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Bone caves

Bone caves


Postby Pastychomper » Thu Jan 02, 2020 9:43 pm

Route description: Bone Caves circuit, near Inchnadamph

Date walked: 06/08/2019

Time taken: 3 hours

Distance: 4.5 km

Ascent: 210m

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After perusing the weather forecast (wet, cloudy, thundery) we decided on a six hour round trip to do a two hour walk, which was more like three hours once we'd had our fill of the caves.

Lets_Twist_Again.jpg
We stopped to admire this twister on the way.

The car park was nearly full but the other tourists had kindly saved us one space. The weather was wet and midgy. (I'm not sure midges officially count as weather, but they might as well.) We followed the track up the valley and returned by the caves.
upvalley2.JPG
Part of the route there (taken on the way back)
cliffup.jpg
Looking from the track in the valley
20190806_155337.jpg

The information board said at least some of the bones found in these caves were dated to a time before a glacier cut open the current entrances. As it is now it looks like a nice place to live, although one or two bits of roof looked ready to come down.
cave1.jpg
lookout.jpg
Room with a view

The cliff had enough overhang to keep us dry a little way outside most of the caves.
sell_rain.jpg
Down comes the rain

I tried crawling along a tunnel from one cave to the next, but decided the end was too much of a squeeze for me. A skinny caver would fit.
connect.JPG
connect2.JPG
The other end


deep.jpg
This hole goes way back into the hill. There's a torch inside to illuminate the first bit.
upvalley.JPG
Looking up the valley

down.jpg
About to start back

We passed an abundance of frogs on the way down, some of them pretty big.
Frog.JPG
backup.JPG
Looking back up the valley
The car park was now nearly empty aside from two cars and a large cloud of midges that seemed to have noted which car we were returning to and set up a cordon around it. We were long since netted by then, but some of them stowed away in the car to keep up their campaign until they could be joined by reinforcements at Ardvreck Castle.
ardvreck.jpg
Bonus picture of Ardvreck Castle (worth a visit if you're passing, plus the midges will thank you.)
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Pastychomper
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