ngst these mountains again. We passed a Z-Packs tent pitched low as we descended into Gleann Dubh and started looking for a sheltered-ish spot, which we eventually found, right beside the track. Extra guys were deployed and the wind shrieked and howled all night. The tent performed impeccably, however I got up about 5 to replace a peg that had come unstuck when the rock holding it down had rolled (or been blown) away, and was struck by the great view of Conival from where we were pitched. I was all for getting started, but Allison muttered that her body needed more rest.
On the way to Oykell Bridge
ADD5986F-4F93-4C14-A7F6-A84F64CCDCBF_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
9C5EF17D-5EE5-46A1-9640-1706B7FBBA0C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
2628FDF5-9B0C-491D-B8E9-94DC16FC0B75_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
I did get my shorts on...
B7E46289-16DE-4B62-A07D-53E1BA049881_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
21A1C390-6023-4F51-A5C7-B2AE5D1FB5CA_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Beware...
5B379CFD-F9AC-4BDD-9513-238C7E249941_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
A spot of laundry
B80605A3-0056-4035-85BC-812B2C1FE0F1_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Salachy ruins
C8B75BF3-E530-4116-AE3A-3FC428C08AF7_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Ben More Lodge
DA9A19C0-42B8-4D92-8ACE-4E33AE544B1D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
60BC2832-6D63-4629-982C-CA68A16BD8E9_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Up to the bealach
B4894678-67E0-4D7D-936C-7519D0547902_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Huel commercial...
28CD6C3D-DAF5-468E-BE54-DE55FFD1B695_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
396F8721-9600-4995-8677-D2884F43EB34_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
44BDF725-F641-4A75-A573-DBE42561B3A5_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Am Bealach
14FA566D-C727-413C-A99D-A4683D89F582_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Descending Bealach Tralgill
DB0E6209-80A8-4499-BAD6-4E4A59153D2A_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Sunshine on Canisp
0CE92642-AA80-4760-93EF-865B53876D6D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
7A2D3FE4-4C2C-40C0-8932-DB2EDDB4EB90_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
EC425681-4988-4E29-97DB-93BC53137852_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Day Twelve - Inchnadamph Forest to Glendhu Bothy 22k The wind was really strong as we battled with it to pack the tent away. Blair had passed us while we were having breakfast, having started at 5.15 which meant that he'd covered the distance we'd done from where he was pitched yesterday in under 3 hours, less than half what it had taken us. He's a machine! My guts were suffering from endless Huel and nuts, so an impromptu stop was made in the trees. We then walked down the track towards Inchnadamph, turning up to the right after the bridge to join the track to Bealach na h-Uidhe. The wind was right in our faces now and fearsomely strong - getting blown over strong. For the first time I started to worry that we wouldn't finish in time- if this kept up all day our progress would be statuesque and Allison's worrying about how strong the wind would be at the Bealach. Blair passed us again, having gone down to the Lodge at Inchnadamph to collect re-provisions - he didn't seem to be finding walking into the wind hard at all. We watched him dwindle to a dot up ahead. Thankfully as we dropped into Fleodach Coire we had some shelter from the wind and it was surprisingly calm at the bealach. here we met a rather bedraggled form of an older man who was enjoying the views from up here. He had also camped by the River Oykell last night, but his tent had been tossed around to the point where he'd started walking at 3am, as soon as it was light. This explained his bedraggledness. He commented that Blair had rushed by him, not stopping to take in the views.
C60E3780-FA33-4B6B-B333-54CB5AFBF653_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Early morning Conival
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
21C8DD65-7ECF-4EB0-A007-9960902BBA8B_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
We continued on our way, finding a much better path down from the bealach than we had expected. Near the lochan we stopped for lunch and were caught up by the man. I invited him to sit with us while we ate - he seemed pleased to talk, having started out the CWT with another guy who dropped out early on, and having broken both his walking poles earlier today. He was used to long hikes, having the old, well worn rucksack and gear to prove it and was over from Canada, where he'd lived for 40 years. He told us his name was Alistair (same as mine) and even stranger, that he'd been born in Grangemouth (my home town) although had moved away while still a young child. So he was another Scot doing the trail, although you wouldn't have known from his accent, which was much more English than Canadian. We walked together down to the Falls - I leant him a pole to assist the slippy descent, then we went our separate ways - he was planning on reaching Glencoul, we wanted to make it along to Glendhu to avoid falling behind again. We'd walked into the Eas a'chual Aluin falls last year so we had already been impressed. We walked over some rough headland to reach Glencoul Bothy - one of those legendary places I've read about but never visited. A fine location, in the bay, and with an abandoned house at the back of it. We called in for a coffee, enjoyed looking through the extensive library and pages on the history of the area/house and I had a quick look into the abandoned house. Alistair arrived as we were leaving, and proceeded to get himself settled for the night. We had 7km more to do round the headland - even in the drizzle I really enjoyed this part. Walking close by the sea, with mountains I love nearby - that's great. We could see the bothy and nearby lodge buildings from not long after we turned the corner at Cathair Dhubh, but it took a while longer to reach it, through birch trees growing out of the rocky cliffs, then down to the rocky beach at the inlet. The lodge was empty, but the bothy was busy. There were 6 English folk and a sweet black lab in the sitting room and Blair was ensconced upstairs in one of the two rooms. Feeling a bit tired and not in the mood for loud chat, we had our tea in the stone floored downstairs room and reckoned that that's where we'd be sleeping tonight as all the other spaces were occupied. the couple with the dog had taken a cupboard like room at the back of ours. However, the four English guys - Roy and his schoolmates from long ago, headed up to the other upstairs room and continued to chat away with much laughter and hilarity. Then that noise stopped, to be replaced with a pneumatic drill-like snore. I'm always amazed by how quickly snorers can fall asleep. I don't know which one was the culprit, but, with only 1 floorboard separating up- form down-stairs there wasn't much baffling of noise. We had resigned ourselves to no sleep, when we realised the nice wooden floored living room was now free - we quickly moved our stuff in there and were immediately more comfortable, the snoring being reduced to a distant rumble. We sorted through our remaining food and noted we were a little short on provisions - I hadn't packed enough breakfasts - so we hoped we could stock up a bit in Kinlochbervie. At about 10.30 we saw lights outside the bothy and heard our door creak open - then close again - the new arrivals were going to have our old premises with the snoring from above.
I lay in bed reflecting on the trip so far. I have really enjoyed the rhythm of the days - getting up/packed/walking and only thinking about where to camp, how to manage what the weather throws at ou, in other words being really focussed on the present. Although I had fears that we might fall behind our schedule at the start of today, now there's only one longish day to go, plus the penultimate day mostly on roads.
Stack of Glencoul
90D9C15A-A2B0-4460-89BB-22243E76BB06_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
5A9868D7-E6FF-481F-8CAF-73A6602FF1A4_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
eas a'Chuil Aluin
C7BCFFCE-3FD3-444E-8417-F68F47EE3B10_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
5463627D-0890-4032-BEF7-BC9D4E89BE76_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Inside Glencoul
CE7E2C3E-0D82-4C2C-B6E5-4F0374024C7D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
View back to Glencoul
7E68F3E4-7823-4C7D-B713-FC46F105B98A_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Quinaig hiding
F86B65C7-9C5D-4DDD-A945-DE3FEF0EE3C0_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Glendhu in the distance
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Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
F0F461E6-ADA9-4D91-89AB-37E400C6D987_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Glendhu
050811AB-6305-4FEE-B081-E49B03A8D148_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Day Thirteen - Glendhu to Stack Lodge 22k A beautiful sunny warm morning. We met last night's new folk - two guys who had driven up from Yorkshire to do some bathing and some hills. Blair was up and away from 5am, apparently intending to get to Strathan bothy by the end of the day. Ate our breakfast and talked to the couple with the dog (Justin and Caroline) - who turned out to be the owners of the Z-Packs tent we'd seen in Inchnadamph. The 4 English guys had fallen behind schedule and were going to Kylestrome to get a bus to Kinlochbervie, where they had a hotel booked for the night. Justin and Caroline were planning to make for the boathouse on Loch Stack. We set off into a fine morning, the yellow of the broom standing out against the blue of the loch. Quinaig wa in full view, changing shape with every step you took towards it, a fantastic, complex mountain. Met some ponies before the turn up towards Loch an Leathad Bhuain. Stopped to change into shorts and wash ourselves in a stream. Good walking up the track towards Bealach nam Fiann, where we decided to go over Ben Dreavie rather than take the easier good track down to the road at Achfary. This was probably a mistake as the rough ground was tough on Allison's injured ankle, her KT tape having fallen victim to repeated wet feet. We had lunch near the top of Ben Dreavie, in the same place we'd lunched last year when up here. On that occasion we were also climbing Ben Stack and had been surprised at the cragginess of the descent into Strath Stack - this time we'd keep heading west until we'd passed a lochan that resembles an old-time Space Invader and join with the track marked on the map. However, this was still quite tough going. It took about 4 hours from the summit of Dreavie to reach the road, much longer than if we'd taken the alternate route. Plans to get all the way to Rhicoinich today had to be shelved as Allison's tired and done in. We decided to go a bit further than the boat house, where we saw Justin and Caroline had chosen, so headed up the track a short way, meeting 3 older guys whom we stopped to chat with. One proved to be quite a character, looked about 80 but full of spirit. they'd just finished a traverse of Arkle and we stood chatting for a while. the old guy had done the CWT as part of a longer walk from Cape Cornwall, and had in fact written a book about it, which he informed us, could be had in London Stores as he'd dropped off a copy there yesterday. He was John Sutcliffe and was the sort of guy I would like to spend a fireside evening with in a bothy - lots of great tales and a clear love of the hills and countryside. He even got away with calling Allison "silly girl" which she wouldn't take from just anybody...We bade farewell and continued on to a small clearing by the track that we recognised as one of the spots Haze had camped in in his video. Just as well we chose here as I saw nothing else suitable until Rhicoinich next day.Although we were a bit short on kilometres for the day, I'd also discovered that London Stores didn't open til 1pm, so there was no point in arriving in Kinlochbervie too early.
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Al, on Flickr
Looking back towards Glendhu
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Quinaig
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Towards Ben dreavie
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Arkle
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Ben Stack
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The last camp spot before Rhicoinich
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Day Fourteen - Stack Lodge to Sandwood Bay 33k Rain and wind overnight - more than we'd expected, but the tent was fairly dry by the time we packed it away. It had been a hot and muggy night in the tent as we'd had to keep the flysheet zipper closed because of the weather. Up around 6.30 - we saw the receding form of Alistair passing by at 7 and we set off around 7.30. Intermittent rain in the morning as we walked in towards Arkle. We missed the turn off to go along to Loch a'Gharbh Bhaid Mor and ended up 2km further along the track at some stepping stones. We knew there shouldn't be stepping stones to cross and had to back track. We found that a cairn marking the turn off had been mostly dismantled by some **** who had moved the stones to cover used wipes in a poly bag. Some people should be culled, really. The first part of the oath we'd missed was very boggy but then improved a bit and was a recognisable path as it reached the side of the loch. There's a river crossing of teh Garbh Allt, which would be challenging in spate, but today it was a pleasant wade in water shoes, refreshing on the toes. We continued along the locchside to Rhicoinich, after which progress becomes a bit surreal. After all the wilderness we are near the end but stuck on roadside walking, with motorhome after motorhome going by. We stopped for lunch in the shelter of a rocky outcrop just after Rhicoinich, having noted some camping spots on the grass by the waterside northwest of the police station. We saw Alistair go by and caught up with him a wee while later. He'd had another rough night with his tent being blown over (Big Agnes isn't doing well on the trail) and had once again started walking early, having spent the rest of the night in a ditch. He was planning to meet with his sister, then heading to Strathan bothy. We kept on to London Stores, meeting owner Irwin Mackay, who seemed a right Highland character, a bit shy but answering in riddles, guarded but friendly enough. I bought John Sutcliffe's book and Mr Mackay asks where we're off to? "Strathcaillich", I answer. "Good" he says, "not Strathan". "Is Strathcaillich the better choice then"? I ask. "I never said that" he replies, with a twinkle in his eye. He presumes we've heard about "Sandy" or "James" as he calls him. He says there's a lot of rubbish written about him, but it seems apparent that he didn't have a great love for "Sandy". We leave with our provisions and book, but haven't got quite what we wanted in the way of snacks. I recall that there's a Spar in Kinlochbervie so we head off to find that. Kinlochbervie is not a place I would fall in love with. there are abandoned cars and lorries littering the landscape, the big harbour complex and houses. We eventually find the Spar (behind the "Worth a Look Cafe") and buy two bottles of beer and some big bags of crisps, then return to the road towards Oldshoremore and Blairmore. It's hot and tiring and we can't wait til Blairmore to have our beer and crisps, so we sit by a field and munch away. Up a hill to Oldshoremore, then onwards towards the parking area for Sandwood. Lots of motorhomes and motorbikes there. Allison's ankle is hurting quite badly now - we know it's good track out to Sandwood but I doubt if she'll enjoy the rougher 4km from there to Strathcaillich bothy. It's also lovely sunny weather, like the first time we came here, so camping by the Bay seems fine. Only this time we choose a grassy hillock some way from the beach rather than have sand in the tent forever. After our tea (still Huel) we wander down to the beach, note that the 4 English guys have pitched right on the sand and think that'll be interesting when the winds get up later and enjoy the sun sinking down. There are a number of other tents pitched here and there among the dunes, but no-one is making any noise, or the waves and the wind drown it out. We can just see the lighthouse at the Cape from our pitch spot and at 9.30 the light come s on, just as the sun is setting, beckoning us to the end of the trail.
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Al, on Flickr
Um - we shouldn't be here
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Al, on Flickr
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Along the lochside
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Boathouse
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London Stores
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Approaching Sandwood Bay
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Livin' the dream
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Al, on Flickr
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The Lighthouse
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Day Fifteen - To the Lighthouse - Sandwood Bay to Kervaig Bothy 22k Windy and wild overnight once more, but dry and almost sunny in the morning. We rise quite late, knowing our day is a short one today. We dot around on the beach, enjoying the breakers coming in, not another soul around, then head off towards Strathcaillich bothy. There's a vague path there, lots of sheep around. We catch sight of the building enfolded in the valley, beside the river. No-one else there- in fact the bothy book suggests no-one's been there for the last 5 days, which I find surprising. It's both fascinating and eerie, with Sandy's paintings on the wall and his decorated little bedchamber. I dig out a book about him from the pile there and we sit having a cup of tea, which turns into an early lunch. It would have been good to spend last night here - but it was also good to be by the sea. We pulled ourselves away and set off over the bog towards the End of the Trail. It's only a few kilometres from Strathcaillich to the Cape, but it takes a while due to the terrain. We had plenty of experience of that when we were doing the Parph Marilyns, so it comes as no surprise. We reach the edge of the Firing Range zone, no red flag, we climb over the barbed wire fence and skirt around Cnoc a'Ghuibhais. Can the end really be just over there? All that planning and preparation to stop like this? We reach the road to the lighthouse, having seen 2 minibuses slowly passing by and before we know it we are reaching the end. Just before the lighthouse we meet a young guy who's just completed the SNT - he's heading to kervaig so we say we'll catch him there. We walk towards the lighthouse, past the row of rucksacks outside the Ozone Cafe and cheer to ourselves that we have made it, on schedule, with no major incidents. Then it's into the cafe, where the 4 English guys are eating and drinking tins of beer round a table - they're staying in the bunkhouse tonight, along with a younger couple we haven't met before who have also finished the CWT (?Kate and Lukas). I ask Angela if there's anything vegan - she can make us a vegan all day breakfast (beans, toast and braised tofu). Anything that's not dehydrated food, I say and we order a couple of tine of Belhaven to celebrate. We chat to the older English guys for a while - Roy has spent the last 8 years doing the CWT and his 3 friends from school have teamed up to get him to the finish line, having started out at Inchnadamph. Angela asks if we're staying for dinner - she can do a vegan dinner for us - but I reply we're leaving for Kervaig. She's lovely, quietly spoken, tells me there's good freshwater in the river beside Kervaig. I tell her we know, we've camped down there a few years back, where we saw a weasel gambolling about in the rocks.
We leave the Ozone and set off for the 8-9km to Kervaig. All on track, but up and down hill. I'm glad yet sad to have finished and say to myself I want to do it all again - but this time in winter. Maybe, maybe not. We'll see On the track to Kervaig it's sun and showers. We pass by the beautiful Cathedral stack and I want to go down to the gorgeous bay before it, but we continue on to Kervaig, which has its own gorgeous bay. the bothy must be one of the most beautiful locations anywhere. Inside are several guys - Linus, the young Swiss we met earlier having done the SNT, Menso, a Dutch guy who's done the CWT fast and light in 11 days, Toby an incredibly tall young dude from London with short dreads who's been doing a mix of everything and enjoys "a smoke" and a stout mountain biker on his first trip (having spent an arm and leg on new bike gear by the look of things, but not taking into account that even with a fab new bike you do need a level of fitness to get anywhere). He's been stuck here since yesterday as the ferry hasn't been running today and looks pretty bored. We head into the communal sitting room, a small fire burning driftwood, have our meal and chat to the guys. Linus is making a lentil compote with real fresh vegetables - he hates anything dehydrated and has been "proper cooking" on his trip. Afterwards we head down to sit by the sea and watch the waves, listening to the squabble of the terns, the buzzards mewing, gulls diving. I could sit here forever. By 8.30 Menso and Linus have gone to bed. Toby's off to watch the sunset with "a smoke" and we sit by the fire with a wee whisky (the last of the Uigeadail). We go outside in time to see a fine fiery sunset, then head back to our wee room beside the snoring biker and sleep fairly well despite that.
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Strathcaillich
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Cathedral Stack
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Kervaig
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Day Sixteen - Kervaig to Durness 24k Mr Biker is up and away by 4am, having to push his bike most of the way to the ferry. I am feeling good and alert - I get out of bed at 6 and walk down to the sea with the idea of having a plunge (and a wash) before we leave. The sea is out, so I have to walk a good way to reach the waves. Entirely alone I strip off my pants and walk into the waves, bracing but joyous. The sun is shining, the wind is a gentler breeze and I'm quietly buzzing when I get back into the bothy. Allison is non-plussed (I think she wanted to go down too, but I didn't ask her). We get up, have a slow and tasty breakfast of muesli and bananas then head off to the ferry. This is longer than expected, although it's on basically road. We are passed by numerous cyclists (including an old couple on a tandem), runners and an unmarked Police car. Didn't expect that! We reach the ferry just as it's heading in. Menso has been there a few minutes, Linus overtook us just before the jetty, so we all head over together. £7.50 per journey, cash only. The ferryman's jovial but looks a bit bleary eyed - it's the last crossing for a bit as he's off to get his breakfast. We walk the 6-7km into Durness, the boys heading for the campsite to get a shower and do some laundry, us to the Spar shop for some food. It's the best Spar Ive seen anywhere, with a wide range of tasty treats and more than a few vegan delights. They also have a good range of beers and whisky. We buy 2 cans of Black Isle Spider Monkey to have with lunch (still couscous) and I notice they have Caol Isla on the shelf. Being out of whisky now, maybe that's for later. We sit on the headland and have lunch. Durness is busy, loads of tourists. We decide to walk along to the Smooth Cave Hotel, where the bus we'll be on tomorrow sets off from. It is quite a way from the Spar, and as we're thinking of camping over by Balnakeil tonight, quite away further again. I decide to message the driver and ask if we can board at the stop by the Spar. No problem. We walk back along, I nip in for my whisky which we decant once again into our plastic bottles and we're just leaving hen Allison spots Pansy and Eliza round the corner from the shop. The pony is cropping the lush grass and we have a good chat with Eliza, who has really enjoyed and learned from the experience. Pansy is a specially bred Fell pony belonging to a friend and has done really well on the trail, some bits of which have been altered to allow a route possible for a pony to be achieved. (@ElizaBrownExplore if you want to know more on Insta or other social media). Eliza is really emotional, having achieved her goal and having built up trust with the pony over the 17 days of the route. We head to Cocoa Mountain, where Allison has promised me a hot chocolate. We meet Toby heading the other way, then Menso and Linus join us in the cafe. Of course it starts pouring as we take our outdoor table, but rain? so what. Afterwards we head to Balnakeil. There's no camping on the beach or dunes so we head up to the sheep enclosure bit, and hunker the tent behind a wall - not the prettiest campsite, but it's out of the wind and quiet. We have a final walk along the upper section of the beach.
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Al, on Flickr
Pansy and Eliza
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Cocoa Mountain with Linus and Menso
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Day Seventeen - HomeOnce again it's rainy overnight but dry, if cloudy when we leave, super early to ensure we don't miss the bus (the next one's on Monday). We meet the bothy boys, Justin and Caroline, Kate and Lukas plus some mountain bikers at the bus stop. We talk away to Justin and Caroline who are lovely and have done lots of long distance walking in various countries. They haven't completed their Munros yet though. The bus comes, a few minutes late It's a little 16 seater minibus and quite a struggle to get everyone and everything aboard. As it pulls off I quickly find that I'm feeling travel sick and - according to Allison - have turned a grey colour. I therefore can't participate in the conversations that are going on around me and sit still, with eyes shut as the driver hurtles around the single track roads. I'm definitely better driving that being a passenger. It gets a bit better when we get onto the bigger roads after Lairg. We arrive in Inverness a little early - we have about 50 minutes to wait before the connecting City Link bus to Glasgow. Bus stations are weird places...The bus duly arrives, it's quite busy and we head upstairs for a 3.5 hour journey. Stuffy air and uncomfortable seats don't male it pass quickly and we're both feeling much more tired today than on any day of the Trail. It's always a bummer coming home from a good trip, and this is no exception. We get the train back from Glasgow and re-enter normal life. The adventure is over.
AfterthoughtsOne of the best experiences of my life, without a doubt. Very glad we did it and overall it was a hugely enjoyable and rewarding experience. Our preparation and planning worked well and we took pretty much what we needed - I had a couple pairs of gloves I didn't use; we cold have managed without one of the four power packs we took, but otherwise we didn't overdo the kit. The watershoes worked well for deeper river crossings and the heavier jackets were a godsend given the weather we had. I think we set a reasonable pace, nothing too short or too long, though there were days we'd have walked for longer had the weather been fairer.
People often mention the camaraderie with other walkers they meet doing the Trail. I hadn't really expected this, being a bit antisocial, but I did enjoy meeting and talking with folk and walking for a time with some, especially Ian. From our experience, the CWT is walked by predominantly over 65 year old English men, but that may only have been our experience. It could have a bit of a "bucket list" feel to it.
For us it was essential to do the walk in a oner - it would be an utterly different experience doing it in stages. The joy for me came from the rhythm of walking every day to a new location. By the end I felt much fitter than I had on leaving, and if someone had handed me provisions to start back down when we reached the lighthouse, I'd have been delighted to do just that. Will I walk it again? Probably, but maybe solo in winter for a different type of experience. We will certainly be drawn to other long distance routes now and I feel a distant longing for something of the "Cape to Cape" 1000 mile plus length. We'll see
Kit ListHe's a partial kit list - I haven't done all of Allison's weights and I suspect there were a few odds and ends left out, esp from her gear list, but the main things are here
mine -
https://www.lighterpack.com/r/i630hsAllison's -
https://www.lighterpack.com/r/hbyjduplus a 5.5kg refit each in Kinlochewe, almost all food
