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With Parminder unavailable George came up with the idea of heading up to Assynt so that I could pick off Conival & Ben More Assynt on my second round - that would also mean that Parminder & I would now have exactly the same hills for our compleations.
George managed to arrange accommodation in Ullapool which considering the short notice was quite surprising. George also volunteered to drive and we left Fife shortly after lunch time.
After we checked into our hotel we wandered into the bright lights of Ullapool with the intention of eating in the Arch Inn as they serve the best food in town. We popped into the Argyll for a liquid refreshment & were advised that the Arch isn't serving food at all as they can't get a chef or staff. Obviously we were disappointed and then discussed what could have caused the lack of staff - Brexit?
We managed to find another establishment to have our dinner in but one thing that was very noticeable whilst we visited a few different pubs was the lack of footfall. We have been to Ullapool umpteen times and in late June it is normally very busy.
Our plan was to head up to Inchnadamph straight after breakfast (a big one), climb the hills then head home.
We arrived in the car park at Inchnadamph and after getting kitted up we were walking before 9am. The forecast was a proper mixed bag which basically means the forecasters haven't a clue what is going to happen and cover all bases.
The car park at Inchnadamph
The way ahead
Loch Assynt from the road
Conival in the distance, spot of overnight rain - hence the puddle
Interesting bridge for the adventurous
River Traligill water level very low
Once past the wee cottage the track reduces in size
Looking back
For those who are interested Assynt has umpteen caves
Possibly one of the caves
Track following the burn uphill
Path wriggling uphill
Lovely spot for a tent, we met the 2 guys a few hours later heading back up Conival
George marching along, what you don't see is the clegs which were literally after our blood - it was very warm & humid
Looking back after gaining a wee bit of height
Looking SW
Water feature
Next phase is getting up there onto the shoulder that will take us to Conival
SW from a bit higher up
Following the good obvious path up to Conival
North
Some bit angular rocks to negotiate
Looking back down on Inchnadamph in the distance
North West
Conival is up to the right, looking along the rocky ridge to Ben More Assynt
Nice lochan
Inchnadamph & Loch Assynt
Ben More Assynt at the end of the ridge
Loch Assynt & Quinag
Conival not far now
Final push
Ridge again
Inchnadamph & Loch Assynt again
South
Weather about to change
Heading across to Ben More now
Looking back
Stunning views
A sign of what is to come
One of the thousands of lochans in Assynt
Not the summit, a wee top to the right
Ben More Assynt summit cairn, no views now - sorry
Conival summit shelter on our return
The long descent, jackets off now
Back at Inchnadamph - exhausted (due to the heat) and the local herd of deer were happily posing
This was a fabulous day, the start and the finish were both a struggle - the start because of excessive alcohol the night before & both because of the heat. George's car informed us it was 26deg on our return and the chilled bottles of juice in George's fridge almost went down in a oner.
With these two hills eventually bagged I am left with 14 to do on my second round, which also means Parminder & I have exactly the same hills left. Hopefully we will be able to compleat this year.
We have a trip to Torridon organised in the next couple of weeks with the intention of tackling the 2 western Fisherfield hills from Poolewe - another huge day.
