The Cape Wrath Trail, Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath.approx 202mls

[mountainman]

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The Cape Wrath Trail, Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath. (approx 202.6 miles)
The Cape Wrath Trail was always a trek that I wished I could do. But with work commitments, and even though I have a understanding wife, I never thought I would ever be able to get around to doing it, with needing probably around at least 18 or 19 days to get there, do it and get back to North Wales. But in March I was made redundant, so straight away, to make me feel better, I started to plan, in itself always an enjoyable task. Soon with trains booked, 3 Food parcels sent on to hostels (Kinlochewe/Ratagan/Inchnadamph) that I had booked ahead,( I had also booked Ullapool YH, but with all the shops available here, never bothered sending on a food parcel) and pondering carefully and choosing which gear to take, it was on and I was ready to go.
So1st May was the day I set out on the 7am train from home, with 2 connections ahead, before arriving in Fort William in the late afternoon. I booked into my B&B (all the hostels were booked up with a trails bike event on) then off for a meal and a few pints in my “locals”.
Day 1
Sat 2nd May 2009. Glenfinnan to Sourlies Bothy. Approx 16.5 miles.
Weather; sunny periods to start, some showers, getting heavier and longer in the afternoon, cool and breezy.
Up next day for an early breakfast, so I could catch the 8.30 train to Glenfinnan (did not fancy the road walk that would have entailed if I had started from Fort William) Arrived at the station to find there was a slight problem…the train had broken down! But they put on mini buses to ferry people instead, at least I was dropped off right by the Glenfinnan monument, right at the start of my walk.

Loch Shiel, Glenfinnan at the start of the walk.

So this was it, I was finally off, with over 200 miles of fantastic walking country ahead, it was a good feeling, all I needed now was a bit of luck that there wouldn’t be any major problems, and hopefully my health and fitness would be good enough, one thing on my side was an extensive knowledge of what to expect ahead, with around of twenty years of experience walking in this great country. So walking from a sunny Glenfinnan by 9.10am, easy walking for the first few miles up the glen to start, which was welcome with a fairly heavy rucksack to carry. As I started to climb up the pass the first sleety shower of many hit me, the start of a very wet week ahead! Over the 471metres pass at 11.15am, from there the drop down the glen became very wet and boggy on this mainly pathless section after a lot of rain of late. Once at the road head at Strathan I was back on excellent paths again, although very wet with many large puddles to divert or jump over, during this part I had my longest shower of around 2 hrs. I reached my 2nd high (300metres) pass of the day at 3.45pm, all downhill now to Sourlies. It was good to see the Bothy & Loch Nevis coming in to view after a long first day, and at last it stopped raining as I dropped down to sea level. I reached the Bothy at 5.40pm, a busy place today, with 4 tents nearby and 8 places already “bagged” inside, I was glad I had my tent with me this time.

Camping at Sourlies

Camping at Sourlies

After sorting out my tent and gear, I was hoping to chill out, but realised my hat and gloves were missing, (I definitely couldn’t risk losing them… as I soon found out into the walk) the last time I thought I had them was when I took them off 1.5 miles back up the pass, so off I set to that point again, only to find that they were not there, when I got back I found them where I had really left them… by the stream 5 yards from the Bothy! Bugger! More rain came in the evening and continued intermittently through the night, but I slept well… being a bit knackered!
Day 2
Sun 3rd Sourlies to Kinlock Hourn. Approx 14 miles
Weather; cool but warm in the sun, sunny periods with some heavy showers later.
Awoke to a bright and dry morning and also to that find fresh snow had fallen on the tops overnight. Packed and ready for off by 9.10am. Although I have walked these paths around Knoydart many times, it is one of my favourite areas in Scotland, so that is why I chose it over the more central route that I could have taken via Tomdoun/Cluanie/Affric etc. Luckily the tide was out, so I could walk from the Bothy along the beach, (luckily in probably around 15 times I’ve been here, I’ve never had go over the headland) The walk up Glen Carnock was lovely in the warming sunshine, apart for the boggy bit up to the old bridge, which I was glad to see was still standing.

River Carnach

Upper Carnach looking east.

To reach the path that leads up to the Gleann Unndalain pass, I left the lower path that continues up the river to climb up a pathless section which was steep and rough going, but once I reached the higher path the zigzags made the going fairly easy, part way up I had my first brief, heavy wintery shower of the day. I reached the head of the Pass (550metres) at 12.45pm.

GleanUnndalain

Dryer paths now led me to down to Barrisdale Bothy by 2pm, where there were several tents pitched outside, time for a break and the opportunity to change my soaking socks to the waterproof ones I luckily had brought along, (my fairly new Gore-Tex lined boots letting in water badly) and seeing to a blister or 2.
One hour later I was off along the beautiful 7 mile path to Kinloch Hourn.

Ladhar Bheinn, from Loch Hourn

Loch Hourn

Loch Hourn

Loch Hourn


In my opinion this is best walk in Scotland, even though it looks easy on the map, its hard work with its 3 switchbacks. More cloud and heavy showers now as I walked the last few miles, I finally reached the road head and farmhouse, where I was met by a very friendly lady offering Tea, cakes, scones & snacks and even B&B if I wanted it, but I’m a tough mountaineer (sometimes!), so camped for £1 in field nearby. Anybody else going this way also note that breakfast is available, and a toilet with cold washing facilities at the farmhouse. The evening remained wet and cloudy, so I stayed in my tent, and the rain continued for most of the night.
Day 3
Mon 4th Kinlock Hourn to Ratagan Approx 10.4 miles.
Weather; heavy rain all day, low cloud, windy and cold.
Up at 7.30am, at least the rain was light as I packed away my gear, but as soon as I set off at 8.40 it started to rain heavily and never stopped till the late afternoon. I followed the good wide track North West which led after a few miles to a ford at 940096 where normally you can cross, but not today, it was like a major river, impossible in these conditions, so I had to make a 2 mile detour down the pathless rough going river bank to a bridge at 0935087 and back up before I could continue any further, my first problem of the day… My 2nd problem soon followed, I followed the tracks into the cloud, and instead of checking my map a bit more regular, and heading for the Bealach coire mhalagain, I found myself after a lot of toil and head scratching, on the top of Sgurr na Sgine in horrible wet & windy weather, and I really didn’t want to be there at that moment! Even then in the mist I wasn’t exactly sure where I was, although I was telling myself rather unconvincingly that it must be the summit! So with a compass bearing and a prayer I followed a ridge down NE until I finally came under the cloud base to see the Glen Shiel road below, what a relief! My next problem and worry was there was no bridge shown on my map, at the bottom of the ridge where 2 massive raging rivers converged, and not until the last minute did I spot the bridge hidden in the trees on the RHS, 5mins later (2.50pm) I was at the road, although I was relieved, I was also soaking and fed-up, and with still around 5 miles of busy road to walk along, I cheated and started to thumb a lift, and after a mile someone took pity on me and stopped, they dropped me by the shop/petrol station in Shiel bridge, then a walk of just over a mile to Ratagan YH, where I was booked in for the night. It was good to get out of wet clothes, have a hot shower, wash my dirty clothes and have a hot meal. My first time in this hostel, which I really liked, it had a friendly feel to it with a very helpful Warden, the only down side was it was a long way to the Shiel bridge Hotel bar, And although the rain eased in the evening, I didn’t fancy the walk there and back, so it was another tea total night in. Later that evening I met another walker, Michelle, who had just arrived that day to start the Cape Wrath trail from there, so we chatted for a few hours about our plans. We bid farewell at bedtime, knowing we would probably cross paths again in the coming days, sooner than later as it turned out.
Day 4
Tues 5th Ratagan to Lochcarron. Approx 18 miles
Weather; cloudy, rain and cold.
I was up at 7.30am, 10mins later I bumped into Michelle who was setting off on an early start. This is one section of the planned walk that plans had to be changed, with the continuing heavy rain, I was forced into ditching my plans of going up Strath Croe and over the pass and past The falls of Glomach and then down to Iron Lodge, then up again and over the pass to Moal Bhuidhe Bothy (a Bothy that I had not been to before and fancied visiting for a few years) for the night, I was worried about 2 possible problem river crossings that would have had to be met the following day to then get to Strathcarron, ( I have since done this section in better weather, so for anyone else going this way this info may be helpful :- the crossing at the outflow of Loch Cruoshie is fairly wide at around 15metres, knee deep and sandy underfoot, so boots off and no problem except for the cold water, and there is a very shaky (2) wired bridge at the outflow of Loch Calavie)

The Five Sisters of Kintail from the YH 8am

I finally left at 9am, walked to the shop, bought some last minute snacks, then decided to again try to skip the road walking, my thumb was out again, and within minutes I got a lift saving at least 4 miles of road walking to the where a B- road forks at 910227, a short walk up that road led me to where my track up Coire Dhuinnid started, this is another good well made track over a high point at 520metres and then dropping down to Killilan (1.15pm), where I met Michelle again having a break in the rain, from there we continued together up Glen Ling and took the first left “path” shown on my map (it turned out there wasn’t one) there are several streams to cross as we headed up, all of them were now difficult crossings, once over the 2nd pass (280metres) of the day we could see Loch Carron, but it still looked a long way ahead, we had more problems finding the beginning of the path through the forest at 939356 and again keeping to it through the forest, again it was horribly wet and boggy, when we neared Attadale there was a final sting in the tail, as we had to cross another swollen river, the best place we could find was still knee high and very fast flowing, but once over this last hurdle we finally reached tarmac again, never have I been so happy to be on the blackstuff! It was now 6pm, and we now had several options; 1/ camp on the lawn of the Staithcarron. 2/ campsite at Lochcarron (didn’t Fancy either, it was still pouring down and we were cold & soaking) 3/ B&B in Lochcarron, with a bit of a confab the 3rd option won hands down we both decided. The only problem now was a road walk of around 7 miles, you can guess what happened next, and yes the thumbs came out again! But we walked around 1.5 miles which included what seems an incredibly steep road hill and down in which time dozens of cars passed without stopping, although I didn’t blame anyone for not stopping…we looked like drowned rats! Eventually one kind local picked us up, I think Michelle was close to kissing him…and so was I! He dropped at the Rockville hotel, where we stripped off our soaking clothes in the hall, before going in for a welcome pint or 2. By now it was around 7.45pm, the helpful owners kindly rang around to get us a cheap B&B, even the walk to there was now painful and the muscles had started to seize up. After a shower, some essential clothes washed and hanging wet clothes to dry, we were back in the bar just in time for last orders for food…and a few more pints. What a day!
PS Lochcarron has a few shops to restock if you happen to call here.
Day 5
Wed 6th Lochcarron to Torridon. Approx 13.5 miles
Weather; dry to start, then heavy rain all day, low cloud, windy and cold.
Awoke, fresh again after a good night’s sleep in a lovely bed…a very good decision we decided. It was actually dry and some sun was about as we had breakfast… but that didn’t last long. I was now 1 day ahead in my plans, so with now a day to spare, (Had a bed booked in Kinlochewe bunkhouse on Thurs night) I thought a detour to Torridon via Coire Fionnaraith was a good option and stopped in hostel. So after breakfast we phoned the hostel to book ahead, expecting it to be busy with the bad weather, and left the B&B at 10am, walked along the road, when it started to rain again, and today the skies were really going to empty. This path over to Torridon is one of the best, well made and drained paths in the highlands, so after some of the awful terrain we encountered yesterday, it was actually a joy to walk over, even in this monsoon type weather. We popped into Coire Fionnaraith for a brew out of the rain.

Coire fionaraich bothy.

We arrived at the YH at around 2.30, where most of the people stopping there were in or around the lounge, not a day for the hills! The drying room was bulging with wet clothes and boots, and steaming like a Turkish baths. It continued to rain until around 7pm, good timing for us as it was time to walk the 2 miles to the pub, in at last some dry weather.
Day 6
Thurs 7th Torridon to Kinlochewe. Approx 9.5 miles
Weather; showers, Mainly cloudy and cool.
“A bit of a day off” Awoke to a better day the cloud had lifted to reveal white mountain tops again, this time down to about 2200ft, Our route today was totally along the road, someone offered us a lift to the hostel, we accepted but asked to be dropped by Loch Clair so we could take a few pictures of the classic view of Liathach.

Lliathach from Loch Clair

From there it was an easy 3 or 4 mile walk, and in around 1 hr we reached Kinlochewe. After checking in the bunkhouse and doing a spot of shopping, (Kinlochewe has a shop/café/post office, but the small outdoor shop that used to be here has now closed) we now had an afternoon to kill, so I took Michelle on a walk to the head of Loch Maree, to show her one of my past wild camp spots on the edge of the Loch, a great spot only an hours walk from the car park, once back at the hostel at around 3pm, we departed to the bar, for a couple of pints of the excellent Skye Ales, during this time another long distance walker popped in for a couple en route from Lands end to John O’groats. The weather up to now had been no worse than showery, but as he headed off around 5pm to walk somewhere to camp in the region of Loch an Nid, around 9 miles away, the heavens had opened again, and it was to continue pouring down all evening, I thought we were having it hard! At least by now we were hearing hints that the weather would improve in a few days…not before time. After a good meal in the Hostel and sorting stuff out for our next trip into the wilds, we departed to the bar again, where I heard Michelle’s interesting and eventful life story until closing time at 11.30pm. The rain continued through the night…
Day 7
Fri 8th Kinlochewe to Shenavail. Approx 16 miles
Weather; heavy showers, some sunny periods, windy & cold.
…. and it was still pouring down when we woke at 6am, so after a leisurely breakfast, sorting gear and ourselves out, we left the hostel at 9am, outside we were amazed to see a patch of blue sky above, then looking back to Beinn Eighe we saw that the snowline was now down to below 2000ft.

Rainbow over Beinn Eighe from Kinlochewe.

Our route today led us easily along the track to the heights of Kinlochewe, then north, upwards now to where the vehicle track ends,

Fisherfield mountains

and then along a footpath that continues eventually leading to Lochan Fada.

Lochan Fada

Lochan Fada

The last time I walked this way, only a few years ago, this was only a rough track, now it’s an excellent new footpath where a lot of cash must have been spent, presumably for the stalkers and there clients to get easily to the Loch. We left it after around 1 mile, and headed north up trackless grassy slopes, one major (today anyway) river to cross before we passed through the deep pass of Bealach na Croise (11.30am), where we picked up a path again, downhill now to gain another path that continued passed Loch an Nid, by now it was fairly nice day, with the just the odd shower. I noted that this Loch would be a good place to camp perhaps in the future, but not last night, as the guy we met would have had to do.

Shower over An Teallach

Several more miles and after 1 more big river crossing we reached an empty Shenavall Bothy at 3.45pm, my feet were soaked again. It was very cold inside, so with it being a Friday night I hoped that someone would turn up later with some fuel to warm us up and attempt to dry some gear. At 6.15pm six bankers from London turned up having stopped Carnmore the previous night, they had to cross the notorious wide and deep river SW of the Bothy, up to the groin…not nice! So they also were disappointed at the lack of a fire, but 1 hour later all our prayers were answered when 3 others turned up with some wood and coal, we soon had this alight and all 10 of us huddled around the warming fire, with steaming socks and boots hung and placed where ever possible, what a difference a fire makes! So a warm night was enjoyed with good bothy crack in excellent company, in which time a bottle of spirit or 2 was kindly passed around.

Shenavall Bothy, warming up nicely.

Day 8
Sat 9th Shenavail to Ullapool. Approx 15 miles.
Weather; heavy showers, sunny periods, light winds and mild.
We were the first to leave the busy Bothy at 9am, nice and sunny start.

Shenavall Bothy and morning sunshine!

Loch Na Sealga from above the bothy

20mins up the path a heavy shower hit us, but soon passed over.

Shower passing Loch Na Sealga, 20mins after leaving the bothy

Reached the pass at 10.15am, and then passed many walkers on their way up to An Teallach. We reached the road at Corrie Hollie by 11.30am, and then picked up the path that goes over a 400metres pass and ends up at the road by Inverbroom lodge, (2pm). It was here that we had, what would be our last shower for several days…high pressure was moving in at last as promised. Again we didn’t fancy a 5 mile walk along this busy road, so the first car that passed us with our thumbs up, picked us up and dropped us in lovely Ullapool, one of my favourite places in Britain.

Loch Broom from Ullapool

Ullapool is a good place to spend a night & restock, with a very good outdoor shop (only place to get gas on the trip en route) several shops including a fairly large Tesco’s hidden away in the back streets. It also boasts one of the best situated campsites on the west coast, with lovely views to the Summer Isles to the NW. We stopped in the Youth hostel, where we saw some great rainbows in the evening over Loch Broom.

Evening rainbow over Loch Broom from Ullapool

Later we had a good night in The Argyle, which was bouncing with a good live band playing.
Day 9
Sun 10th Ullapool to Duag Bridge. Approx 15.5 miles
Weather; sunny, warm and calm.
It was today that I was to say goodbye to Michelle, she had less time to complete the rest of the walk, so was going to skip my next 2 nights stops, and head north straight for Inchnadamph, I would miss her company, but it was also nice to be solo again. Up at 7.30 to a lovely sunny morning, after breakfast I said my goodbyes to Michelle, and was away by 9.15am. I took the long but easy going track that leads east, past Loch Achail & Loch an Daimh.

Loch Achall

Glen Achall

I popped in Knockdamph Bothy (at 1.30pm) and noted in the Bothy book that a couple had stopped there last night and were also doing the CWT, so were a day ahead of me.

Knockdamph Bothy

The walking was a joy today in the warm sunshine, what a contrast from last week! After the Bothy the path leads down gradually to a river crossing which was fine today, but there were stories in book of people having to go miles upstream in bad weather to get across. At 3.30pm I reached the old schoolhouse Bothy at Duag Bridge.

The old school house Bothy

A wooden building that doesn’t look like a Bothy, with double glazing, curtains & nets etc. This was going to be my home for the night. I sat outside, soaking up the sun, until it set at 8pm.
Day 10
Mon 11th Knockdamph to Benmore Approx 14.7 miles
Weather; sunny, warm and calm.
Had one of my longest night’s sleep, from 9.45pm till 8.10am, earlier on I went for a leak outside at 7am to find a crisp frost on the ground. Away by 9.15am in shorts and t-shirt, down the forest road to reach Oykel bridge by 10.30am, were the couple from the Bothy book, who had just packed up and were then ready for the off. After a chat I left ahead of them to walk up Glen Oykel.

Glen Oykel

Glen Oykel

Glen Oykel

I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy the stretch that leads through the trees (I don’t like walking through forests) but it was really nice walking, with some distance views of mountains and a wide river on one side for most of the way. I then passed Loch Ailsh and Benmore lodge,

Loch Ailish

Loch Ailish

River Oykel

and continued for about another mile to 329131 where there is a confluence of the rivers and a good wild camp site in between on a nice grassy spot.

Wildcamping spot, River Oykel

Wildcamping spot, River Oykel

So I set camp here at 2.45pm and again relaxed in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. Some time later the couple came by and camped a little higher up the river. He came down later to chat about our past weeks adventures and our plans for the days ahead. I lost the sun behind the hills by 8.30, after that it soon became chilly again, so to bed by 9.30pm and had another good nights sleep.
Day 11
Tues 12th Benmore to Inchnadamph approx 7.8miles
Weather; sunny, warm with a slight breeze.
Awoke to a cloudless sky, and so it remained for the day, packed and away by 9.15am, a track leads up the glen for a couple of miles,

River Oykel

then disappeared until I reached the 510metres pass at 11.30am, from there a path leads directly down to Inchnadamph, along this part I passed many heading up for Ben more Assynt & Conival. I reached my pre-booked B&B at 1pm (tried to book in the hostel about 3 weeks earlier to find it was booked up by a University group, so if anybody hopes to turn up here, they could be unlucky, try to book ahead, as it can get booked up with groups) Although about £10 more than the hostel, the b&b was great, more like self catering, the owner lived nearby, and left you alone to use the facilities:- lounge with sky TV, kitchen with washer (I washed a load), cooker, microwave etc. Fridge stocked with everything in it for a cold breakfast, (you helped/and did it yourself) I shared it with another couple who had been stopping for a few days. Again I sat in the sun, with cups of tea and toast when needed, and with the bar only yards away it was like heaven…except there was no real ale (just keg) in the bar…so only at the gates! Later I met the couple doing the CWT again in the bar, who had to camp nearby due to the “No Vacancies” situation.

Dusk, Loch Assynt from Inchnadamph.

Day 12
Wed 12th Inchnadamph to Glendu approx 16.2 miles.
Weather; sunny, windy and cold up high, warmer later.
To make my rucksack somewhat lighter (the food parcel I’d sent here had food for the best part of 5 days :- with only 1 more shop at Kinlochbervie to restock) I left some clothes I no longer needed at the hostel, as I would be able to pick them up when passing again next week, and luckily the couple stopping with me in the b&b were driving north, so would drop off a food parcel of any food I didn’t need for the next 2 days at the Rhinconich Hotel where I was due to pass in 2 days time. So with a lighter load…until later…read on, I set of at 9am up the excellent path that leads eventually to the top of the Eas a’Chual Aluinn waterfall, as I got higher even though it was sunny, it got windier and colder. I reached the high pass (630metres) at 10.45am. This was one of my best high view points of the trip, with the excellent visibility I could look back south across mountains as far as I could see to the distant horizon, that only covered part of my trip so far, and then looking north to mountains I was to pass in the next few days, it certainly gave me a sense of the achievement that I was gaining.

South from Pass east of Glas Bheinn

North from Pass east of Glas Bheinn

The path from here led to the east, but I had to leave this path after some distance to continue downwards and then west to get to the glen, and although there was no path shown on my map, I found a good track down to the glen about 1 mile east of the waterfall, once I reached the glen there was no path, and I just followed the river passed the waterfall, (which was also a “waterrise” with the wind today!)

Eas a Chual Aluinn waterfall

which eventually led to a very choppy Loch Beag, from here I followed the loch side to pick up a path that led over to Glencoul Bothy (1.15pm),

Glendhu Bothy

it was here that my rucksack became heavy again, as I took a bag of coal left here (there was plenty to spare, and loads of wood here) to carry to Glendu Bothy, as I knew there wasn’t any fuel locally there. After a 15min break, I headed for the path to take me over the headland to the high point at 205metres, this path was no more than a series of sheep like tracks on very steep precarious hillside, care had to be taken here as the drop was very severe,

Loch Glencoul

Loch Glencoul from the precarious path

once higher up it eased, and once over the high 205metres point I was pleased to find a good path continue (not shown on my map) down to the edge of Loch Glendu

Loch Glendhu

Glendhu Bothy

Glendhu Bothy

and around to Glendu Bothy, by now 3.35pm. An hour later a couple turned up by chance, as they never knew a Bothy was here, they were fairly glad as the wind was still strong and finding a good sheltered suitable camping spot would have been a problem. We sat in the sun in the lee of the wind at the gable end, and later we had a good fire for the evening, that extra weight was now being rewarded. So we chatted into the evening, it turned out that they only lived about 15 miles away from me. During the day I had picked up a text from Michelle saying that she had been told of a big MOD/NATO exercise taking place around Cape Wrath this week and next, and would keep me posted when she knew more, not good news.
Day 13
Thurs12th Glendu to Rhinconich. Approx 17 miles.
Weather; sunny, some patchy cloud later, warm, breezy.
Up at 7.30 and away by 9.10am, very good tracks today to start with, followed the Loch west for 2 miles until I reached a bridge,

Loch Glendhu

from there a path led over a 400metres pass (11.30am) and then down to Achfary by noon, now there was 4 miles of road walking alongside Loch Stack

Ben stack

Arcle from Loch Stack

until I went off road again at Lochstack lodge and headed towards the bulk of Arkle ahead, I was going to camp between the 2 Lochs at the foot of Arkle, but as it was only 2pm I thought I might as well press on to Rhinconich, which would give me more options of what to do in the next few days.

Looking back to Foinavon

Soon I had to leave the path and head across some rough ground for several miles passed two long lochs, eventually picking up a path again at the end of the second loch, this pathless section was hard going and I was very glad at least it was fairly dry underfoot now, it would be horrible in wet weather. I reached Rhinconich at 4.15pm, pretty tired. I camped in front of the newer bridge just 20metres from the hotel, which has a lovely view across Loch Inchard. I picked up the food parcel and found the management and staff very helpful and obliging here, even though I wasn’t stopping in the hotel. It was nice having a couple of pints later at the hotel, watching the sun set across the loch,

Sunset, Loch Inchard from Rhinconich.

pity the forecast for the next few days was for more unsettled weather moving in, it remained cloudless until I went to bed later. That evening I had a text from Michelle with bad news, she had walked from Oldshoremore to the new Military fence a few miles north of Sandwood bay, only to find Red flags flying, barring anyone from entering any further, so that was her trek over, she never made it to the end, I felt really sorry for her, and just hoped I would have better luck with going there over the weekend, to come all this way and not making it to the end, didn’t bear thinking about..
Day 14
Fri 14th Rhinconich to Stathchailleach Bothy (248658) Approx 12.5 miles
Weather; mainly cloudy, a few showers, windy and cool.
Up at 7.55am to the promised cloud, but at least it was dry as I packed up and set off at 9am. I walked along the road for about 2.5 miles then got a lift to Kinlochbervie, saving 1.5 miles of further road walking, just as I was approaching the Spar shop, (there are 2 shops in Kinlochbervie, The spar shop is by far the best stocked one) who popped out of a Picture Gallery to greet me was Michelle! Who it turned up had been offered to sleep in there overnight after returning from her disappointing journey back from her failed Cape trek the day before. I think the owner had taken pity on her and her story of bad luck. She was really pissed off, and said that she had burst into tears when she had reached the military fence, and realised that she could go no further. She suggested I ring for information, (phone numbers taken from the MBA handbook :- Major David Halpin, Range Officer, 01971 511242, 07714 7222056, firing times are also posted at Durness PO, So it says) I was told that there was “possibly” action going on this Saturday, but not on the Sunday. Even if there wasn’t any action going on the red flags “might” be still flying, and that a new notice “might” be put on the notice board at the fence gates to indicate if there was or wasn’t action going on…work that one out! really I was no better off, and this was to be the last time that I would have mobile phone coverage, so couldn’t ring up Saturday morning for an update, so I had to just carry on and hope & prey! We talked for an hour, catching up on our adventures since we last saw each other, and as she had never been any further than Fort William was amazed of the wonderful mountain scenery she had passed in the last few days. So I said farewell again, Michelle was waiting for a bus that would take her to Inverness later, and from there home to the South of England. So I was of at 11am, by now some showers were starting to come in, I walked for about 1.5 miles and got another lift to Blairmore, where the path to wonderful Sandwood bay starts, this is a dreary walk, but is absolutely worth it to reach what must be the most stunning beach in Britain.

Sandwood Bay

Sandwood Bay

Sandwood Bay

Sandwood Bay

Sandwood Bay

The wind was now up, so the breakers were crashing in, and although there wasn’t any sun, the moody and dark threatening clouds above set the scene. I had planned to camp here originally, but as it was now only 12.50pm and the weather was supposed to get worse, I decided to go the extra 2 miles to Staithchailleath Bothy for the night. I left the bay at 1.40 and reached the Bothy at 2.30pm, where I met Bob Tateson, the new maintenance organiser for the Bothy.

Strathchailleach bothy

Strathchailleach bothy

We had a nice evening in front of a peat fire, apparently this Bothy has one of the best peat banks to supply it’s needs of any other, and is why the notorious Sandy was able to live here for many years, and who’s painting can still be seen on the walls, his story’s make an interesting read. During the evening I could hear explosions going off in the distant north… oh dear!
[b]Day 15
Sat 15th Stathchailleach Bothy to Cape Wrath, and onto Kearvaig Bothy. Approx 6 to CW/4miles to bothy.[/b]
Weather; cloudy, Rain, cold & windy.
Up at 7.30am, Bob wished me luck when I left at 8.20, I needed it now more than ever! The way north from here is mainly trackless, and can be very boggy, but I managed to keep to mainly firm ground, but it’s a tiring route with it’s many ups & downs, I reached the fence to find the red flags flying and no new notice posted, somehow I wasn’t surprised. I knew that now this didn’t necessary mean that there was action going on, and as I had not heard any firing in the distance up to now, I made the decision to carry on, keeping eyes and ears peeled, luckily I did the right thing, as nothing was seen or heard of for the rest of the day. The weather was really foul as I reached my goal at Cape Wrath at 11.25.

Cape Wrath

I would have liked to have stopped and taken in the views and the sense of achievement (if it had of been a nice day) but it looked an inhospitable place that day, so I only stopped for 5mins, took a couple of pictures and quickly headed back down the road to Kearvaig Bothy. 1hr 10mins later I reached the Bothy situated overlooking another lovely sandy bay. I changed into dry clothes, but I was still cold, so got in my sleeping bag for a couple of hours to keep warm. Later in the evening the rain eased, I’d already searched the beach for driftwood…nothing, but there was some left at the Bothy to make a fire for 2 or 3 hours, which was very welcome, warming me up nicely thank you.

At last warming up! Kearvaig bothy

I had a good nights sleep except for the appearance of a little mouse that woke me at 2.30am, and scurried around for 10 mins, before leaving again.
Day 16
Sun 16th Kearvaig Bothy to Dourness Ferry Approx 7miles.Weather; cloudy, cool and a few showers to start, sunny later.
Up a 7.20am, I had to get my timing right to catch the ferry (tel. 01971511376) over the Kyle of Durness at 10.45am, so away by 8am,

Morning, leaving Kearvaig bothy

up the track to the road for an easy walk in improving weather to reach the jetty by 10.30am, good timing, I could see a large group of people on the far side waiting to cross, so many today that he had to make 2 crossings to get them all over.

Kyle of Durness

My plan for today was to camp at Durness, unless I could get a lift south to either Scourie or Ullapool, so I started walking to Durness, but stopped and hitched any cars that headed south, after walking for around a mile I got a lift as far as Rhinconich, then after about another mile from there got a lift to Scourie, I decided not to push my luck any further and camp there the night at the lovely campsite overlooking the bay, so after a well needed shower I sat in the sunshine again, then departed to the hotel bar for some well earned pints of real ale and a meal…happy days!

On Monday, my taxi (wife), would arrive to pick me up, having driven over 2 days with a night in a hotel in Carrbridge en route, bless her.

So that was it, I had done it, and it was fantastic, my best long distance trek ever, even though the weather wasn’t always at its best. If anyone fancies doing it, I can thoroughly recommend it, but get some other easier and shorter treks done first, choose your equipment and tailor it carefully, and do lots of careful planning ahead, and you won’t regret it.

Notes
Total mileage was approx 202.6 miles from Glenfinnan to Cape Wrath, plus another 13 miles to the bothy & ferry. Of this I skipped around 23 miles of the road walking by hitching lifts.

Food parcel 1 to Ratagan / powdered tea / breakfast bars / banana chips / dried fruit / isotonic sweets /isotonic drink powder / 2 x dehydrated meals (home made) / peanuts / misc : razor / soap.
Food parcel 2 to Kinlochewe / powdered tea / breakfast bars / banana chips / isotonic drink powder / isotonic sweets / dehydrated meals (home made) / peanuts / misc: razor / soap
Food parcel 3 to Inchnadamph / powdered tea / breakfast bars / banana chips / isotonic drink powder / isotonic sweets / day snacks for 3 days / 5 x dehydrated meals (home made) / peanuts. misc: razor / soap / wetwipes / toilet paper / Battery charger for Camcorder / Camera.
Kit List Thermarest/ Ajungilak Air Pillow/ Rab 3 season down Sleeping bag/ Silk liner/ Mountain equiptment AR ultralight 2 Tent/ Pocket rocket gas stove / Primus windshield/ Titanium pan 1 Ltr (used also to eat meals out of) / Titanium 500 ml (Pan-Kettle-Mug)/ Pot cozy/ Titanium cutlery set/ Lexan spoon/ Scourer/ Lighter/ small Multi knife/ repair kit/ Fenix torch/ 500 lt Lexan Bottle/ Flexy 2ltr water holder/ Headtorch/ Spare batteries AA & AAA/ Puri tablets/ Trowel/ Photo-stat Maps/ Paperback/ Sunglasses/ Sunlotion/ Clock-Weather station/ Walking pole/ Compass/ Midge nets/ Midge repel/ Wetwipes/ Ear plugs/ Drink bottle/ Phone/ Freeloader & Supercharger adapter/ Olympus compact camera/ Sony Camcorder/ toileteries/ packtowel/ First aid kit
Clothes ect Boots: Asolo matrix flame gtx ( not impressed, leaked badly on first real test in wet weather, they went back to the shop for an exchange when I got home)/ Adidas Hut shoes/ Gaiters/ Walking socks x 3/ Thin Socks x2/ Sealskin Waterproof socks/ 3 x Lowe alpine briefs/ Long Sleeved Berghaus tech baselayer/ Aldi Merino tee/ Lowealpine tee/ Montane featherlight smock/ Lowe alpine Micro Fleece with nylon shell/ Montane Synthetic top/ Montane Terra Walking trousers/ Ron hill tracksters/ Shorts/ Thin Fleece hat/ thin Gloves / Lowe alpine Waterproof pants/ Marmot Waterproof jacket.
Food taken, powdered tea / breakfast bars / banana chips / dried fruit / isotonic drink powder / day snacks for 3 days / 2 x dehydrated meals (home made) / peanuts / isotonic drink powder.
All of this fitted into a Berghaus Airflow 3. 50ltr Rucksack

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[snowball1]

Looks amazing, would love to do that one day.

[AdrianL]

What a fantastic expedition! I've been to several of the places you visited, so thoroughly enjoyed your account.

I was actually up in Scotland during the first week of your trek, and must have just missed you. I stayed at the Torridon YH from Saturday 2nd May to the morning of the Wednesday, leaving then to move on to Skye. I can vouch for how wet it was that week - the wettest week I've ever encountered in Scotland. I lost both the Monday and the Wednesday to the weather, as it wasn't fit to be on the hills, and also had to keep to the lower hills on the Thursday and Friday on account of the strong winds.

I'm glad you say that Loch an Nid looks a good place for a wild camp, as I've got plans to do just that. I was going to go up there this year, but the pull of Knoydart has made me change my plans, and I'm now planning to visit there this spring for my first time. I also spotted another wild camping spot I've had my eye on for a couple of years in one of your Knoydart photos.

Despite the weather that first week, you made this sound a really enjoyable and interesting trip. You also got some great photos. Once the rain stops, Spring is a great time to be in the Scottish countryside.

Thanks again - a really good read.
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All you touch and all you see is all your life will ever be

[RCFC]

Wonderful stuff. Its fantastic to see photos of areas which are seldom if ever seen on this site.
I am always amazed at the location of some of the remote bothies and fascinated to know about their history. I am sure it would make a good read should anyone ever compile a history of them.
Very well done and thanks for sharing.

[beth]

I was in FortBill/Glen Nevis that first week of May too. Absolutely horrible weather. Paul had to abandon his sailing as they damaged a sail and had to get it repaired.

Excellent report! I would love to do this but have other plans this year.

[620]

Nice report.

Over the years, I’ve walked every inch of the way from Glasgow to Ullapool. There is about 10 miles I’ve still to do from Ullapool to Cape Wrath.
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The hills are small, so there is no need to rush them.

[foggieclimber]

Nice to see this report again. Fantastic.
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[geoff]

Thank's mountainman, I really enjoyed your report,sounds like a brilliant trip

That's another one to add to my trips to do list.
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I'd rather be in the mountains.

[Borderbagger]

Wow, that looked like a tremendous trip. I've been to some of the places you visited and walked bits of the route but stringing it all together looks fantastic. cheers.
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[bowlesy]

Excellent stuff, it looked a big undertaking but every part of the route seems to be interesting. Superb.

[scallopboy]

Superb trip report and photos. Good to see Sandy's bothy in the sunshine

[fmck]

Deserves TR of the month thats for sure. Off the beaten track in more ways than one this one.

[stan]

Agree with FMCK what a brilliant report makes you fancy doing the route,
superb.

[soulminer]

A fantastic read, many congratulations on finishing. I have been looking into this for after the 'compleation', but the wife thinks I should be straight-jacketed, any chance of you convincing her I'm not mad
Once again brilliant effort

[goth_angel]

Cracking report and some great pics too. Certainly looks more scenic than the West Highland Way! (longer though!)
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