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The walk to the deserted village of Peanmeanach is very popular, but relatively few stay at the bothy. The start of the path is clearly marked.
I could hear what sounded like a steam train and a Belgian lady who retraced her steps back down the path confirmed that it was the "Hogwarts Express".
There must have been a good track out to Peanmeanach at one time for them to have built a bridge like this. Today, only two-wheeled vehicles could reach the bridge in the first place.
The walking was delightful from the start. After 5 months overseas I was not finding a large pack with wood and coal very easy, so photo stops and rests taken while talking to people were frequent. I tried talking in French to one (Belgian?) man, but Russian words kept on coming out. French was my best subject at school and I have a Grade A O-level, but now my knowledge of French has been displaced by Russian!
I had seen this view while researching the route and was looking forward to photographing it. Three memorable Corbetts: An Stac, Sgurr na Ba Glaise and Rois-Bheinn, all done from Essan about 20 years ago!
The continuation along the path to Peanmeanach involves a nice, gentle descent. The weather could not have been finer!
The inside of the bothy was clean and everything seemed to be in order. There was even a good supply of wood, much of which was to later be used by two campers down by the shoreline. Much of the wood looked like sawn-off branches rather than driftwood or fallen branches but perhaps it had been sawn off a dead tree?
Inside was an ornamental giant necklace of vertebrae, presumably from some smaller species of whale.
A group of four kayakers took the right hand room with the bunks and I took the left hand room. I created a sleeping platform by pushing three benches together into a T shape giving plenty of width and length.
Although it was warm, I wanted to enjoy the full bothy experience and burnt at least half of the wood and coal that I had carried in.
I pottered about and was really trying to find a good point from which to see the sun set. Here looking south-east across Loch Ailort towards Rois-Bheinn.
Not quite the sunset I was hoping for as the sun disappear behind a hillside. A little bit of broken cloud may have helped and perhaps I should have raced across to the other side of the bay to have obtained a better photograph?
I slept well but was up and about before five the next morning.
With a lighter pack, I was back at the car and in Mallaig at about 0900 - plenty of time to buy a ferry ticket and sort out my kit for a knoydart adventure!
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- Looking over to Eigg and Rhum
