Day 1 of a long-awaited 4 day idyll in the north of Scotland with my walking buddy Mr T, going wherever the weather map was pointing us. Mwis saying West is Best so we opted for Seana Bhraigh. We'd been planning today's route for a year or so - having done the Deargs from the Ullapool road Seana Bhraigh seemed a long way to the north, and other walk reports had suggested a bike ride from Oykel Bridge was the way to go. But heavy showers through the night on the campsite in Contin were not boding well and they continued as we headed north inland from Bonar Bridge. Gloom was in danger of descending - this was not the script! Even so, Mr T was having none of my bad vibes and we were going anyway! It pays to ignore what you can see out the window, and as we turned off the main road things began to look up pretty quickly! Patches of blue sky were appearing ahead! A bumpy ride along the forest track surprised us with 6 different vehicles coming the other way. We wondered what kind of hidden metropolis we must be headed to?
Emerging from the trees we abandoned the van and took to our bikes, even though we knew there was a walkers' car park still a few kilometres further along.
It was a good track, the sun was out now, and not long before we were down at the river and passing the carved otter and salmon near Duag Bridge.
A slow gentle climb up Strath Mulzie, soon our destination rose up in the distance, including the impressive sharp peak of Craig an Duine.
I really fancied that scramble, having read a walk report by Mr Biscuit, but this was Day 1 and I wasn't feeling too sure of my capabilities without a closer look at it. Several inhabited cottages and huts further along the track around Corriemulzie Lodge explained the source of all the traffic, and this was the location of the walkers' car park - empty today. We followed the river, fording tributories several times, until the Corriemulzie diverged from the Allt a' Choire Bhuidhe.
I think we'd estimated an hour of cycling but it turned into one and a half with a bit of head wind and my lack of fitness.
We abandoned the bikes and after a bit of pacing the banks we jumped across the fast flowing water....only to see a beautiful footbridge a few metres round the corner - ain't that always the way! Neither of us mentioned the route up the sharp craig, and we headed for the straight-forward looking route up the northern spur that leads to the summit of Seana Braigh. Fantastic views all the while of Craig an Duine - it looked challenging but do-able, so a part of me wished I'd pushed to do it - but it was pretty windy and it's always there for another time! Great views back northwards too - taking in Suilven, Stac Pollaidh, Canisp etc gave me the excuse for an early lunch while we still had some shelter before the final climb.
A very satisfying summit! And nice to look across to the 4 Deargs - 'oh yes, remember that one, oh and that's where the cloud came down last time' etc
Then a grand lope back down, making more or less a bee-line for where we'd left the bikes - not forgetting to use the bridge this time.
And a nice fast ride back to the salmon sculpture, where I'm sure I spotted the flash of an otter in the water - Or was it Mr T having a cheeky splash in the river?
Anyway, it was very pleasant along the river bank. Some mysterious person had even gone to the trouble of strimming the grass for maximum visitor enjoyment! Just downstream the River Einig ran into a dramatic gorge section which appeared to continue downstream to meet the Oykel. No time to explore today but it looked worth returning to.
Altogether a good day out, topped off by a nice dinner in Ullapool! This is definitely a good route to Seana Bhraigh - the initial drive in combined with a good track for cycling cut out much of the long tramp that features in other approaches - and Craig an Duine looked a tempting scramble if you like a bit of a thrill!
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2015 11:10 pm
