walkhighlands

The Two Daves Walk to Skye (part 2)

Date walked: 20/05/2010

link to part 1 here

oops forgot to include day 3 in my last post...

A late-ish start to day 3, after spending the morning taking more pics in the fantastic light. Was another cold night with a fair bit of frost on the tent, but the sun rising very early soon warmed the glen up. A fair bit of mileage to get through today, and we set off West towards the Iron Lodge and Glen Elchaig, picking up a very good track above the river. The sun shone all day today, and although we had a distance to go, we took our time with frequent breaks to enjoy this wonderful part of the route. The plan was to climb up from Glen Elchaig to take in the Falls Of Glomach and camp somewhere around Morvich. The path up to the Falls is something else – a great walk, scramble, clamber, although I wouldn’t like to attempt it on a wet day. The best view of the falls is from a path which drops down to a viewpoint. The path away from the falls still climbs steadily up to a height of 500 metres before heading downhill to Morvich. Our (late) pitch this night was at the northern edge of the forest. A very tiring day, but easily the best day of the week.

Wildlife seen – 1 lizard, lots of deer, 1 dead shrew,
Wildlife heard – cuckoo, bird making a machine gun/chainsaw noise?

The-Z's-Iron-Lodge.jpg

David-Glomach-Falls.jpg

me-glomach-falls.jpg

Glomach-Falls.jpg


Day 4 was always going to be the hardest day. Except for the first few kilometres, this whole day was going to be on tarmac. Up early and by 8am we had reached the A87 and Shiel Bridge. Taking the road to Glenelg and noting the 9 mile signpost with scorn – hah, 9 miles, not a problem! – we plodded on. Weather was threatening rain, but only came to light occasional showers. The start of this road was exceptionally tough, being all steeply uphill for the first 3 km or so. Coming down the other side was very gentle though with a lot of swallows accompanying us on our walk. There is a fantastic rope swing overlooking the beach between Glenelg and the ferry which gave much amusement – (caution- this swings out across the road, be careful you don’t slam into the side of a passing minibus)
A further kilometre on and the ferry comes into sight. I have a cheesy grin on my face, and as I look around to David, he has the same expression. The ferry to Skye, we had walked here! The ferry crossing brought back some childhood memories – the only highpoint of this day. From Kylerhea, (and after a dram) we climbed again!
the road out, and at the top we made camp looking towards the Red Cuillin.
A very tough day indeed.
Wildlife seen – lots of swallows, roe deer, buzzard, llama (farmed)
Wildlife heard – that cuckoo again… starting to get very annoying now.

5-sisters.jpg

view-from-Bealach-Ratagain.jpg

Ferry-to-misty-Skye.jpg

sunset-over-skye.jpg


Day 5 – This was to be a day climbing Bla Bheinn, but… we couldn’t be bothered… a relaxing day with a walk out to the main road and a camp beside the shore a couple miles from Kyleakin. Sitting on the shore after sunset and finishing our whisky, a noise from the water not 10 feet away drew our attention. It was a seal, looking straight at us. A great end to this easy day.

Wildlife seen – heron, gulls, geese, seal.
Wildlife heard - yep, that cuckoo still.

sea-view.jpg

relaxing.jpg

final-sunset.jpg


Day 6 – Another easy day, as we pack up and head into Kyleakin to satisfy our craving for an Irn Bru. We walk across the bridge, have some proper food and a pint in the hotel, then catch the train home.

The-Bridge.jpg


Wildlife seen – geese, heron
Wildlife heard – that cuckoo is haunting me.


Total distance 112 km.
I could get hooked on long distance walks, really enjoyed this one. Maybe the TGO Challenge next year?

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Comments: 7



The Two Daves Walk to Skye (part 1)

Attachment(s) Date walked: 10/05/2010
Distance: 112km
Comments: 3
Views: 3245


Sgurr a'Mhaoraich

Attachment(s) Munros: Sgùrr a' Mhaoraich
Date walked: 23/02/2010
Distance: 10km
Comments: 8
Views: 8395


Canisp

Attachment(s) Corbetts: Canisp
Date walked: 26/12/2009
Distance: 11km
Comments: 13
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Date walked: 07/12/2009
Comments: 26
Views: 18697


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Munros: Sgùrr Mòr (Beinn Alligin), Tom na Gruagaich (Beinn Alligin)
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Comments: 3
Views: 7578


Ben Klibreck

Munros: Ben Klibreck
Date walked: 30/08/2008
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Ben Hope

Munros: Ben Hope
Date walked: 23/08/2008
Comments: 3
Views: 6883


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Munros: Toll Creagach, Tom a' Chòinich
Date walked: 20/08/2008
Comments: 4
Views: 7988


Carn Eige and Mam Sodhail

Munros: Beinn Fhionnlaidh (Càrn Eige), Càrn Eige, Màm Sodhail
Date walked: 23/07/2008
Comments: 1
Views: 7764

maddjock


User avatar
Location: Inverness-ish
Occupation: baker, photographer, photography teacher, dad.
Interests: mountains, hills, wandering, backpacking, wildcamping, photography, religion, history, computing, reading, blogging, scotland
Activity: Hill Bagger
Pub: Sandwood tent
Mountain: Ben Stack
Place: Sandwood Bay
Gear: Paramo 3rd Element
Camera: Canon 5D, L Lenses
Ideal day out: Anything outdoors in good weather/light with amazing photo opportunities and a wildcamp somewhere remote.
Ambition: To go into space




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Statistics

2010

Trips: 3
Distance: 122 km
Munros: 1

2009

Trips: 2
Distance: 11 km
Corbetts: 1
Fionas: 1

2008

Trips: 9
Distance: 16 km
Munros: 11
Corbetts: 2
Fionas: 1

2007

Trips: 1
Distance: 8 km
Munros: 1

2006

Trips: 1
Distance: 18 km
Munros: 2

1993

Trips: 4
Distance: 53 km
Munros: 4


Joined: Jul 07, 2008
Last visited: Feb 26, 2011
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