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I often think how privileged I am to live in the Highlands with a life flexible enough to follow the weather and climb hills where the odds are on for views from the top. It's not like that for everyone. Penny had to book her holidays in advance and fly up from Oxford and the day after she arrived the previously settled weather was threatened by a low rolling in from the Atlantic.
Knowing how much she'd looked forward to this holiday I scoured the weather web sites searching for the least dismal outlook for a hill on Saturday. I considered Lochaber and Glencoe but was eventually drawn to Beinn Sgritheall on the west coast which looked to me to be the Munro with the best chance of good visibility and sun and smallest chance of low cloud and rain.
We left Inverness shrouded in mist and rain and drove west. Loch Ness was low cloud and rain. Loch Cluanie was low cloud and rain. Kintail was low cloud and rain. We drove through 90 miles of low cloud and rain to Arnisdale and to my amazement (oh ye of little faith) the cloud was lifting and there was no rain!
Loch Hourn at Arnisdale
We parked in the village and walked back to the signpost marked Beinn Sgritheall which pointed up a muddy path through knee high grass and bracken.
Arnisdale still with cloud about - but it wasn't raining
We'd been warned this hill was steep from sea level - and that's how it turned out to be!
We crossed a couple of burns and each time the path seemed to steepen. Part of the way followed an old wire fence which I found useful for hauling myself up. Eventually we reached a grassy hollow which dipped down and over the burn before climbing steeply again. I'd read in someone's report there was an area of respite and kept asking "Do you think this is the respite?". Maybe that was the respite - but if it was it was so short we didn't notice!
Kath and Penny
It was humid and sticky but the voracious west coast midge was in business so there was little temptation to take a break. We just kept plodding on - up, up and up... and then we turned round and were rewarded by this.
View over north end of Knoydart to Sleat peninsula and island of Rhum - and blue sky!
We knew the steepest climb was still to come up the scree to the 906 metre top. At the bealach there was a pleasant breeze that gave some midge relief so we sat down for a little energy boosting calorie intake.
Penny with chocolate, which she shared, Jack with a carrot, which he ate all himself.
WH warned of a turf-clutching crawl and the importance of finding the fingers of grass extending down through the scree. We tried to find the longest finger but maybe we missed it and didn't have so much a turf-clutching crawl as a moving-stone-clutching crawl.
Not my favourite kind of terrain but it didn't go on for ever and yes it was a relief to reach the cairn at the top of this 'top'!
Beinn na h-Eaglaise from half way up scree
Jack surveying the way ahead (Kath's pic)
Kath and Penny in sunshine on 906 metre top with Kintail hills still under cloud
View south east to Barrisdale Bay and Ladhar Bheinn
Beinn Sgritheall summit ahead
Look at that sky!
Over Knoydart to flat-topped island of Eigg
South over Knoydart to glimpse of Loch Nevis and beyond
Beinn Sgritheall summit
Lunch at the summit looking north. Kath is a soft touch with dogs - and they know it.
The Sisters and Saddle from Sgritheall
The way down
It was steep - right down to the road!
Sound of Sleat towards Kylerhea ferry crossing
The west ridge is steep and rocky
As we clambered down a knobbly bit I said (unhelpfully as it turned out) "Need to be careful - it's going down that accidents happen" and Penny promptly slipped and fell. She was okay and maintained it was a psychological fall because of what I'd said!
Penny looking at Skye from start of the descent
Beinn Sgritheall's west ridge
Somewhere around here we were overtaken by a young man running. Well to be accurate I spotted someone coming down behind us and going faster than we were going so I got into a layby to let him past but he was very polite and said no it was fine. I hate to think how frustrated he would have been if he'd had to slow down to my geriatric pace!
Anyway we stopped and had a wee blether as you do and I asked if he ever posted on Walkhighlands. I just had a feeling he might be one of the names I know on here.
He said he was DavyB who sometimes walks with Dooterbang - and a very nice chap he was too. He had his bike stashed somewhere on the road and we passed him on it later. Cheers DavyB if you read this and hope you had a midge free night camping!
Beinn Sgritheall's summit on west side
A clear path continues down the west ridge to a small lochan where you take a left turn.
This path down to the road becomes progressively steeper until it disappears into a jungle of birch, rowan and bracken. At times you feel you need a machete as it's difficult to see where to put your next step.
At one point I took a tumble and grabbed a sapling to stop me rolling down the steep hillside.
The other two were ahead as I stumbled on with jelly legs finding the going more and more unpleasant with insects (midge and flies) buzzing around and parts of the path a quagmire but so overgrown it was difficult to get off it.
In a group situation the dogs tend to stick wth whoever's in the lead but just when I was feeling fed up and wondering why I do this Jack came back up the path looking for me. It was so good to see him.
He stayed close to me after that
and gave me a new burst of energy to get down off that steep hillside on to the road for the 3k walk back to the car.
Once on the road it was easy walking back towards Arnisdale. I have a few photos from that part of the walk which I will add in a post.
On the journey home we were back into cloud and drizzle by the time we reached Shiel Bridge. We stopped for a drink at the Cluanie Inn and from the window Ciste Dubh was invisible under thick cloud. So it seemed all my anorak searching of weather web sites had paid off and we had found a Munro not only with a cloud free summit but which had no rain all day and was for most of the time wreathed in sunshine.
So a big thank you to the weather men for getting it right on Saturday!
