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Sub 2k Marilyns: Griomabhal, Forsnabhal
Date: 11/11/2015.
Distance: 5.5 + 2km.
Ascent: 500 + 110m.
Time taken: 2 hours + 30 minutes
Weather: sunny and rather breezy. Not cold for November, but showers threatening.
-"Does the wind always blow this way?"
-"Not at all, occasionally it blows the other way!"
I can't remember where that joke came from but it was among the things that passed through my mind as we lurched drunkenly towards the runway in Stornoway at an angle which looked all wrong. Despite my nerves, it was probably just a typical Monday morning for the pilot and cabin crew. Once on the ground, the first challenge of the week was successfully passed. My main concerns for the next 3 days were just managing to get around all the sites I was supposed to visit, and getting off the island on Wednesday evening without too much drama. Any hillwalking I might manage to slip in between all that would be a very fortunate bonus.
Fortunate was the word for it alright. By Wednesday I had dropped my colleague off back at the airport to return to Edinburgh. The weather had brightened up dramatically and I had a hire car and the rest of the day almost to myself, with just one quick visit to a site out in Uig to attend to first. You might almost think I had deliberately planned it that way
.
The obvious choice of hills out in this direction are the pair of Melisibhal and Cracabhal - so good they even make it into the SMC Corbetts book, despite only being 500 and something meters high each. These present a reasonable half day of mountainous walking, and I only had my trainers, a screenshot of OS map on my phone and no compass, so I looked for something less ambitious. Suaineabhal stood out, and on my drive out to Uig many of the more obscure summits also looked worthwhile, but in the end Griomabhal looked to be the winner - both for shortness and for some of the best views into the no man's land of the Harris/Lewis border, not to mention the coast. Plus I just fancied driving right down to the end of the remote Mealista road
.
Shoreline at Mealista:
Griomabhal is a little further down the coast than the end of the road (where there is room for a couple of cars next to a deserted slipway). A rising traverse across pathless heather and rock outcrops took me to the steep side of the western ridge. I had an interesting scramble across gneiss slabs to get onto the ridge - not as grippy as gabbro or sandstone, but lovely when dry.
Griomabhal:
North to Mealisibhal:
Views across Eilean Mealista were spectacular, with heavy rain showers threatening beyond. Would I get to the top before they hit? Scarp and the NW tip of Harris was also coming into view.
Across Eilean Mealista:
North again:
I made the summit without any rain or clag moving in, and ran around rapidly trying to see and photograph all of the best views before they disappeared. In the event, the showers went northward over Mealisibhal, so I stopped for some lunch and enjoyed a bit more sightseeing. It was hard to know which way to face, as there were spectacular views in every direction. I can never get over just how many big spiky hills there are on Lewis and Harris - all full of promise and adventure as I know them much less than the mainland highlands.
The huge empty Morsgail Forest:
Towards Hushinish and Scarp:
Rare use of hill-ninja coloured clothing:
Scarp from the summit of Griomabhal:
I still thought that I would be hit by showers on the way down, but I wasn't. In many ways this was more spectacular than a calm sunny day, with the weather at its angry best (rather than its angry worst which was forecast for a coupe of days later)
Some nasty weather on the way:
South to the Harris hills:
Scarp and the mouth of Loch Reasort:
The Atlantic:
Sunshine to the south:
On the way back down Griomabhal:
Bad weather crosses over Mealisibhal instead:
Islibhig and the coast:
I dropped down by a similar route, although I followed a line of cairns lower down to get off the ridge. There were more gneiss slabs here, but at an easier angle and lovely to walk down. St Kilda was never visible today but the closer Flannan isles could be seen to the NW.
Lovely gneiss slabs:
Small waterfall:
Flannan isles just visible on the horizon:
All too soon I was back at the car.
Parking at the end of the road:
Rough seas:
Rather than go up another similar hill, I had a nosy at some of the beaches on my drive back out. The weather was greying over mow, but i decided that as a real quickie, I'd be daft to pass up on Forsnabhal.
Uig beach from Cairnais:
Ardroil with Mealisibhal behind:
Above Crowlista, I parked at a gate guarding the summit road to Forsnabhal, which has a transmitter on top. I soon realised that the gate had no lock or private sign, and I could've driven to within 2 minutes of the summit, but as I was out of the car I decided to stick to my plan and do the longer (barely even 15 minutes) walk up the road. Well worth it, as it is a great viewpoint for the mountains and beaches of Uig, the coastline, and the rest of West Lewis. Top return for minimal effort
.
Summit of Forsnabhal:
Uig from Forsnabhal:
Summit buildings…
…and summit steps:
Uig hills…
…with the Harris hills behind:
Suaineabhal:
Aird Uig:
Last rays of sunshine over Uig:
Then it was back down, and time to leave. Such a shame to be heading back to Stornoway and the airport. However, while I was sitting in An Lanntair in Stornoway having coffee and cake, the rain began to bucket down, so a weather window well exploited
.
