Rambling Pete's Diary

The Quiraing to Rubha Hunish and back – 11.2 miles with 1861ft of ascent

The last day of a ‘Long Walk on the Isle of Skye 2012′. Always a wistful moment or two when I think back to the start of the journey and back again. I wondered about the end of this walk and stopping it at Duntulm Castle, but now I know I made the right decision to finish at the top of the island.
I awoke to bright blue skies above Portree, ate a hearty breakfast, packed the motor and set off north for the Quiraing. All around me were blue skies – down to the Cuillens and up to a clear Storr – fantastic weather. As I got to Staffin there was a Victor Meldrew moment – ‘I don’t bloody believe it’ – sitting right on the Quiraing was a great lump of storm cloud, and as I drove up the Quiraing road the heavens opened and dumped a veritable load of big white hailstones. It covered the road, enough for me to switch to 4×4, and to start cursing…a bit like our Victor Meldrew. At the car park I just sat and waited, hoping and delaying, but it was no good I couldn’t change the weather. Actually I did a couple of minutes later on – I wished it all away, and away it went. On with the wet gear, off with the wet gear, too hot in the sun, and too cold out.
But really who gives a hoot when the landscape is as distinct as this, sublime, hypnotic and downright smile inducing. The path below the cliffs is but a narrow trod above steep grassy slopes. It’s hard to make fast progress as there’s so much to look at. A short way from the start is an awkward rock step across a burn, but that’s the only problem here, and it’s not do bad. Then I stood and stared – sod the passing time and feast my eyes on this magical place – wrinkly terracettes in green mossy grass, as the soil creeps slowly downhill. Old farm use in the landscape below, of wall patterns and peat cutting. Prominent knolls and pinnacles draw the eye, as does a recent rock fall revealing crystal vesicles amongst the black basalt. Up above the high cliffs tower over the path, shielding me from the wind, and in the sunshine it feels like May for once. A vertical dyke splits the lava flow and next to it a small waterfall tumbles quietly down the precipice. Ahead of me lay the Prison, one of many slumped blocks that gives the landscape a crazy tilt. I’ve been up there so didn’t climb today, and up to my left was the needle, guarding the steep scree path up to the magical hidden table – another must return to venue. It’s almost too much, but I remember I have some bog trotting to do before the day is out, and that returns me to reality. I meet the two ladies and the German couple again – he’s smiling, enjoying this landscape and taking lots of pictures – I hope he gets in touch via this blog. The ladies are finishing today at Flodigarry, and it’s a shame they can’t hitch a ride and walk to the end at Rubha Hunish as I’m sure they would have enjoyed that.
But our paths parted and I took the higher route up to Fir Bhreugach and from there up towards Sron Vourlinn. This was where the path ran out, the start of a bit of rough, rough enough to make me curse a little, and struggle along for s while. The path runs put and in retrospect I should have stayed up higher on the hill, but part of this route is to pick a line and go with it.
As an aside, I take my hat off to all who complete the TGO challenge across Scotland every year,and especially to those sadists who complete ten years running – some kind of perversion if you ask me.
Oh yes – I followed the hint of a trod and it gently contoured around the hill in the right direction for quite a distance before it petered out. Stuart (Lonewalker) had told me there was a semblance of a path towards the east side of the coire on the right hand side of the Lon Horro burn. I’m glad he did, as after stumbling through rough ground for a little while I picked it up alongside the burn which has cut a decent sized, steep, rocky ravine through the rocks. Beyond the base of Sron Vuillen the ground levels off to a boggy waste and the only way across is to try and keep to the higher ground where there is any. Initially I made good progress across several hummocks of morraine, but these flattened off and it was just a case of picking a line and hop, hoping from dry tuft to dry tuft, and coming across the real wet stuff now and again. I’m going to compare my route down with Lonewalkers and see if we ended up close, it will be interesting for reference – as it happens our route across from Sron Vourlinn were very close. After the recent rain it still wasn’t truly boggy, but the walk up the length of Skye does refine the eye for a stride to keep dry-shod. It’s quite taxing watching your footfall all the time, but I stopped occasionally to look back at the route and confirm I was going in the right direction. There is a ridge of higher ground over to the east, but I was headed west to skirt Cnoc Roll and make my way to the telephone box that marks the path to Rubha Hunish.
Once I’d crossed the worst of the bog there are some lush looking fields before the wooden bridge over the Kilmaluag River – these turned out to be a little moist, and churned up by cattle, ready to catch the unwary with a boot full of muddy water. Once over the river the ground was easier, firmer to the foot and actually had a track on the ground. There is a ‘tongue in cheek’ sign saying ‘Quiraing footpath’ which made me laugh – it doesn’t run very far. I made a bit of a mistake here and took to a small road down to the hamlet of Connista, instead of sticking to the fields behind and above the houses. The net result was that I had to pass through someones yard and climb over a gate into another field to get back on line. Luckily for me nobody was at home or I may have had to divert somewhat. Across the boggy fields of Kilmaluag I could see my red telephone box that marks the start of the path, and instead of taking the minor roads to it I thought I’d take a turn over to Cnoc Roll, taking advantage of some old farm tracks. It’s a good job it wasn’t raining as some of the ground was mightily churned up by cattle. Luckily for me I walked mostly on the short cropped stuff just below the track and that was ok. As I got to Cnoc Roll the track split left and right, and i took the right branch to lead me around the east side of the hill and up to the main road. The farmer here had a line of old baths along the track – I think it was about 10 – but I didn’t know when bath-time was or if the farmer scratched the cows backs or not. I made steady progress north now, with good weather overlooking the peninsula, but still the showers crossed over the sea from the Hebrides, threatening me with a quick wetting. But the blue sky gods were with me and as I reached the telephone box I nipped inside for a few minutes to take on board some liquid before the final walk to the tip of Skye. The path out to Rubha Hunish is clearly signposted, and is also clear on the ground. There has been some remedial work done here which has probably filled in some of the worst boggy bits, and certainly makes access to the coast easier. Over to my left was Patersons finish of Duntulm Castle, standing proud on its knoll, but no time for a visit today as I’d plumped to finish at Rubha Hunish. Below me was a line of old crofting remains at Erisco, all laid out in a line running north south, there’s even some old run-rigs below the cliffs of Meall Tuath. The path heads for a cleft between two hills of Meall Deas and Meall Tuath, reaching a perched boulder that marks the way down to Hunish and the end. It’s a marvellous viewpoint looking down on the deep blue sea and the smell of fresh sea air was fantastic. The first bit down past the boulder is a little rocky scramble, but is ok and has plenty of hand and footholds, and this gives way to a steep path down the side of the cliffs, that tower above. It was a great feeling to walk down and across above Loch Hunish, but it was a little rough seas today for any whale spotting, and that’s another reason for a trip back here, maybe in the autumn. It was a real pleasure walking along the short turf and didn’t take long to reach the end of the peninsula, where I stood still gulping in fresh air and looking out over rough waters to the islands and over to mainland Scotland of Torridon. What a finish and what a walk – it’s right up there with the best, and I’m going to have to think long and hard about where to go next. A Long Walk on Skye 2012 finished but never to be forgotten.

The Storr to The Quiraing – 13.3 miles with a whopping 4837ft of ascent

Apologies if I’ve got a little muddled here and there – it’s been a looonggg day

The longest day, and after yesterday’s walk and last night, my legs don’t exactly feel full of beans – full of lead maybe. But that’s just an excuse really and at least it wasn’t windy today, just a touch of rain on and off and some bastard stinging hailstones thrown in for good measure.
I was looking forward to the Trotternish traverse and was ready for a long day. I started out wearing all my wet gear, as it was raining to start the day and a cold wind to go with it. Ha – dried out all my gear to get it wet again. I put on my Meindls today, nice and dry and that’s the advantage of having my personal baggage carrier – though she doesn’t see it that way – and she doesn’t read this either!
I hunkered down in my bus shelter and faffed around, looking up above The Storr for any approaching blue sky, but it was clothed with a misty blanket which always makes the area around the Old Man of Storr more interesting. I had a short walk up the road to the Storr car park where there has been quite a lot of wood clearance since I was last here, opening up the vista a little more to the north. The information board is a good guide to the area and gives a little geological information to make sense of the crazy pinnacles. The same of course applies to the Quiraing. It’s a popular attraction is the Old Man and there was a right old mix of people going up there for a look. It’s a steady haul up there that soon has you puffing – up through the woods the path was very muddy where there has been logging, but beyond that it’s a well trodden route, with the odd set of steps thrown in here and there. I feared the worse for the weather as it lashed it down once more as I moved out of the trees to open ground. The midfield were briefly in evidence down in the woods, but it was too cold for them higher up and they didn’t pester when I walked through them. No reflection pictures across the small lochan below the Old Man, so I steadily plodded on up higher to the Old Man and beyond. I was here last October in glorious weather, and as I passed the crazy pinnacles the sky cleared and it looked ok ahead. Shame about the wind though, but cold as it was, it wasn’t strong enough to blow you over the edge. There’s some mighty big drops from the top of the ridge and it’s a real roller coaster of a walk with plenty of ups and downs – i’ll summarise it as this -

Up to the Old Man, onto Coire Scamadal, down to Bealach a Chuirn, up to Hartaval, down to Bealach Hartaval, up to Baca Ruadh, down / up to Creag a Lain, down to Bealach a Lain, up to Flasvein for lunch, down to Bealach Chaiplin, up to Groba nan Each, down to Bealach Amadal, up to Beinn Mheadhonach, down to Bealach Mhoramhain, up to Beinn Edra, down to Bealach Uige, up to Drum Ma Coille, up to Bioda Buidhe and finally down to the feckin car park.

There were a German couple and two ladies walking from the South at the same time as me. I’d met them on the boat from Elgol, and then again on the walk to Portree from Sligachan. I didn’t meet them on the wet and windy day – they were far too sensible, although the ladies did venture out for a circuit around Ben Chracaig

I met them again today, catching up with them at Hartaval and they weren’t that far behind me when I finished at the Quiraing – well done ladies, you did brilliantly.
Anyways once the sun had come out to play I could see the escarpment stretching away from me to the north, with a misty Isle of Raasay and occasional glimpses of the mainland to the east and over to the western part of Skye to my left, with views to Maclouds Maidens in the distance – some flat topped hills set in a soggy landscape. I only got a misty glimpse or two of the Cuillens back down to the south, but I knew what they looked like by now. The Trotternish ridge has some rough ground here and there but close to the edge there is an increasingly well trodden path along the sheep cropped grass. But step back a few yards and it becomes short tussocky grass, interspersed with moss and heather – that’s ok when it’s not too boggy, but it’s energy sapping if you stay in it too long. I had a great lunch spot today up on the side of ?, a big boulder with a natural seat which allowed me to shelter a while from the continuing cold wind. As I munched my sarnie in the distance I saw a big bird whirling on the wind – is it a crow, raven or buzzard thought I – is it hell, it’s an EAGLE! I knew it was a big bird, but wow, it’s big. But as with the otter from a few days ago, there was to be no picture – at this moment I’d decided to return to Skye again, rent a cottage and spend some dedicated time looking at wildlife. I didn’t wait around too long after that as time was ticking away (it ticked away so much that I didn’t get to blog this day on the day). The weather continued fine, but I could see the passing showers coming and going, so had plenty of time to get my hood up and gloves on. Hard to believe its the month of May – if you look at some of my long walks you’ll see it’s mostly been warm and definitely not down as low as 5 degrees C.
Looking ahead I could see the Quiraing in the distance and foolish me set to thinking its only down off here to the car park, what good time I’ve made – how very wrong could I have been. It was only big Beinn Edra In the way. How hard it was to muster the old legs for one final up when secretly they were already celebrating being near the car park. I should have consulted the map a little more often, not just when I’m writing up the blog! But I did remember one thing I’d been told by Ian Stephenson – ‘don’t cut the corner off on the way down’. So I didn’t, I cut the corner off on the way up to Bioda Buidhe to try and save some legwork. That worked ok once I was over the steep part, and it was dry enough.
Looking down from the summit I realised there was a way to go yet….tick-tock went the clock….though I told myself it didn’t matter. After wandering too far away from the summit I quickly realised I should be over to the edge, so yomped through some rough ground to gain the grassy edge once more and that’s where I stayed. It seemed a bit circuitous but the short cut was rough and boggy looking and would have been a big ask at the end of a long day. Eventually the car park hove into view far below, as did another hailstorm, and I could even see the tea wagon, although I knew it would be shut – I could have killed for a cuppa now. The long walk down from Beinn Edra took a while and the ground was a big soggier on the lower slopes, but in my line of sight now was the wonderful Quiraing, my last day tomorrow. Staffin was away down to my right sunbathing a little with a long line of white in the bay crashing over the shore. Down below the Quiraing there is plenty of evidence of old peat cutting, and some wired and wonderful landscape, but that was for tomorrow. Today finished at the car park and I had a quick chat with the B&B owner who was waiting for the others. I assured him that they were not far behind and pointed them out on the hill. He said he always gives people until 7pm then changes into his Mountain Rescue underpants – good job they all arrived at 18:59:59.
Another grand day out on Skye – this is turning into an epic walk

What a finish. Sorry no time as we’ve driven part way home and have just got B&B near Tyndrum. Got to get de-ponged now. Will write up Day seven and eight tomorrow.
There’s a few pics of day seven on the previous post now. Couldn’t post last night – it wouldn’t let me.
Here’s a couple from today to wet the appetite.

Ran out of time today, just off out for scoff – will ppost a few pics later on

The Old Man of Storr to the Quirang – 13.8miles with loads of ascent….

In the wind and the rain and the snow, with no particluar place to go….hailstones hurt. The sun shone a bit as well, and a distant eagle was spotted!! (not spotted, probably golden)

Portree to The Storr – only 9 miles with 2360ft of ascent

Just as well it was only 9 miles as the forecast proved to be stunningly accurate -

Headline, The Northwest Highlands -

Very severe most of day: storm force winds; torrential rain, low cloud.

How Windy?

Westerly, 60 to 80mph, gusts up to 110mph; strongest afternoon. Slight easing evening.

Effect Of Wind?

Considerable buffeting from low levels. Any mobility extensively very difficult on the hills; sudden ferocious gusts even in relatively sheltered areas. Severe wind chill.

How Wet?

Constant rain. Often torrential western mountains. Incessant heavy rain; concentrated western mountains where total rainfall will widely exceed 1 inch, in places 2 inches, and in Rambling Pete’s back 3 inches. Intermittently snow highest summits. Will ease to showers in evening – I’ll have finished before the evening thanks.

Well I don’t often go out in weather like that, but didn’t want to waste a day of my walk, as it would definitely have been null and void in my eyes. Sitting at breakfast with all the other guests, they looked a bit askance when I said I was off out walking – it was nice and cosy looking out of steamed up windows, the trees outside bending over in the strong wind, and the rain pattering against the window in pulses. But I couldn’t make breakfast last all day, so it was on with everything waterproof that I had, knowing that by the time I’d finish most of it would be sopping wet anyway.

I don’t know if you remember Tiswoz, the saturday morning programme where Chris Tarrant threw buckets of water over people in a cage. Well it was just like that, only without the cage. There were to be no spectacular coastal views today, and I’d be lucky to get a view at all. I decided early on to just use my I-phone for pictures today, as the compact would have given up the ghost in the wet. I had the phone in an ‘AquaPac’ cover, and it’s brilliant for really bad weather. I have quite a few blurry wet pictures though, but at least there’s some to put up.

I’m typing this blog whilst listening to Five Live as Manchester City try to win the Premiership – so expect some distractions!

Out into the wind and the rain the streets of Portree were quiet, and the hills around provided some protection from the wind, but not the rain. There’s a nice little circular walk you can do along here, around Ben Chracaig and back, so the path is well defined and used. Up on top of Ben Chracaig there are plenty of old lumps and bumps with the remnants of Dun Torvaig – halftime and City are one up – but my route stuck to the coast and as I turned past the island of Sgeir Mhor I got my first look at the big cliffs ahead. I was still a little sheltered down by the sea and wouldn’t feel the full force of the wind until up on the cliffs. A little further on are a line of green pasture called the ‘Bile Pasture’, nice and springy to walk across and probably nice on a sunny day to sit and ponder and watch out for the Sea Eagles of Portree. The only view I had was down to the fish farms and a misty Ben Tianavaig, whilst up ahead at Sron a Bhainne the waterfall was flowing uphill – I knew then that the walk up from the Bile Pasture would be interesting. With the lack of views out to the mainland or the Isle of Raasay I decided it wasn’t worth the risk of straying to close to the edge, so once I’d got up on top at Bealach Cumhang I stayed about 10yds from the edge, on good short cropped grass. This must be a real joy to walk on when it’s normal weather – today was an effort to keep both feet and walking poles grounded. The path itself up on the edge is fine, sheep cropped grass, and brilliant to walk on – blinking heck QPR just equalised – the general direction is north and undulates up and down between higher hills, the biggest of which is Sithean Bhealaich Chumhaing. Further on is Craig Ulatota and Fiurnean where the path drops down over a steep slope and veers towards the north west. The ground changes character and the path becomes a little unclear, and a little more boggy. At this stage the wind really picked up and I don’t think there was much of me that was dry anymore, except my phone, snug in it’s pack. I was struggling to keep my poles grounded and it was quite testing leaning into the wind all the time. Down to my right there was another line of cliffs that could be walked along another time, and in a moment of clarity I could see the main road and the Loch Leathan, the feeder for the hydro scheme. I stayed high until I could see the hydro service road and then got down to the road as soon as I could then turned into the wind to walk up to the main road. What a struggle against the wind, bent over to make progress, crossing over the dam and the rowing boats at rest – no takers today. Five minutes later I passed by a villa with a young girl looking out of the window, stunned at anyone out in this. At the main road there appeared a magical bus shelter – almost blown off it’s mounting, but a great refuge to await my chariot. Some time later back at the B&B I drained my boots, squeezed out my socks, pants, base layer, merino and strung out the rest of my gear to dry – and settled down to listen to the footie – oh woe is me at the moment…what a disaster…..oh HANG on a minute………I don’t believe it, only City can do it this way….final minute, of final game, with final goal what a finish…CHAMPIONS!!

Sligachan to Portree – 13.2 miles with 1017ft of ascent

How annoying are computers and ‘intelligent’ phones? I’ve just spent an hour blogging and now it’s been swallowed and spat out into the ether. Believe me it was the best piece I’ve ever written, so now you’ll just have to put up with this shorter version.
Looking out of my window this morning I spied blue sky over Sgurr nan Gillean so knew I was in for another good day. The route today was fairly straightforward and didn’t have many alternatives. There are one or two diversions I could have made but didn’t. After a light breakfast in the Slig I was out down to the bridge to capture a morning shot of the sunny side of Sgurr nan Gillean. There was a photographer set up so I nipped down beside him to get a shot – it saved me faffing around. Just in time as two bus loads of Japanese tourists poured out to spoil his view. I set off across the road towards the campsite, and then down by the river. I couldn’t really go wrong as the path follows the northern shore of Loch Sligachan. One thing to note of today’s route is that after heavy rainfall with the burns in spate it would be difficult to make progress along here. Many of the smaller burns run straight down the hillside in narrow valleys and these would fill up rapidly. But today was dry again and river crossing was easy. The River Sligachan is quite wide in places and with a bit more water in would require a bit of careful crossing. On the opposite shore the main road south to Broadford intrudes a little but not for long, in fact the noisiest thing passing today was a Eurofighter which flashed past in a blur. I watched the ferry from Sconser to Raasay cross the short distance between islands, and as I moved further along the shore the Cuillens became a distant view once more. South of Loch Slapin the skyline is dominated by the big bulk of Glamaig, which effectively blots out the sunlight for a lot of the area. The end of the loch marks the end of the stony path and a change of scenery down onto the road that runs along through The Braes. it was pleasant walking along the road through the small settlements of Peinachorrain, Balmeanach and Gedintailor, with only a few cars passing by, and all of those very courteous – no rushing about these roads. I took the lower road and was rewarded with good views over to Raasay, with many snow capped mountains of the mainland beyond. This area must have been used for a lot of crofting and there is plenty of evidence in the fields and a few original crofts still standing – one with a tin roof weighed down with old yokes on chains. There is an interesting bay below Balmeanach which leads over to a promontory with the remains of a Dun on the end. There’s a few old bits and bats along this coast. After Gedintailor the road veers to the north west and the big local hill of Ben Tianavaig comes into view. This gives a taster of the landscapes to come in the next day or two. It could have been a route option but I’ve enough ascent to do over the next two days

Elgol to Sligachan – 10.5 miles with 2050ft of ascent

Sorry about the photos they’re all mixed up again – i’ll sort them out at home

Today I have a two options depending on the weather. My preferred route and a great start to the day will be to take the Misty Isle boat on a one way journey to the steps near Loch Coruisk. A relaxing start that will only take 45 minutes, with the chance of wildlife viewing, but much depends on the prevailing conditions – hopefully my breakfast won’t be reappearing. If the weather is too inclement then I shall be returning to the car park near Kilmarie to cross over once more to Camasunary Bay and resume the path from yesterday, passing by the bothy and on up to Sgurr na Stri. I’ve been this way before, so know what to expect. The more I write about this walk, the more I realise that there are lots of options to take, it’s just a case of transport sometimes – I don’t suppose many cars will stop for a soaking wet hiker, so getting a bus timetable would be useful.

Having breakfast at Coruisk House and looking out to the south, it looked a little grey and unpromising (but the home made bread toast was fabulous). So I nipped out to the front of the house and was happy to see blue skies around the corner over the islands. Wondering what will it have in store today – wet or dry or soaked, with windy weather from the north it was a tad brisk. I was aware that the underfoot conditions will be soggy even on a good day out. Last October here was absolutely wonderful and I was hoping for more of the same today.

I was down at the quay for 8:45 to bag my seat on the early morning trip, I’d already mailed them last week to be sure, but I had only 4 fellow passengers. The seas looked a little lumpy, but nowhere near rough enough to stop the service. The Misty Isle is very much a family affair and it shows in the service they provide. Anne greeted me at the ticket shed, saying it was so cold she’d have to shelter in the cupboard. It was a cold wind from the north that didn’t warm until later in the day, and what a view across to the Cuillens – clear of cloud with a dusting of snow. Away to my right the coastline is inviting, but I walked here yesterday, we gently pull away from the concrete ramp and out into the waters of Loch ??, with the island of Soay the nearest and most prominent to the west. All eyes on the Cuillen hills, all jagged and broody, with Blaven over to the right behind Camasunary Bay.The father (Seumas) was the skipper, and son (Stuart) was the narrator, safety officer – took great delight in showing us the emergency exits – and teaboy as well. I decided to sit myself down by the forward canopy as the engines got up to speed, and a couple of thumps later my fellow passengers were sporting a sea spray jacket – I didn’t laugh. It was very relaxing listening to Stuart and his knowledge and tales were much appreciated, as well as a cup of tea We didn’t see too much wildlife, but the seals were out basking close to the shore. Approach into the head of Loch Coruisk, surrounded by big black volcanic hills, the boat slows down to look closely at the seals basking on small rock outcrops….plenty of shags with spread wings like a long paper chain. Seumas saw us safely into the landing steps and it was abandon ship for the Loch Coruisk show. I love it here, it’s a very special place and I took my time walking slowly to savour this theatre. The route today gets the best views of the Cuillens and all of them were on view. I still can’t believe that some looney ran / climbed the entire ridge in less than 4 hours. The ‘Inn Pinn’ was prominent above the ridge, looking like a splinter. The path to the river crossing wasn’t too boggy and the stepping stones were well clear of the water and dry as a bone – amazing what a dry month does. My mountain legs were still in bed and I felt a little heavy after yesterday’s efforts, so I pulled the plug on a walk up Sgurr na Stri so I could savour the Cuillens and Glen Sligachan at leisure – this wasn’t a day to rush around. The views around Loch Coruisk get better the higher up you climb – not steep ground, but you have to be careful where you put you’re feet. The gabbro rocks are very grippy for walking over, but will shred your hands if you’re not careful. A steady plod took me up beside the waterfalls of ?, more of a trickle today. Loch ? comes into view with the jagged peaks of Sgurr nan Gillean in the background, what a spectacle. As I got to the top of ? I stepped into another theatre of Glen Sligachan, dominated initially by the formidable western slopes of Blaven – I would have had a cracking view yesterday. Way in the distance the Sligachan Hotel stands out as a white blob on the landscape. Starting down the slopes to the valley floor I felt the full chill of a northerly wind, which bizarrely warmed up as the afternoon went on. There were quite a few groups out stalking the Munros of the Cuillens, happy that the wind was at their backs.
I found a lovely lunch spot and settled down to my freshly made butties – one bite and it looked like Blaven – see picture! I had a short day today and was grateful for it, especially later on as I took a pathetic tumble and almost bit the dust – good job nobody saw me. Walking north down the Glen had me staring up at great mountains the Black Cuillens to the west and the Red to the east. The path was stony and easy to amble along and as I drew level with the jagged pinnacles of Am Bastier the river ahead meanders over the wide valley floor – plenty of glacial till and out wash here. I felt a little like it was leaving a special place behind as I got towards Sligachan, ready for another change of scenery. I was very grateful for the weather today – a very special place and one to return to time and again. All that was left was a soak in the bath and a little R&R in the bar.

Torrin to Elgol via Blaven? – 12.7 miles with 4200ft of ascent

Intermission over and time to catch up thank goodness for short days anyway yesterday was a new day, forgotten is the tough pathless trek from day two and remembered is the hill I have to climb. Hill? Proper mountain I should say, and well worth the epithet. I depart from Patersons route that heads north to give me an extra day of travel by veering south towards Elgol, walking around the head of Loch Slapin. I have two alternative routes pending a decision as I pass the car park for Blaven – low cloud and it’s sticking to the coast from Kilmarie, but clear and it’s up and weigh hey.

I got a cracking picture across Loch Slapin last time I was here – all rain clouds and rainbows.

Anyway I was dropped off at yesterday’s end at Camas Malag beach, a short walk away from Torrin. Normally I would start and end at a B&B stop, but yesterday I was dead beat. My legs were ok at the start of the day even though day three on a long walk can be a bit sluggish, not in a slimy way. There’s something about being next to the coast first thing in the day, maybe the air is fresher around me. From the beach I headed over a headland, found a nice gate to pass through and was in Torrin within a short time. The owner of the Blue Shed cafe was outside but it was far to early to be stopping. After a stroll through the houses of this small hamlet I was soon out on the road that skirts Loch Slapin and continues on to Elgol. In my face was the black mass of Bla Beinn (Blaven), looking very inviting and very menacing at the same time – but that’s only because the route up is over to the left and out of sight.
The tide was in and the loch waters a little windswept, with a flock of different songbirds, waders, gulls etc feeding along the shore. It’s been great for birdlife so far, there’s so many different types I’ve lost count, a brilliant place to come and stare. The road was pleasant to walk along, peaceful except for the odd car, and they were always courteous and slowed down as they passed by. I think I’d already made up my mind where I was going today and the cloud cover wasn’t going to put me off. As I rounded the head of the loch I could see the woods that marked the start of the route and knew I had to cut up to the right before the bridge over the river. I followed the ‘Walk Highlands ‘ route up to Blaven, staying right of waterfalls of Allt na Dunaiche, a deeply cut ravine with dense birch growth up the sides. After crossing the river at the road the path takes me up at a steady incline, across the moor, through a couple of deer gates where I could look down on the steep wooded gorge, with the fresh leaves making it look quite verdant. The water is crystal clear and very inviting, a little bit further on I could gaze down into another rocky chasm cut deeply by the Allt na Dunaiche. A mile upstream and it was time to cross over to the other side, and make my way up towards the climb up Coire Uaigneich, and by the time I was up there I felt reasonably fresh – not bad for an old fart. I passed by two Germans and thought to myself – ‘I have a micro fleece towel in my pack, must get up there first to lay it out’ – no chance of a sunbed today though. I pointed out the route to them and they followed me for a while before calling it quits. So it was me and the mountain and as I got up I had to watch out I didn’t venture too far into the Coire even though it was tempting, as the route cuts up sharply right away from the stony path. The main path leads to scree slopes below the south summit of Blaven.

No cairns mark the divergence of the route, I just had to look up and consult the GPS now and again. But Ron from the B&B had advised that once on the path you couldn’t really go wrong. That’s true enough and if you’re ever up this way and can’t see the path ahead then look again. It was a little harder work from now on as the gradient got steeper – walking up a Munro from sea level is not easy at the best of times, so I stopped often for the views. Plenty of zigzagging up on a wide lose scree slope. There’s one or two small scrambles but they are very short, and eventually I came out onto firmer ground which helped me stand upright a little more. You have to forgive me if I don’t name names for the hills today as I don’t have a map to give me a reference today (the next day) -poor planning once more. Over on my right were some spectacular stone gullies with massive black buttresses on either side dropping right down to the coire far below – jaw droppingly brilliant. I knew I would lose the views as I got higher, but enjoyed looking down over Loch Slapin to Torrin, and the peninsula I had walked around from Ord. it looked a long way from up here even though it was now tiny. I continued up the stony gully which is the steepest and loosest part of the climb. Near the top of the scree the path heads on better ground and leads over to the edge of Bla Bheinn’s eastern cliffs, giving cracking views, but with a gusty wind I stayed back from the abyss. From here the way was well defined continuing up the slope to the left at a steady ascent with spectacular views in places between the great buttresses, much loved by rock climbers.
Further on is a cairn and views across to the rock peak of Clach Glas. As i gained height the ground became covered with boulders but i could still see the well trodden route showing up as a yellowish path across the darker stone. Ahead I could see another small scramble was required with a choice of three ways. I stuck to the middle line and was soon up and over leaving me with a short walk to the north summit trig point. By this time the weather had turned decidedly inclement, with snow flurries coming and going with a very chill blustery wind. Unfortunately the spectacular view down over Glen Sligachan wasn’t going to appear and if anything it was getting worse. So I decided to walked over quickly to the south summit via the ledge traverse – another short scramble on a narrow ledge, carefully avoiding falling off as this would hurt a little. Bla Bheinn (the Blue Mountain) is 928 metres high, making it the only Munro on Skye that is not part of the Cuillin Ridge.
I didn’t hang about and quickly started out on my route down the south ridge knowing it would probably take me as long going down as climbing up. The rain had set in for the duration now, but wasn’t heavy enough to cause discomfort, and once I’d lost some elevation I started to get some views of my route ahead and along the coast to Elgol. I stopped for a quick bite, more like a quick Hoover really and then continued the long descent down the south ridge – a fine route if I may say so. There is one rocky scramble down which is ok and towards the lower slopes the path turns left down a grassy gully. I spotted a likely looking small ridge that cut across the boggy slopes below and cuts away from the main path up to Kilmarie. I didn’t want extra mileage now as my legs were feeling the strain of yesterday and I still had four miles to go. Everywhere was now looking misty and Camasunary Bay didn’t have the charm it has on a sunny day – the house here is getting a new roof – I’d love to rent that out sometime. I walked the coastal path to Elgol last year and knew there was some precarious stretches to come – not a path to take an elderly relative on, unless you want you inheritance earlier than expected. It’s ok for most of the way but towards the first bay at Camas ? Don’t know it’s name the path is about 150ft above the rocky shore, little more than a ft wide, and about a ft from the edge! – tread warily is my advice, but as long as you’re sure footed it’s ok. On a fine day I would have been looking out across the sea to various islands such as Soay and Rhum, but though today has been more than fine the same couldn’t be said for the weather. I paused now and then to enjoy the view back to the Cuillens, very enjoyable whatever the weather. Soon enough the day was finished as I arrived at Elgol, looking down over the boats moored up at buoys, ready for a trip tomorrow. What an exhilarating day, tiring yes but what great fun. I found I’d run out of time to update the blog as I had an urgent date with a bottle of wine and some squat lobsters at the Coruisk House restaurant – wow they were delicious.

I’m sure I got lucky with the weather on day four

Sorry but not got much time tonight. So i’ll post a few pics

Here’s a brief précis –

Left Torrin – chill wind
Lots of birdlife walking around the edge of Loch Slapin
Blaven top was covered with cloud, but decided to go up anyway.
Passed two Germans on the way up. I had my micro towel with me so rushed to top to lay it out.
Lovely alpine plants in flower high up.
Hoar frost on summit, then started to snow.
Scrambled across to South summit then down south ridge.
Took me two hours up and two down.
Then wet wet wet along coastal path.
What an exhilarating day. But moist with little views of the Cuillens.
Here’s a few pics

Ord to Torrin – a long hard day of 16.2 miles with 2330ft of ascent

Of all the long walks I’ve ever trodden on, this would be the day that I was worried about. There isn’t an awful lot of information out there on the net, and the stuff that is out there doesn’t give me a warm rosy feeling. In trying to follow a route that will take me from the south to the north of the island, there is no escaping the bit between Ord and Torrin, and in particular the stretch between Ord and Boreraig. A pathless track of rough ground described by Patterson and a few others as energy sapping and wet. Luckily before I had left Manchester a fellow blogger had just returned from Skye having followed Patersons route from Ord along to Drumfearn – http://davewoodwalks.blogspot.com/2012/04/long-walk-on-isle-of-skye-part-1.html After reading his account and mailing him, he warned me of the amount of burns between Ord and Drumfearn, with most of them in spate (after a wet night) and difficult to cross. So at least I knew that if the worst was to happen, I could bail out at Drumfearn, walk along the road and cadge a lift around to Broadford, and then resume my journey along the old marble line on to the clearance settlement of Boreraig.

After a quiet night in Broadford at the Red Skye restaurant (a great meal with a side dish of pasta), and a hearty breakfast at the B&B, I returned to Ord to start the days fun. The sun was shining and the forecast looked correct, even though there were a few stormy clouds in the distance. There was a chill wind blowing off the loch so I donned Paramo smock initially, but as I warmed up to the task in the sunshine I was soon down to HH base layer and trews – Paramo Cascadas weren’t required today.

Of all the long walks I’ve ever done I can now say that this was one of the most energy sapping days I’ve had. I’m only glad that it has been dry for so long here on Skye – about a month or so without any significant rainfall – as this day would have long if the ground had been wet. I would definitely split this day in two if or when I do it again. Been looking at Google maps trying to decipher the landscape, but generally non the wiser. I reckon you’d have to walk the area regularly to pick out an optimum route, and no doubt that would change depending on how much of the wet stuff had fallen.

It was high tide when I set out, the sun was shining and within one hundred yards I had come to a dead end – doh, another false start. After consulting the map and not blindly walking along I was soon following a nice road track that led me through houses and then out on a metalled track to the last remote house in the village. Beyond the house all tracks ended for pretty well much of the way until Boreaig – that’s about 8 or 9 miles of rough ground to contend with. I’d been warned to expect some tough going, but I was pleasantly surprised with occasional sheep trods, cattle tracks, a quad bike trail along a deer fence and some delightful birch groves. When these became too overgrown it was down to the foreshore for sure. Walking on the rocky beach wasn’t the nicest experience but at least I could keep a good stride going. Overall I averaged 2mph today which is what I reckoned on and allowed me time to dwell here and there. I was also dry footed all day long which was phenomenal considering the ground – after a while I got to trusting the mossy bits I was walking on which is a little risky in my eyes – every now and again I got that sinkimng feeling, but just sped up a little to get away from it.

There is a good woodland terrace further up the hillside below the hill at Sgiath-bheinn an Uird ( a white quartzite shining in the sun), but wasn’t sure if I could locate it, so just followed my nose and mainly stuck to the lower slopes. The first big river crossing was at Allt-a’ Chinn Mhor and I’d been told it’s best down at sea level – it was, dry and easy to step over. I crossed several fences today, with only one topped with barbed wire. Most of them were just a swing a legover, which towards the end was easier said than done. A feature of most of the shoreline around the loch was a distinct sheep trod developing, which was handy to follow in places, but not beneath the scrubby birch. As I saw yesterday there was a huge amount of ship detritus on the shore, and a lot of polystyrene blocks and black floats from the fish farm and mussel lines just offshore. Across the loch I could see my destination, not very far away across the water. After a mile or two I walked little higher from the shore and up near the deer fence was a quad bike track that had been used by cattle as a route along – it was dry today, but would be a mire after a wet spell – you could follow a lot of the way to Drumfearn, but then you’d miss the nice bits by the shore.

As I got further along towards Drumfearn, the Cuillens behind me disappeared from view, and the mussel pullers were working away, shovelling them up off the deck into storage below. On the beach at Drumfearn were a couple of boats ready complete with outboard engines – I was mightily tempted, but I knew from here the end of the loch was in sight and I stuck to the shore, knowing that it would get easier as I went past the end of the loch. The tide was out when I got to the outflow of Alt Aingh na Suirghe, and I was delighted to find it was such an easy crossing as it’s quite wide here, but the channels between the river gravel were quite narrow.

Then it was back towards the west again and generally I hugged the coastline around to Heaste, with the odd unavoidable detour up and over minor headlands. I had sheep guiding me as they trotted ahead in a neat line, so I just followed them like a sheep. There was less detritus on the north shore, but it was bigger – black floats from the mussel lines and a stage complete with big blocks of well weathered polystyrene. The sun was in my face now and it was pleasantly warm sheletred away from the wind. I continued on the lookout for an otter and was rewarded eventually as I spotted a head in the water, and moments later a big sleek (3ft long) animal came up over the rocks, took one look at me and promptly disappeared – no photos unfortunately, as I’m not that quick on the draw – you’ll just have to take my word for it. As I got towards Heaste there were quite a few boats moored out in the bay and it looked like there was a little activity by the jetty. But when I got level with the vans parked up I realised that they had left there doors open to let the smell of seafood disperse on this sunny day. Apart from the vans, there wasn’t any sign of life here, and the small settlement stretched away up the hillside. There was a sign indicating Boreraig at 2 miles along the coast, so I thought I’d be like Patterson and cut up over Tor Mor and chop the corner of the headland off. I made my way over some fine cropped grass that was dissected by the river, but again I got across dry shod. Then I cut up the hillside following a cattle trail to the top – when I was up there I wished I’d followed the coast, but if I’d followed the coast I would have wished I’d chopped the corner off. I don’t know if I saved any time, but I still enjoyed the views back to the high hills – I haven’t got my map so I don’t know what I was looking at. My main view now was down over the clearance village Borerai, knowing that when I got back down to the coast there was at last a recognisable, well used path all the way to Camas Mallag – phew. I was a little ragged now so topped up with juice,Red Bul, chocolate biscuits and whatecer other trash I could stuff down my neck. It worked a treat and just before I got to Boreraig was the treat of the day – a lovely walk along a beach – interesting to see how the storms had graded all the cobbles on the beach to lie in the same general direction, a sandy shore (not the singer) with plenty of waders, and a couple of Oyster Catchers, and the icing on the cake was the waterfall cascading over the cliff. Not the biggest, widest or bestest I’ve ever seen but wonderfully refreshing splashing drops as I got closer, with a band of fossils to top it off. This is definitely a place I will return to, great for a picnic or to while away a warm day before the midges get active ( none out and about today – far too stiff a breeze). I had a look for fossil ammonites in a band below the waterfalls, but I think someone has been here before and hammered out the lot. Beyond the waterfall I climbed up onto higher ground and the clearance settlement came into view.This is a well walked route now, plenty of day walkers coming down from Cill Chriosd ruined church or from Camas Mallag up to Suisnish and beyond. I was mightily relieved that the worse of the bogs were behind me now for a couple of days, and it was great to be on a recognised track, good all the way now.

I got a strange feeling walking through the ghosts of this village, what a setting to live your life – hard and unforgiving but what a place. There’s a standing stone marking the route, and I’m sure there are several others on the way to Suisnish – at least in my eyes, and I’ve seen plenty. The path drops down below steep, high cliffs on the way to Suisnish, which reminded me of the Jurassic coast down in Dorset – plenty of dark fissile Shale, but hard enough to withstand the winter storms. Eventually the path rises up the cliff face on a steady ascent to emerge on higher ground towards another clearance settlement of Suisnish – not as much to see here, apart from a big green sheep shearing shed, and beyond that another tin roofed old croft that is basically a big resting place for the sheep in bad weather – I sheltered here last October when it was persisting it down. The approach to Suisnish marks another high point for the day with the Cuillens coming back into view and they’re a lot closer now. Thankfully they were largely cloud free with the ‘Inn Pinn’ standing proud of it’s surrounds. All that was left for today was to follow the metalled track north to the beach at Camas Malag with views over to Blaven – ready for me tomorrow.

What a brilliant day, fatigued, sore feet from the uneven ground but very happy with how this walk is progressing. It was a bit breezy down the home stretch and the mussel fishermen were struggling sailing back to Loch Slapin. I’ll have a look at the forecast on the beeb at ten and decide in the morning. There’s loads of stuff I saw and forgot so I’l be updating this when I remember stuff later on.

Here’s some I-phone pics of the day…I’m off to sleep like a baby…..but without the nappy bits…