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Isle of Eigg Kildonan walk - tick paradise!

Isle of Eigg Kildonan walk - tick paradise!


Postby KatTai » Sat Jul 27, 2019 9:34 pm

Route description: Kildonan beach and shore

Date walked: 27/07/2019

Time taken: 2 hours

Distance: 6.25 km

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Well this walk was certainly interesting :lol: Starts off nice enough following a road and then a track, there is now a bridge crossing the burn so no worries about wet feet, and then the informal camping area with its composting toilet is reached. There is no clear path for this part but it is simply a case of following the shoreline along either on the beach or on the grass.

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Looking back towards the pier


Further round the path becomes clearer. Just off the track is a ruined house, it is tiny!

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The ruined house, very overgrown at the moment.


Back on the path, it curves round to a gate. There is a clear track going straight ahead, a fainter track to the right breaks away from this going through the bracken no doubt crawling with ticks to reach a stile crossing the fence into yet more bracken. I'm only 5 foot and in some places on this route the bracken was taller than I was! To make it even more fun, it was raining and I was getting soaked just walking through the stuff (though my trusty Altbergs did keep my feet nice and dry!). Things become even more interesting on a narrow path through the trees on the side of the cliff. It was almost like going through a tunnel to another world! In there it was warm, wet, humid with little breeze in the thick vegetation - perfect conditions for our little flying bitey friends! There were slippery rocks to navigate and trees with branches that even I found low, but we made it through to the other side.

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Tunnel through trees


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The gate on the other side


Through a gate we headed down passed the old mill and continuing on towards the farmhouse. There is a narrow path to the right of the farm to go round to the headland. Yet more thick bracken. We decided against it, instead heading up to the ruined chapel and the graveyard. The site also has some Commonweath graves here along with some older tombstones and the stone cross.

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Looking down to the bay


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The cross


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Cross and ruined church


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View over the bay


We spent some time exploring here before heading back through the tree-tunnel on the side of the cliff and back up through the thick bracken to go back over the stile. To start with there is a faint path heading across from the stile, but this seems to disappear across some boggy ground until it reaches...yup more bracken! With a narrow path through it. We followed the path and it brought us to a wider, clearer track that led up towards the Manse. Over a stile and then over another stile through a field of sheep towards the road. There is a ladder stile here and what looks like some new wire fencing going up. It wasn't complete and not yet attached at the bottom so Moss could go underneath, but though she can do some ladder stiles this one wasn't one she could have got over (no platform at the top and the steps too steep and narrow). It's not too much of an issue if you do have a dog that can't get over, instead of crossing the stile at the Manse go through the gate and that will take you onto the road as well.

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Ladder stile, can see where the wire fencing isn't attached but this is still getting put up.


On the road we followed it down towards the pier and to the cafe for a dinner. They serve evening meals most nights, though not all, and you do need to book in advance. And yes, I did find a few ticks crawling on Moss and one on myself!

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Salt water treatment to try and get rid of some of the ticks!
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KatTai
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Re: Isle of Eigg Kildonan walk - tick paradise!

Postby Alex Carr » Thu Oct 10, 2019 5:06 pm

Good walk report; prepares me well for it.
Alex Carr
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Posts: 4
Joined: May 1, 2015

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