Trotternish ridge (Flodigarry to Romesdal)

[Voodoochild]

This story actually started in Ballachullish, where I arrived approximately 2 days after leaving the south of England. Pitching my tent under torrential rain, I was already wondering if this Scottish adventure wouldn’t hold under the sign of rain. Weather forecast announced it for a solid week, making me wonder if I shouldn’t think about other activities. Nevertheless, the following morning I was in the visitor centre even before its official opening time (owing to a really sweet and nice lady who decided not to leave me longer outside under the rain). My initial plan was to head for the Bidean Nam Bian walk. The verdict was better than expected but under better treatment around northern summits. I quickly asked my thumb and we were gone. By 4pm, after a quick stop in Portree for supplies, we were at Flodigarry, ready to fly.

And what a start to a late afternoon day: the Quiraing and its incredible rock formations. I was supposed to spend less than 3 hours there but I finally wandered around for ages, following random little paths to get better view points and light exposures. Feeling the night approaching, I finally realized it was time to take off and reached the actual ridge around 7.30. My new aim was to pass the parking and the road quickly, in order to pitch my portable accommodation a little bit further away from the symbol of civilisation. Just around the “fake summit” of Bioda Buidhe, I found a rather flat sheltered area, though I had to dispose of sheep first. I could then enjoy my bread and cheddar with sunset, livening up with the alternation of midges and freezing cold wind.

Meanwhile, all I could think about was the following morning sunrise. I then automatically woke up early enough to see it. Good call: the sky offered me superb holes in the clouds which provided multiple beams on Raasay and Torridon. The spectacle lasted for a couple of hours, throughout my progression on the ridge until Bealach Uige. After enjoying for a few minutes a really warm and mild light on the perspective of Ben Edra, I started its steady climb among the sheep kingdom. First signs of weather change appeared quickly. Not such an entertaining landscape and light anymore to make me forget the weight of my bag. The climb until the summit of Ben Edra has been long, as well as the four following summits (which are mentioned in a single sentence in the walk description but which took me around 2 hours). All along the way, I could see mean grey clouds threatening Torridon area and encountered a few showers. I spotted one ore two paths heading to Uig, and hesitated taking them as the wind started to show its summit power. Reaching the third and fourth peaks of the collection, I realised that my feet were flirting with the emptiness and could observe the multiple scars of stones which have been rolling all the way down the cliffs. Impressive views up there!

Arriving at the top of Sgurr a'Mhadaidh Ruaidh, visibility was close to zero. Wind was obliging me to go down on my knees to let the gusts pass. At this point, I tried to follow a little path, hoping it would go down until the west coast of the island. But after a few meters it vanished and I had to go back on the ridge to reach lower Bealach Hartaval. There, all I could see was this wee stream starting on the right which seemed to become a larger river further down, though no clear path was following it. Anyway, the situation around the next summit didn’t even make me hesitate. I started heading down, waiting for a somewhat sheltered area to have some kind of lunch. It was about 3pm.

After around 30 minutes downhill and a quick lunch break, I still couldn’t celebrate any clear path but stayed on the left of the stream, crossing several others coming from the left edge. Then the ground became flatter and the route more obvious. The stream was now a little river which the path made me cross several times on genuinely slippery stones. I still couldn’t see a village, though I was imagining that this walk along the water could be very nice by itself if the weather was not that hostile. From time to time, I had a breakthrough to take a picture, especially around this cute waterfall where I almost enjoyed encountering midges again. Quickly after that, I found a huge lonely mushroom in a little forest surrounding it. Getting closer to the village, I had to jump a few fences separating cows from sheep. When I finally reached the hamlet, all I was simply wondering was: where was I? (yes, didn’t mention it before but all I had was a print of the itinerary itself, not the whole north of Skye area map). And the answer is: Romesdal. And on a map afterwards, the river looks indeed winding!

In conclusion, my walk really splits into two defined sessions: first one into a beauty that only the magic of Scottish light can illuminate, second bringing me into a little adventure, from the windy and exposed summits to an unexpected hamlet by the coast.
Sorry I didn’t get you till the Old Man of Storr (and all its tourists). Hopefully another time…

[GraemeMac]

Really enjoyed reading that, and great photos. Probably my favourite area in Scotland, pic 186 brings back memories of the sunrise that I watched from a similar position, the views to the Torridon and the rest of the mainland are great arent they

[foggieclimber]

Wonderful photos.

The Trotternish Traverse is right up near the top of my wishlist of hills/routes I want to do.