free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
This trip report is about our hike up Slioch and another hill, to find and check on a memorial for the father of someone we met in Kinlochewe. It made for a great walk in the wilds of Letterewe in what was simply stunning conditions.
We had a good debate on this walk about memorials on hills, and came to the conclusion that we better not name the hill as the 'wilderness' brigade might be up there looking to remove the memorial. Had this memorial been on a munro, it would have been wrecked.
I'm not a fan of memorials, but there was a story behind this one and the connection that this man had with this hill. He was a keeper who lived at the cottage near Incheril and spent his working life in the hills of Letterewe. He had a fondness for one hill in particular, not the mighty Slioch, but a lower and more anonymous hill. From this hill, he could see Harris, his birthplace, on a clear day. His wife hiked up alone from Incheril with his ashes and built a cairn on the hillside overlooking his favourite view. It was a stunning spot.
It was the blokes daughter we met and she asked if we would check to see if the cairn was still there and that it had survived the last winters. It would turn a hike up Slioch into a great day out, so we done it.
We headed up to Kinlochewe on the Wednesday afternoon it was a stunner. This was looking down Glen Docherty.
The evening light streamed into the campervan. This was summer!!
I was making use of my new caravan club membership
which entitled us to a healthy discount at the Kinlochewe caravan site. This is a brilliant site with all the usual facilities, and spotless. Slioch looked about 5 mins away from where we were.
A good car park at Incheril at the start of the walk. The weather wasn't as good as the previous day, but it was clearing.
A pleasant walk along Kinlochewe River, with some surprising nature moments.
Near Loch Maree we headed up the hillside towards the coire.
The Coire na Sleaghaich is a huge bowl, where the ascent to Slioch loomed ahead.
Up on the coire rim, the weather was getting better.
Taking no chances, we went along the summit ridge to the 3 high points, the cairn, the trig point, and the north top.
Quite simply, the views down Loch Maree were breathtaking.
Looking down to Tull Bhain.
From the summit.
The Letterewe wilderness.
We then headed along the ridge towards Tuill Bhain, descended north and headed out to Donald MacLeods hill. After a bit of searching, we came across his memorial. It was in a fine spot.
From here, we headed out along Lochan Fada along Gleann Bianasdail. This is a stunning high pass. Very himalayan as the path hugs a high line most of the way down.
A great day in the hills. From here we headed down to Shiel Bridge for our next jaunt. Some nice postcard snaps on the way!!
