Cape Wrath Trail - Cape Wrath

John, who'd walked from Lands End to John o'Groats last year, had phoned the Rhiconich Hotel to say that he'd had to drop out because of his knees. He'd asked them to let Peter from The Netherlands and I share the parcel he'd sent ahead. 10 Hamlet Cigars anyone? Also some very heavy food. However there were some nice fruit bars. Vultures?

Having checked that there were no military exercises taking place around Cape Wrath I set off for Sandwood Bay.

“Facing straight into the teeth of the North Atlantic, the beach has nearly 1.5 miles of wide pink sand which is flanked by cliffs. To the south stands the impressive sea stack of Am Buachaille, while behind the bay’s large dunes stretches Sandwood Loch - a freshwater loch full of brown trout. The beach is considered to be one of the most unspoilt beaches in the whole of mainland Britain.” – Visit Scotland Website

The walk over to Strathchalleach Bothy was trackless and boggy and it alternated between sunshine and showers making it difficult to know what to wear.

Boggy Trackless Terrain

I dumped my stuff at the Bothy and walked over to Sandwood Bay. It felt like I was flying as I didn't have the heavy rucksack. I had a paddle at the beach and said goodbye to Peter, who was camping at Sandwood Bay
and then returned to the bothy.

Cape Wrath from Sandwood Bay

I was sharing with Andrew, who had walked from Kirk Yetholm, where the Pennine Way finishes - on The Scottish National Trail. Sandra and Steve also arrived, who had been doing the CWT in three stages and had walked from Ullapool despite Sandra's blisters! Andrew got the peat fire going.

Looking back at Sandwood Bay

I started the last leg of my journey to Cape Wrath over some more trackless boggy ground and got to Cape Wrath in time to get the minibus and ferry to take me to Keoldale, leaving a couple of miles walk to Furness.

Cape Wrath Lighthouse

North Coast of Scotland

I was very lucky to be able to do this as the ferry hadn't run on Monday or Tuesday because of the high winds. 

Its been really enjoyable. According to the proprietor of The Ozone Cafe at Cape Wrath about 1 person a day completes the Trail. I don't know how I would have coped if there had been a lot of rain and the rivers had been in spate but that's not what happened. I had amazing weather, walked through beautiful landscape and met some really interesting people. It's been amazing!

The plan now is to go home by bus and then train tomorrow.

Cape Wrath Trail - Rhiconich

Quinag from Inchnadamph in the evening.

After a good nights sleep, a substantial dinner and a large cooked breakfast at the Inchnadamph Hotel, the path took me uphill over the bealach (col) below Glas Bheinn then down to Loch Glencoul.

Looking South across Glencoul at Quinag.

It was misty at first making the section after the col an interesting navigational challenge.

However, the path wins Footpath of the Trail Award for its inconspicuousness, its good surface and its gentle gradient.

On the way I passed Eas a’ Chual Aluinn. The name is an English mangling of the original Gaelic which translates as 'waterfall of the beautiful tresses'. At 200m high, this is the highest single-drop waterfall in Britain and when in full flow it is over three times higher than Niagara Falls. A local legend is that a woman threw herself off the cliff to avoid being married to a man she did not love and that as she fell her tresses spread out behind her forming the waterfall.

Eas a' Chual Aluinn

Then after Glencoul Bothy the path roughly follows the line of the Cambrian Quartzite next to the Glencoul Thrust. No. It isn't true that the Glen Cool Thrust is a dance move made famous by a groovy Folk Singer from Kinlochbervie!

This image from http://www.visitsutherland.org/glencoul-thrust-british-geological-survey/ shows how ancient Lewisian Gneiss has been forced on top of younger Quartzite.

At Glencoul Bothy, where I stopped for a break, I met Pierre, a French Canadian doing the CWT. At Glendhu Bothy I met Antoine and Nadine, a French couple who were doing the CWT from Inchnadamph to Cape Wrath in very short stages because they had Artur, their 20 month old son with them! They had him walking as much as possible because he was very heavy to carry.

After a night at Glendhu Bothy, with it actually raining, the next stop was a wild camp by Loch Stack, below Ben Stack. Where Robin Cook the Labour politician who resigned from the Cabinet and as Leader of the House of Commons over the Iraq War, died in 2005.

Ben Stack is a Graham

The next day was a relatively short one alongside the Rhiconich River to reach the Rhiconich Hotel but quite rough walking.

From Rhiconich you can see Foinaven, at just under 3000ft this is a Corbett and like Arkle that I walked past earlier it had a racehorse named after it.

Arkle from the tent by Loch Stack

Foinavon, ridden by John Buckingham, was a rank outsider at odds of 100/1 to win the 1967 Grand National, and his owner Cyril Watkins had such little belief in his chances that he was not even at the course.

Arkle became a national legend in Ireland. His strength was jokingly claimed to come from drinking Guinness twice a day. At one point, the slogan Arkle for President was written on a wall in Dublin. The horse was often referred to simply as "Himself", and the story goes that he received items of fan mail addressed to 'Himself, Ireland'.

We are now in Sutherland where some of the worst Highland Clearances took place. This story from Set Adrift Upon the World: The Sutherland Clearances by James Hunter shows that they didn’t always go quietly.

[Like] the fate which overtook Sheriff-Officer Donald Bannerman when he and two colleagues, Alexander Ross and Alexander MacKenzie, attempted to serve eviction notices on people living in a place called Gruids.To get to Gruids, the three men had taken the ferry that made regular crossings of the River Shin a little way downstream from the present-day village of Lairg. As they approached the Gruids bank, the ferryman, John Murray, well aware of who his passengers were and why they had made the long journey from Golspie, remarked – sarcastically – that a warm welcome doubtless awaited them.

Hearing this, all three asked to be returned to the opposite shore. Murray, however, declined to oblige. Left with no alternative but to disembark, Bannerman and his colleagues did so – only to see, as Bannerman put it, ‘a number of persons, mostly women armed with sticks and cudgels, making towards them’. Soon, said Bannerman, this crowd – about a hundred strong – ‘violently seized’ him. The ‘precepts of removing’, as the sheriff-officer called the documents he had hidden about his person, were quickly found. Then, while one or two of his assailants went to fetch (from a nearby home) an already burning piece of fuel that could be used to kindle a fire, the rest of the ‘mob’, young women to the fore, ‘stripped him naked ... threw him down, and bound his hands behind his back’.

The weather has continued to be incredible, if a little windy and it's hard to believe that I am nearly there!

Cape Wrath Trail - Inchnadamph

It was fine weather yet again for the day off in Ullapool. Two nice bookshops seduced me into buying several books. The weather has been amazing for days now!

The next day Dorothy dropped me off at the car park at Inverlael, where she'd picked me up and we said our goodbyes until Thursday week. There was a little bit of drizzle at first but not enough to make it worth putting my waterproof jacket on and it brightened up later. was heading for Gleann Douchary on a forest track but then on pathless terrain.

Waterfall in Glen Douchary

I followed the Northern shore of Loch an Daimh to arrive at Knockdamph Bothy, where I had planned to spend the night but as it was only 2pm I decided to press on for another hour and a half to the Schoolhouse Bothy that has two desks and a blackboard to recreate the atmosphere. Nice touch.

Schoolhouse Bothy

I was sharing the Bothy with 3 other independent Cape Wrath Trail followers: John, who walked from Lands End to John o' Groats last year, Ryan who has left his 'normal' job and does outdoor work now e.g. managing husky teams in Alaska and Peter who is from the Netherlands and is booked into Inchnadamph and Richonich Hotels on the same nights as me.

The next day I  carried on to Oykel Bridge then alongside the River Oykel to camp just beyond Loch Ailsh.

Lovely weather yet again but almost the whole day was walking on 4x4 tracks, which was a bit monotonous.

I stopped to chat to a farming couple who were giving their herd of cows some sort of anti parasite treatment. I said how good it was to see cattle back on the hills as it was more sustainable than the sheep and then deer that followed the Highland Clearances. He said that as those people lived on such squalor with low life expectancy it was the best thing for them. I pointed out that he was making a comparison with today rather than with what life was like in industrial cities like Manchester at the time (early 19th Century). How did I end up having a political argument with a farmer?

John, Ryan, Peter and I camped in the same area, surrounded by bunches of Wild Primroses.

Now we enter the area of the Moine Thrust. This is composed of metamorphic gneisses and schists on top of a series of younger sedimentary rocks. For many years geologists claimed that these rocks had to be in stratigraphic order. However, at the end of the 19th century, two field geologists, Benjamin Peach and John Horne led an expedition through the Scottish Highlands. They suggested that the metamorphic rocks were at one time deep in the Earth and through forces that they were yet to fully understand, these rocks were thrust on top of the younger sedimentary rocks. It was this that led to the theory of thrust tectonics that has held true even until today.

After crossing over the windy col below Conival, which has a Norse name, I followed the Bealach Traligill Fault down into Inchnadamph. By making a small diversion, I visited the Traligill Caves. Traligill means “The valley of the Trolls” in Norse. Limestone is uncommon in Scotland so this area of exposed Limestone and Limestone Caves is very unusual.

The south side of the valley is a cliff of dark grey limestone but the North side is a gently sloping slab of pale grey limestone. The slope is the thrust plane and the older darker rock has been pushed over the younger paler rock. The river follows the thrust plane, often underground.

Lewisian Gneiss overlaying younger Limestone.

Below ground there is an extensive cave system including Uamh an Claonaite, Scotland’s longest cave with over 3km of passages. For a detailed analysis of the cave system go to http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/commissioned_reports/F02AC105.pdf

One of the Tralligil caves.

Cape Wrath Trail - Ullapool

After a substantial breakfast at the Kinlochewe Hotel, Dorothy and I set off past yet another ghastly hydro-electric scheme at the 'Heights of Kinlochewe'. It was another very hot day until a slight breeze built up. We met Daniel from Dusseldorf, who was also doing the CWT. We got the tent set up out of the wind next to Loch an Nid with a great view of An Teallach beyond.

Slioch and Lochan Fada

On the next day we walked up to the ridge and then on to Mullach Choire Mhic Fhearchair (top of the corries of the son of Farquhar). We also climbed Sgurr Ban (white peak) and Beinn a' Chlaidheimh (mountain of the sword). On the way up we walked up a gently sloping slab.

However, by taking a photo at the right angle it looks as if Dorothy is free climbing up a rock face.

After Loch an Nid, I carried on - bypassing Sheneval Bothy. However, Shenavall – A Brief History by Alex Sutherland is worth reading. I carry on down to the A832. This road is known locally as Desolation Road and was built to give employment in the years following the potato famine of 1846. I then carry on to the Ullapool road, past An Teallach and over what I later discovered was the Coffin Road to Inverlael.

An Tealach from Beinn a' Chlaidheimh

Dorothy went South, retracing our steps back to the car. She then drove round to Inverlael to collect me and take us to Ullapool for two days.

Dorothy disappears into the distance

In 1820 about 55 families were evicted from Inverlael and Braemore. Inverbroom and Achindrean were also cleared pre – 1850. Other evictions took place here and there including some in Coigach – one attempt to evict there was unsuccessful because the officers with the warrant were attacked and humiliated by a band of irate women.

(http://www.ullapool.co.uk/clearances.html)

In the late 1960’s to early 1970’s low-draft Scandinavian cargo “Klondykers” appeared in Ullapool to buy the herring. They employed many local men to ice the herring caught by the east coast boats which was then taken to Norway, Africa and the Canaries, etc. These boats would then return laden with fruit for the home markets

As the herring again declined around 1975 and the nutritional value of mackerel became apparent, we experienced the amazing sight of up to 70 Eastern Bloc factory ships anchored in Loch Broom and Annat Bay – long before the end of the “Cold War” – and often viewed with disbelief by visitors! On occasions their numbers swelled by Nigerian, Irish, French and even Japanese klondykers, all intent on cashing in on the mackerel bonanza – so once again Ullapool harbour had to be extended to cope with the extra traffic

The klondykers literally were processing factories and the end products were loaded on to reefers to be exported to all parts of the world. They often stayed for 6 months out of each year and their crews could increase the population of Ullapool to over 400! They came ashore in watches, in small orange ‘liberty’ boats to buy up all the goods, which were unavailable in their own countries. Shop owners smiled happily as their stores were quickly emptied of all manner of electrical goods, coffee, cosmetics, ladies tights, etc. and there were even buses laid on to take the crews on shopping trips to Inverness!
In the early days of these visits by the Eastern Bloc ships, the crews had little or no sterling with which to buy our goods, but not to be outdone, they would often be seen on the pavements selling shirts, towels, fur hats and beautifully made model sailing ships. Needless to say, many hotels and homes in Ullapool now boast one of their carefully detailed models.(http://www.ullapool.co.uk/fishermen.html)

Cape Wrath Trail - Kinlochewe

From Strathcarron, the route continues North (no surprises there!) alongside the Fionn-arbhainn river and ascends to Bealach Ban. This isn't very far but I had decided to camp here so that I could climb Beinn Liath Mhor (Torridon) (big grey hill) and Sgorr Ruadh (red peak) in the afternoon.

Looking down a Stratcarron and the route I'd followed from the summit of Sgorr Ruadh

It was another lovely warm sunny day with a slight breeze and from the top of these hills I could see The Cuillin Ridge on Skye, trotternish, Liathach, Beinn Eighe, Ben Alligin and all the hills around Loch Mullardoch that Dorothy and I walked on last year. I got back to the tent at about 6:30, just time for dinner and bed.

Bealach Ban

I was up and away at 7.15 from Bealach Ban and I descended to, and crossed the A896. Then right round the back of Ruadh-stac Mor passing near the site of the crashed Lancaster Bomber. This happened in 1951 near the summit of Beinn Eighe. All eight crew from RAF Kinloss died and the difficulties in recovering the bodies led to the formation of RAF Mountain Rescue. In a strange twist to the story in 2008, a climber's fall during an avalanche was arrested by a propeller from the plane and although he was injured he survived.

Liathach at 8am

Torridon Mountains (Flowerdale Forest)

Waterfall at the outflow of Coire Mhic Fhearchair

The going was very difficult once the path ran out. Mile after mile of rocks, heather, and hummocks. However, the views of the Torridon mountains were well worth it and once again, hardly a cloud in the sky.

Finally, I descended into Kinlochewe feeling very tired and with aching feet at 6pm. Definitely the toughest day so far! Lovely to be greeted by Dorothy though when I got to Kinlochewe hotel.

The name Kinlochewe implies that this is the settlement that lies at the head of Loch Ewe. Which is a bit odd as Loch Ewe is the sea loch on which you find Poolewe, some fifteen miles to the north west. The answer lies in the fact that until around 1700 Loch Maree was also called Loch Ewe. The name was changed to commemorate St Mealrubha, who is credited with bringing Christianity to Wester Ross and who had a cell on Isle Maree, one of Loch Maree's islands.

The north east side of Loch Maree is dominated by one of Scotland's most attractive mountains, Slioch or the spear. Today it is natural to think of that shore of the loch as being just as wild as the vast area of mountainous wilderness beyond Slioch. It is odd to realise that for centuries the Slioch side of the loch carried the drove road from Poolewe to markets at Dingwall and Inverness: and it was the south west side of the loch that was the less travelled.

From the early 1600s English ironmasters set up furnaces at Letterewe on the north east shore of Loch Maree and at its eastern end. For over 50 years, iron ore was imported by sea from England for processing, because it was far easier to transport than the vast amount of charcoal needed to process it.

The industry ceased after it has consumed all the readily available woodland in a wide area of Wester Ross. In a sad case of history repeating itself, during the Second World War much of the woodland that had recovered since the 1600s was cut down to make ammunition boxes to support the war effort.

Cape Wrath Trail - Strathcarron

After Shiel Bridge the route goes through Morvich and then passes the Falls of Glomach, one of the highest waterfalls in Britain, at 113 m.

Then on to the Iron Lodge, which is on the Srath Duilleach Coffin Road and sounds a bit like a location from Game of Thrones.

On the road to the Iron Lodge.

Then I descended to the Bothy at Maol Bhuidhe. It is in an incredibly isolated location

Arriving at the Bothy

Sunrise at the Bothy.

On the Mountain Bothies Web Site there is a story about the last family at Maol Bhuidhe by Ian MacKay:

As a boy, I lived at Pait Lodge. Maol Bhuidhe was empty then, but years later I was fortunate in being able to meet the two boys of the last family who lived at Maol Bhuidhe. They were Burnet to name, two men in their eighties who had left Maol Bhuidhe in 1916 aged 8 & 12 years. There were also two sisters who had died before I met the boys. Their father was a deer stalker for the Killilan Estate.

At Maol Bhuidhe, they had what was known as a side teacher who came for one week, then had a week teaching children at Pait and another week at Lunard at the head of Glen Cannich, so they had a week at school and then two weeks off.

When I lived at Pait, we had a side school but we had a teacher full time. Our school inspector came up from Muir of Ord or Dingwall once a year, and the Burnets told me that once a year they had walked to Pait and joined the Campbell family there to have their exams.
Their grandfather had come up from the Borders with flocks of sheep – their father, as a boy, could not speak Gaelic, the main language in the area. He had a job as a 14 – 15 year old as a ghillie on Attadale Estate.

One September far out on the hill with a stalking party, the gentleman who was hoping to shoot a stag with the stalking party instead collapsed and died miles out on the hill. The head stalker said to young Burnet ‘You are the fittest and fastest man here, we’ll have to get the body home today.’ He gave the boy instructions to make for Strathcarron to get as many helpers as possible. Young Burnet made good time only to find when he arrived that not a soul spoke any English, although they knew by his agitated state that something was amiss.

They found someone who had some English and eventually a large party followed young Burnet back to the hill to help bring back the body of the unfortunate gentleman.
The family before the Burnets were the Renwicks who brought up 10 children in Maol Bhuidhe. One became Moderator of the Free Church of Scotland. The Renwick dad was a shepherd, he may also later been a gamekeeper.

I have been meeting quite a few other CWTers. I've already mentioned Alan on the first day. Then there was Wild at Sourlies, Chris the Aussy at Sourlies going North to South, Phil and Glenys from Sourlies to Strathcarron (same schedule as me so far), the fast guy who was doing it in a week, Alex from Romania and Andrew at Mail Bhuidhe. So about one person doing it every day it seems.

From Maol Bhuidhe I went anti-clockwise around Beinn Dronaig, past loch Calavie, then past Bendronaig Lodge. It was another lovely day without a cloud in the sky.

Loch Calavie

Sadly the whole area around Bendronaig Lodge has been recently ruined by 4m wide hill tracks created to service and build a hydroelectric scheme. There has to be a better way than this!

Strathcarron is near Loch Kishorn where there is deep water, a port and dry dockand. There is a song based on working at Kishorn Yard called Kishorn Commandos (perfomed here by TheMakadin)

I'm staying at the Strathcarron Hotel. Very luxurious to have en-suite facilities! CWT going well so far and I am really enjoying the amazing scenery. Looking forward to Dorothy joining me on Friday and also to walking in Torridon.