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At the start of the week I was away for a short break with my mum, to Pitlochry - the first holiday she's had for ages, apart from trips up to my brother's in Thurso. So we had a few days in Perthshire with weather that was mixed.
CAA9EB98-9FB9-4F77-9EF6-9B3704C83971_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
And the forecast for the weekend remained mixed - the top Northwest corner looked the best of the lot - handy as Allison had a holiday Monday to make use of. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have done as much driving - I got down from Pitlochry on Thursday morning, dropping my mum off in Grangemouth, then had to get home, pack all the gear which I hadn't had opportunity to get ready with being away, pick Allison up and drive back up the A9 in the early evening. We got up to our chosen camping spot, some way south of Ullapool, at the back of 9pm - and it was dark
Ah well - the long light has left us for another year. So the tent was pitched by headtorch and a sliver of moonlight.
I'd decided to do Groban and Creag Rainich via Loch a'Bhroain for Friday's walk - we'd done Groban's partner, Beinn Bheag a while back, when on a mission to do Fisherfield Tops. The path along the loch side has been upgraded in places since we were last there - you no longer have to walk right along the shore on the pebbles in places. We walked past the estate house and bothy at Lochivraon - neither appeared occupied - picked a spot to cross over the Abhainn, which was easy with the current low water levels, and set off up the slopes of Groban. The ground was drier underfoot than I'd thought it would be and it was fairly easy to avoid patches of bog. The summit gave fine views down to Slioch and to last week's hills - Beinn nan Ramh and Beinn Mhunidh. Oh I do like this part of the world. We descended taking much the same route we'd used to go up and reached the path. Now it was another long grassy pull up Creag Rainich, following the fence line at first. Beinn Eighe always looks amazing from this perspective - a big grey white ring with Ruadh Stac Beag in the centre. It's a pretty special viewpoint altogether up here. We angled our descent to intersect with the track further along the loch and made it back to the car at about 5.45.
B86EFAA9-0FCA-4632-8F11-A7B6688D13F3_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
MhicFhearchair & Sgurr Ban
49D4DB4C-9844-4261-84E6-0C7C5EEB382C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
41B49752-298A-40AA-8B9A-DC88A0CCAC34_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Slioch from Groban
EEE4C463-A707-48A2-8650-9D03E3E5904A_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
DAC22E6B-1AF6-4145-90C9-BAB2734F62D8_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Fisherfields and Rainich
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Al, on Flickr
Beinn Eighe
15FB16AF-C46A-4054-9D83-5AF878EF0E22_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
3F5A8521-316D-4058-B021-675A6802B9FE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
DC3AD79D-46CC-4F45-BA7D-B7F6343F718C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
3191A571-C1A2-405B-84F1-0DFB6BA7B58D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
32DE64C9-82B9-4AFD-A953-978691B666B4 by
Al, on Flickr
My plan was to head up and do Ben Mòr Coigach the following day, so it seemed sensible to get the driving out of the way first. I wasn't sure where we'd camp - I wondered about camping somewhere along Loch Lurgainn, but all the spots we saw were taken already. Eventually we drove round to Altandhu and ended up checking into the campsite there. We've not stayed there before -indeed it's ages since we used a campsite. It was alright, we chose a reasonable pitch by the shore, the other campers weren't noisy. We knew the winds were meant to get up from tonight and stay high til Monday... The forecast for the morrow wasn't promising - clag and drizzle in the morning and winds of 35mph+.
9EEB88E8-0035-4020-97AA-2E0612112898_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
The wind did indeed rise overnight and it was a bit of a job putting the tent away in it. We drove round to Culnacraig where there's a parking area. It was sunny at ground level, but the hilltops had cloud stuck to them. And it was really windy - hard to get the car door open windy... As our route up Ben Mór Coigach involved a ridge scramble this was of more than some concern. We set off towards the houses, noting that a new deer fence has been erected on the line of the WH track - we kept to the north of the fence line We picked up the path towards the waterfall, got to about 400m and it became clear that there was no way we could do the ridge. My sit-mat was plucked from my rucksack by thieving fingers of wind and sent off into the North Minch. Time for a re-consideration. We decided that if we went into the coire between Coigach and Fhidhleir we could either ascend Coigach from the west, or go further along and ascend from the north east. We ended up doing the latter, which kept us out of the worst of the wind until we reached the very summit, where there is fortunately a stony wind shelter. As you can see, my beard was being blown vertically
Clag didn't help matters, but we tracked down by a similar route and made for Fhidhleir, joining with the standard path to the summit. We were shielded from teh wind during the ascent, as it was coming from the SE and the summit was quite bearable. It was a shame to have such conditions on such a great mountain, one that really should be kept for a good day; but we did get some views and we had the opportunity to have to think on our feet and take what the mountain and the weather threw our way.
2B81DFAE-D8AA-4EB2-8618-8029F724150B_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
089B0D80-DD58-42AC-AA36-320B1F7E10AE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Cloud on the ridge
4518F569-3691-4544-9A10-591CA2116C99_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Clag on Coigach
F3455E64-43B1-4B59-806A-D813566FAE83_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
C75FC885-2401-4E2D-B35E-0D43CF062284_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Summit Coigach
9A7B3F42-FCD0-4A43-AEB8-43D569B07646_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
En route to Fhidhleir
B5A6B6CE-E1DD-425C-B9C3-624530876E07_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
B723AFA8-7B36-4A30-B00A-498D60B4D0B4_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
714A2D33-B3BD-4DD4-8934-5758A66443AA by
Al, on Flickr
F2F858D1-8EEC-4404-BD27-8E49B3E7DD31_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
On the way back down we had the wind on our backs, which made matters easier. Looking out at the Summer Isles, I couldn't resist looking up the opening sequence from The Wicker Man on my phone and playing it. I said to Allison that I had a great idea for a new job (in these times of financial tightenings) - I was sure the role of Lord Summerisle would suit me to a tee - nature worship, pagan rituals, love of wine and song, nubile maidens dancing through fire and, of course, the odd bit of human sacrificing. I resolved to head down to the Job Centre on my return to enquire...
Some Summer Isles
982E4D8F-FF53-4795-B841-14F8E63E0F77_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
5A559C17-D08D-477E-93FD-ECD3DB8715F8_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
A7988C50-007F-44B2-B85E-12C163B6F391_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
2D3D4BC1-AF27-414D-9F22-6827D3F7E72B by
Al, on Flickr
By the time we had got back to the car the mountain was free from clag, though there was no drop in the wind. Forecast for Sunday wasn't good, so my plan of doing Beinn an Eoin would need to be postponed. Not that that's a burden - we'd like to do a camp at one of the lochans with sandy beaches between Fhidhleir and Eoin, so will set aside a good weather window for that one. Nor would I get a chance to quake in terror on Stuc Pollaidh. Something unchallenging like Breabag would be fine.
But first we had to decide on a location for tonight. I decided to have a look at Achnahaird Bay, which we'd driven past last night - maybe there would be something suitable there. Not been before - it's a lovely spot with great views towards Pollaidh, Suilven etc. There were a few cars in the parking area and several tents in a sheltered cove west of the beach. We had a wander around, found a nice spot some way from the beach itself, still with good views to the mountains, and got set up. The wind remained fierce, so extra precautions were required in pegging the lines in. After a bite to eat we headed down for a paddle in the waves - just lovely. The wind kept up all night however, buffeting the tent continually, with the result that neither of us got to sleep.
A5C89C1B-1D22-44F4-B23D-631FD39D90BE_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
04BAB9B5-93FE-4CE3-8724-047D11E17957_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
The most earth-bound tree I've seen
EBFCD471-7973-40FD-A53F-210970B990B4_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
A646C405-B83B-4A48-9B66-B8F4437B1734_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Achnahaird Beach
F4EBB1B5-C25D-4AF9-A0AF-476AF1CC5F6D_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
95346A42-1146-4B9A-9B4C-6F6E342842D9_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
ABE90D79-E107-451C-A16F-E93E05A6BFC6_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Patterns in the sand
257548EE-A456-4095-ACE1-9EF7B52EF03C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
A56CB494-4D32-4F03-B8AA-CFA1EC2F02A9_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
E1A7176C-5C71-4720-A06C-6065E1CE7238_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
In the morning, the wind was, if anything, stronger. We packed up with even more difficulty than the previous morning, spoke to one of the guys who'd been camping in the cove - he'd been coming to the beach for years, scuba diving etc. They'd planned to stay another night, but the wind was spoiling their plans and, after clearing up a lot of litter from the beach, they were heading home early. We were heading to Inchnadamh. As we drove along the shore of teh loch, some of the bushes looked demonically possessed, they writhed and flailed in the wind. We knew we'd have some shelter walking up the valley of the bone caves...
One mobile home at the car park, no-one around. Clag was sitting at around 300m, obscuring all the surrounding hills. Allison continued to marvel at the river arising from the ground as we walked along the dry river bed. We were both feeling low in energy today after last night's wind induced insomnia, and progress up the hillside was slow. The clag was thick and of that annoying sort that condenses on one's glasses and makes visibility even more challenging. We made it to the summit, thanks to the GPS, endured a fair bit of buffeting and retraced our steps.
D957E398-BC97-4C9D-8ED1-65B853C16234_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
05433EF6-EC1C-4105-8079-2AD51C484C12_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
4FD6E154-5120-46D7-A35B-3FA79188AF15_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
First days of Autumn??
7210253B-B7DB-489F-912F-D0167D1B7F98_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
954F84B9-5865-466E-8E2A-2136A55E2AD7 by
Al, on Flickr
The forecast predicted that it would be full sun for a few hours in the late afternoon/evening. Then a crap day again tomorrow
I decided we might as well see something of the vicinity whilst we were here - why not pop up to Achmelvich? Allison had already looked askance when I'd suggested we could nip up Canisp...The pie shop in Lochinver was closed (Sundays) although I see they now offer one vegan choice, which we wouldn't get a chance to sample. But we had Huel with us - Yay! Achmelvich wasn't very busy when we arrived, we parked at the main car park, Allison decided to try using the strange, new, stainless steel box that is a apparently a toilet then we headed round to the smaller north beach. That view of that water as you come over the headland - nearly 50 years since I was first here and it still gets me every time. We had a paddle then relaxed in the sun listening to the waves lapping on the shore. Had tomorrow's forecast been better we'd have stayed in Assynt, but as it was, a retreat seemed wise. We headed back down the road, nipping Ito Tesco's in Ullapool for a couple of beers and some Niknaks, pitching in the same place we'd used on Thursday night and deciding that Beinn Liath Mhor a'Ghuibhais Li would do for tomorrow's hill.
DB388BDA-21F3-471D-9F9D-87B6FA0FECC0_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
156910DB-3E7D-45E6-8EC0-C4A5C4FDE17C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Another night of wind, this time with quite a lot of rain too. Getting up early didn't appeal to either of us and it was about 10 when we parked and set off up Li. We decided to take the track through the trees this time - having used a more direct route previously. This was quite pleasant until you come out of the forestry and the track just ends. Well there are some deer trails which don't go the right way. So bog and tussock still needs to be done. It was turning into a much nice day than we'd imagined - views across to the Beinn Dearg group and north to An Teallach. And the Fannaichs, of course. In fact it's a damned fine viewpoint, this lowly Corbett. We elected to return the same way as we'd come up, partly to keep out of the wind, partly to walk towards the vista of An Teallach. The sun stayed with us all the way down the road, making the car uncomfortably hot and making me wish we'd chosen a longer day out.
Li
7E77F25A-E031-4344-BDC0-BBDE4113047C_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Licked salt-lick
192B2506-D7A6-4C8E-8BCD-5784ECBE7715_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
E47AD9E4-50CA-4690-85DA-2B848A77E21F_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich
BFB4496E-5ED1-4184-AF6B-B13F540C4C86_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
Beinn Deargs
30FF0AF1-7FEE-4EF9-BE85-EAC5C1B4FD4B_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
An Teallach
5FD5EC8A-3293-4E8C-AEC2-B9D8815C3193_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
B49190A4-FB6D-4F29-A58D-61BF1B5540AF_1_201_a by
Al, on Flickr
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Al, on Flickr
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