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‘I am not leaving the car’ Kevin proclaimed when we arrived at the Walkers car park in Inchnadampf. Looking out of the window, I could see thousand of midges swarming around the black car we parked next to. Urgh
maybe the wrong place to park
Starting the car we drove a few meters and parked next to a silver car and re-checked the horror which awaited us. There might have been 5 midges less around that car, but the hordes were out to get us. Another group of walkers, fully clad in clothes and midge nets, had just arrived before us and looked equally shaken. In the tight space of the front seat, we managed to get ready.
- In the car
By the time we stepped out of the car, a swarm of midges were above us within seconds and more and more followed. It was one of the worst starts of a walk I had ever encountered. However the midgy jackets we had brought were worth their weight in gold. Minus my exposed hands (covered in multiple layers of midge repellent) the midges could not bite me.
We set off from the car park, usually by that time,midges are getting less, but during today's walk seemed to increase. With a dark cloud of midges above us we continued through midge hell.
- Midgy jackets are well worth the investment
You know the times when you think nothing can get worse? About half an hour into the walk, I suddenly felt the pang of an upset stomach.
No no no not now!
Talking about worst timing ever! Frantically I search for a suitable spot, while the thought of having to expose my behind to the lot above me was a hellish thought. With my trousers around my ankles,
frantically spraying my behind with midge repellent,
cursing and trying to dig a small hole in the ground, hoping that no one would see me …
was certainly not the highlight of the day .
Rather flustered I walked back to Kevin, who was smirking inside his midge jacket. ‘Don’t say anything’ I mumbled under my breath while continuing the walk. We followed the described walk up the hill, photos had to wait as anytime you stopped the midges got even worse. Like us a lot of other hill walkers had midge nets on, as walking without them, meant you were literally breathing midges in through your nose (I personally tested it and only lasted seconds) Everyone seemed as pained as we were and some poor folks without nets, even had to return to the car...who can blame them?
- Pretty moss covered waterfall on the way up
- Walk out of hell
Midges were the talk of the day with everyone we met. One walker who had talked to some other folks (who had to return) said that higher up it would be getting worse.
When we reached the height of Fuaran nan Each and scrambled up the rocks we met a young chap who informed us that higher the midges would finally stop…thank god for that.
When we reached the mentioned area, I was finally able to remove the midge jacket and stop for a break to have some much needed food and water. We looked around us, a boulder field of quartzite rocks littered the countryside and Conival was looming high above. It was cold and the low clouds of the morning had disappeared from the tops and the views that day were spectacular. The area often described as Gods country, was clad in sunshine and high puffy clouds drew dramatic shadows around the mountains. The sun highlighted some of the peaks in the distance to perfection and I had to stop so many times to take photos, that I knew we would easily add another hour to the walk, but who cares.
- Views from the walk up Conival
- Views from Conival
- From the summit
We reached the summit of Conival and last time I was up here I had no views, but this time the glorious countryside and deep cliffs was something I was savoring.
- The walk ahead to Ben More Assynt
The walk out to Ben More Assynth was as rocky as I remembered it and walking was slow going. A few midges appeared here and there, but in low numbers so that it was bearable.
- What a viewpoint
- It's a long way down
- The walk will take you quite some time due to the loose scree
We reached the second summit and fantastic views were to be seen everywhere. The thought of the return, left us linger longer than planned and during that day, we were the second last group down the hill.
- View from Ben More Assynt
- High above gods country
- Back at the summit of Conival
- On the way back
- What a countryside
Climbing down into midge territory had been the dreaded thought of the whole return trip, but some glorious wind had picked up and with it hopefully blown the worst of the midges out towards sea (there is hope) We managed to return and only close to the car a few hardy ones were still lingering. What a day we have had! It was probably one of the worst midge experienced I have had and I was glad that we were camping close to the sea, where a slight wind meant that most evenings had been bearable.
- Views back
A video of the midge encounter and hillwalk can be found here:
During the next day we gave the hills a miss and I ventured out to sea. If you are ever looking for a similar hobby to hill walking…and like to be cold and wet, have to drive for miles, end up spending a fortune on gear and like to get to know the weather forecast even better (add tides, wind speed, currents and wave height) then snorkeling might be your thing. Laugh
its actually fantastic and regardless of how tired your legs are after a hill walk, snorkeling is still possible!
For those who are looking for tips and locations, google the Snorkel Trails from the Scottish Wildlife Trust, but let me show you a few photos of what awaits you in Gods country below the waves.
- A compass jellyfish
- Spectacular and elegant
- A catshark
- Beautiful creatures
- Sea Anemone
- Life on the legs of an old pier
- Another anemone
- Lions mane jellyfish
A video of the snorkeling trip can be found here:
