Halfway in sunny Applecross

[weaselmaster]

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Day three of our late summer - or is it early autumn - jaunt to the northwest focussed on Applecross. Somewhere i've not been before - the closest I've come was doing the spectacular Corbetts Sgurr a'Chaorachain and Beinn Bhan. The drive from Kintail had the excitement of ascending the Bealach na Ba - not for the fainthearted Anyhow, we arrived at the campsite in glorious late afternoon sunshine on Wednesday, pitched, ate and set off down to the shore to see what all the fuss was about. Glorious views over a tranquil sea to Skye as the sun trailed low in the sky, a bustling Applecross Inn, ice cream and wander along the front dodging the midges which were starting to appear as the sun went down. Over the bay tomorrow's hill - Beinn a'Chlachain - Hill of the Church hamlet - lay dark against the sinking sun. We'd be able to walk from the campsite in the morning.

DSC01602 by Al, on Flickr

DSC01603 by Al, on Flickr

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Beinn a'Chlachain
DSC01609 by Al, on Flickr

A beautiful morning greeted us when we rose at a modest time and we set off along the road, pausing to take some more photos of Skye - over the silvery sea. Walking along the woodland path we passed the re-planted Apple Cross trees, which look as if they will need a few decades to grow to resemble those of old. Various campervans and tents had been using the foreshore and leaving varied rubbish - and still smouldering fires. We crossed the river then headed up a track leading to the Hartfield Outdoor centre - this was being surfaced so we had the unusual experience of walking along a track following a reversing dumper lorry for more than a kilometre.

DSC01614 by Al, on Flickr

our target
DSC01615 by Al, on Flickr

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DSC01625 by Al, on Flickr


Once past the outdoor centre we continued to the eastern end of the forestry plantation and set off up the hillside over blooming heather, each footfall sending up a small cloud of heather pollen dust. Beautiful smell. The going was steady as we climbed up the western side of the gully and made it to the shoulder of the hill. from here the whole east coast of Skye was revealed before us, with Raasay and Rona lying nearer to us. Wonderful. On we pressed to the summit and were rewarded with an equally breathtaking view of all the Torridon giants before us. I got to thinking this would be a wonderful place for an overnight summit camp - you'd have the sunset over Skye at night then dawn over Torridon the next morning.

DSC01628 by Al, on Flickr

DSC01629 by Al, on Flickr

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View to Torridon
DSC01639 by Al, on Flickr

Halfway house - 110 Grahams
DSC01641 by Al, on Flickr

We sat and drank in the scenery for some time at the summit then started off down the long SW shoulder of the hill - rocky outcrops in places, eyes fixed on the blissful panorama before us. The sea was mirror-calm, a few small boats leaving long lines of wake. We headed off the hill maybe a little early, and ended up descending steep tussocky grass to the road - probably should have continued SW for a bit longer.

DSC01642 by Al, on Flickr

DSC01643 by Al, on Flickr

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DSC01648 by Al, on Flickr

Applecross bay
DSC01650 by Al, on Flickr

Back on the flat we headed into the Heritage Museum - a worthwhile collection of local history and artifacts. We were the only visitors on a scorching afternoon. back at the campsite it was time for food then an amble down to the village. We were keen to see the limestone pavements along from the Inn, studded with fossilized shells. We continued walking to the pond at Milton, still looking over the sea to Skye. Heavenly evening. A nip to the Inn and a totally unnecessary - but very tasty- fish & chips later and it was back up to the campsite in the gloaming.

Limestone pavement
DSC01654 by Al, on Flickr

Milton pond
DSC01657 by Al, on Flickr

DSC01662 by Al, on Flickr

DSC01665 by Al, on Flickr