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It was that time of year, Dooterbang increases in age! But with age comes adventure, destination Assynt…again
Assynt is dramatic, beautiful, scenic, and breathtakingly spectacular. It boasts some of the wildest, most remote, mountain and coastal scenery in Scotland.
A wonderful studio apartment, also currently up for sale -
http://www.ullapoolselfcatering.com/ in Ullapool would be my base for the first 5 days, the BRAES to be precise. Two further days would be spent in the Aultguish Inn.
Day 1 – 23rd May 2016LiathachOn Monday morning I headed for Torridon, Liathach my target
Arriving in Torridon at 11am that morning I had no idea what wonderful adventures lay ahead. Mountains, scrambling, lochs, cycling, beaches, the sea, friendships old & new…
Beinn Eighe….nearly there
Geared up at 11.30am I set forth on what would be the most amazing 7 days I’ve experienced up the NW.
So onwards and upwards I went, reaching the bealach in 1 hr 15 mins – instant views
I ascended up the East top and met a nice fella from Donegal who resided in Manchester. We chatted for a while. I had to refuse his offer of doing the Cuillin Ridge the next day. We did meet again at the end of the walk, I gladly gave him a lift back to his Bongo.
I had decided to go over the pinnacles due to reports suggesting it was safer, and if Mountain Thyme could do it then surely anyone could
Met Callum from Kinross and Bryan from Alaska shortly after starting the ridge. We would end up doing the ridge together. Top lads who love the outdoors, was great to meet you both
The sun was shining, no wind, and no midge…I was loving this, what a buzz!
The pinnacles didn’t present any difficulties, but due care and attention was required. Soon the easy stroll to the second munro lay ahead. Time to admire the surrounding views.
The summit…and a lovely rainbow as a backdrop.
Callum and Bryan
Callum and Bryan sped down the steep descent! The lads did drive back to the finish once at their car and provided me with a lift to mines. Nice to see the young folk help out the older brigade
Feeling elated I drove West to book into my digs, and what wonderful digs. Private sun porch and decking area with views across Loch Broom to An Teallach
Day 2 – 24th May 2016Beinn Dearg 4My plan was to do the Beinn Dearg 6 so I set off and drove to Loch Glascarnoch at 07.00am hoping to catch a lift 16 mile back to Inverlael, but I was out of luck! At 7.30am I drove to Inverlael intending to do the five munros now.
On my way at 08.00am…
The long walk in, and ascent to Beinn Dearg, was covered in clag. I was surprised to meet a fellow walker on the summit of BD, a nice fella from Northampton up for a few days walking. We decided to walk the rest of the route together. Dave was great company and we had a blast, top bloke
Dave
As we ascended to the summit of Cona Mheal the clad dispersed. The rest of the walk would provide superb visibility and views, especially towards Assynt.
When heading to Meall nan Ceapraichean I slipped on the flattest part of the walk and my recurring knee injury flared up, arrrgh!! This meant I would only complete the 4 munros, missing out Seana Bhraigh, but it meant I got company on the long walk out.
The final summit provided sublime views SE and NW to Assynt, tomorrow’s destination
We walked out in the blazing sun, having one last look behind us, and soon reached the car park.
We exchanged emails and bid farewell. Thanks to Dave for a loan of his buff. I bought one the next day, great for keeping sweat out of your eyes.
Day 3 – 25th May 2016Stac PollaidhNo trip up the NW would be complete without taking in the wonderful Stac Pollaidh – what a wee mountain . With no time constraints I was able to spend hours visiting all the tops and scrambling up different routes, I also got to sunbathe
I’ll let the photos do the talking…
After what seemed like hours and hours I eventually made my way down one of the steep gullies and headed back to the car park. On route I met a nice lady from California on a 3 week trip of the Highlands and Islands, she was a tad upset there was no cloud for her photos
Day 4 – 26th May 2016Assynt CycleMy friend, and keen cyclist, Ian was driving up from Glasgow today for a day trip. We had plotted a cycle route around the North West coast and Loch Assynt, 80 miles with over 7000ft of ascent. We parked at the junction, got on our bikes and cycled the road down by Stac Pollaidh…
Cycling around the Assynt mountains provides a glimpse of how unique these mountains really are.
This was Ian’s first time up these parts, he was mightily impressed
We stopped in Lochinver for some food before setting on our way to take in a few beaches on route, Achmelvich, Clachtoll and Achnahaird.
Views to Suilven from the road to Achmelvich
Achmelvich Beach
The weather was perfect and we were just having a blast…but just before Drumbeg my knee went again, ouch!! I took some brufen which helped slightly, however the last 30 miles was hard going. Not for Ian though, he flew back to the car!!
It was 19.30pm when we finished. What a day! Drove back to the digs and had dinner in the sun porch. Poor Ian then left at 21.00pm to drive back to Glasgow as he was up for work at 06.00am!! He did relay the next day it was torture, however he can’t wait to get back up North
Day 5 – 27th May 2016Achmelvich BeachAfter 4 days of adventure it was time to relax and soak up some rays on a secluded beach – destination Achmelvich! I spent over 8 hours being lazy, eating and listening to music. I only met a few people that day. A man in a kayak paddling down the coast, a man in a swimsuit (unfortunately no mermaid) swimming up the coast, and a mother and son with their dog.
The wonderful Achmelvich
After a leisurely day I headed to back to the Braes to pack. Tomorrow would see me booking in to The Aultguish for two days. Jaxter and Hugh would be joining me Saturday evening after they’d conquered the Fisherfield munros, also a friend from work would be there with his motorbike and buddies…but first I would be taking in Am Faochagach.
Day 6 – 28th May 2016…my 45th Birthday Am FaochagachAF has a reputation as being wet and boggy but thankfully the spell of great weather meant it was very dry. The river crossing presented no issues at all.
When at the summit I sat for an hour and milked the surrounding views. A great way to spend a birthday morning/afternoon.
Mountainthyme loves to slag the “Dooterpose” so I thought I’d have some fun mimicking a few of the walkhighlanders poses
After my super leisurely excursion up and down AF I booked into The Aultguish. Met Kevin and Joe 19.30pm, Jaxter and Hugh arriving 20.00pm like extras from a George Romero flick!! We all sat down for a scrumptious dinner, the banter was in full flow and we had a great laugh. Jaxter had made birthday brownies which went down a treat – cheers
At dinner we had discussed Sunday’s plans. Jaxter and I decided to tackle Ben Wyvis and Fionn Bheinn whilst Hugh would do Am Faochagach. What we didn’t know at the time was that Hugo wanted to leave at 15.00pm, this meant Jaxter and I had to really push ourselves.
Day 7 – 29th May 2016Ben WyvisAt 07.30am we started our ascent of Wyvis…
I really enjoyed this mountain, as did Jaxter. A fair old pull to the plateau but we got there in quick time.
We didn’t hang around and soon headed back down and to the car park – 3.5hrs total so far.
Fionn BheinnGot in the car and drove the 25 miles round to the start of Fionn Bheinn, starting the walk at 11.30am. The forecast was for rain and thunder but we managed to reach the summit just before the heavens opened up
. It was a fair slog up to the summit for us both but we loved the challenge set by Hugh
. Looks like I found myself a potential walking partner that has the same mind-set, drive, fitness, pace, and determination as I have…cheers Hugh
Onwards and upwards...
Summit
Was actually nice to don the waterproofs for the final descent and experiencing some “normal” Scottish weather. Got back to the car at 14.00pm, plenty of time to meet Hugh’s deadline of 15.00pm.
Met Hugh at Tarvies (I’m becoming a regular here) and had some chips and spring rolls, yummy! We said our goodbyes, I headed North back to Aultguish and Jaxter and Hugh South. Turns out Hugh was desperate to head South early to climb another mountain! He kept that one quiet, crazy munro bagger
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Back at The Aultguish the whole seven days finally caught up with me and I spent the evening semi-comatose!! Leaving my room to go to the bar was akin to climbing Ben Starav on stilts!!
Day 8 – 30th May 2016GlasgowTime now to head south for the metropolis of Glasgow, plenty of time to reflect on what was one of the best long trips ever up North. Mountains, lochs, glens, beaches, the sea, friends old and new, cycling, brilliant digs, glorious sunshine…it doesn’t get any better than this
It wasn’t long before I headed back up North. The next weekend I would support Jaxter over the pinnacles at Liathach, do a summit camp, climb Ben More Coigach, climb Stac Pollaidh, visit a beach, and sample some fantastic Lochinver Pie.
The next two weekends would also see us cycle around Arran then tackle a monster walk around Monar which took us 17 hours!
Scotland is bloody amazing
