Loch Lundie, anticlockwise

[dgcampbell]

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We took this walk as a starting point and as it was a good day, the best of the week in fact, we thought of being a bit more adventurous and decided to do an anti-clockwise circular walk round the Loch. The start was identical to the WH description, between the two white cottages and following up through the old iron gate along the grassy path. As the path neared the Loch it opened up a bit and leveled out, and from here along the East and North side of the Loch was a good wide road. The old boathouse, with massive fir tree growing right beside it, was hidden in the rhododendrons and was indeed a good viewpoint.

From the boathouse at Loch Lundie

We carried on in open moorland up the East side of the Loch with its small islands on our left. According to Canmore its MacRanald's Island - "Eilean Mhic Rhaonuill" http://www.scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/record/rcahms/12152/eilean-mhic-raonuill/rcahms

One Tree Island

Although the maps showed a trail heading SE back into the adjacent forest we never saw any sign of it. There was a very elegant series of pools just before the junction at NH300045 where we turned left.

Pools heading down to Loch Lundie

Paused to look at the collection of ruins at Lundie, none of them any more than a few stones high and fast disappearing into the bracken. In fact the most obvious of them, a large sheepfold probably, is visible on aerial views but was hidden completely in the bracken at ground level. After this the jeep track descended across a fairly new bridge before magically turning into a turning circle and stopping dead. We retraced steps to a point before the descent to the bridge and realised there was an older track heading down to the Ford marked on the map. There was just too much water to risk it so we walked across carrying socks and shoes, and sitting down to put them back on were briefly inundated by the only rain shower of the day. [With hindsight we realised we could probably have scrambled through heather and bracken betweeen the turning circle and the East side of the ford, thereby avoiding the wet feet.] We “climbed” up a 20ft high bit of moorland for a lunch break spot to find somewhere a touch drier and to let the wind take away any midges. For the next mile or so the track dropped down to the status of rarely, if ever, used.
The reason became obvious as two of the “bridges “ across the tributaries of the Allt Glac na Connspeach had been reduced to one or two planks of dubious stability, fine for people or sheep if crossing one at a time! It was often tricky to tell whether we were following a path or a stream bed at times.

Path or stream?

There were plenty of carnivorous looking plants waiting to go for any wayward traveller, probably sundews of some kind. Its not often you see midges look worried.

Plant waiting for lunch

The track climbed gently to a crest for a last view of the Loch behind us and the first view of the forest ahead, with Ben Tee in the background.

Ben Tee

Shortly the track widened out again and was obviously in use. It ran parallel to the woodland before heading down to the main road, we chose to head this way for the A87 to avoid going through the Faichemard campsite. Only a hundred yards on the main road before cutting the corner via the minor road to Faichem which came out right across from the Community Hall at Invergarry. We enjoyed coffee and very good gingerbread in the volunteer-run cafe in the Hall before looking round the small Heritage Centre that details some stories of the Clearances that resulted in about 3,500 emigrants to Canada from this area in between 1770-1850.
A really enjoyable walk with plenty of different views of the loch as you circle round it.