Ben Hope on a Scorcher

[Christie22]

This was my second consecutive (fairly easy) day in gorgeous weather in Sutherland. Having lost our way in low cloud many years ago, this was the chance to finally get to the top of Ben Hope. The pictures tell most of the story of a beautiful day, but here are a few points of note:

1. Wildfires were still burning away to the NE in Caithness. Later turned out that over 5,000 acres had been burned before rain saved the day.

2. View from top included Durness, Melness and Tongue.

3. Met two folk (Yvonne and Owen) on the summit, who are friends of my sister in Cambridge and who I have previously met only once - about 35 years ago! Bizarre.

4. I highly recommend either ascending (or preferably descending) by the route to the south along the edge of the escarpment above Strath More to Alltnacaillich farm. The path certainly hugs the edge at times and gives great views. It does mean coming back along the road but of course there was virtually no traffic. It also means that you get to see the wonderful waterfall above the farm and avoid descending by the eroded and tiresome path up beside the burn from the main parking area.

5. I took much longer to get round the circuit than I could have done but it's essential to take time to enjoy such a lovely day in such a beautiful part of the world.

[3peaker]

Thanks great report with some excellent photos - thanks for the views from the summit I climbed Ben Hope in 2011 in thick mist and heavy rain with no vis so it`s nice to see the surrounding countryside in the far north. Regards