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BLAIRMORE CAR PARK |
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WAR MEMORIAL AT LOCHINVER |
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LOCH-SIDE AT LOCHINVER |
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SUILVEN |
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TONY AT THE BOTHY |
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VIEW FROM SUILVEN |
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SUNSET FROM SUILVEN SUMMIT |
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MORNING CLOUD INVERSION FROM SUILVEN SUMMIT |
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TIME TO PACK UP |
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ON OUR WAY DOWN |
With the exception of a shower, the facilties at Blairmore car park were almost as good as a camp site. It was past midday before we departed to drive south. What a drive it was though, weaving alongside lochs and around mountains. Wonderful new scenery presented itself to us each time we rounded a corner.
Our destination was Lochinver, by a route that took us past Scourie and Unapool. Rubi took over the driving at Scourie which meant that she had the exciting task of navigating the single track switchback which is the Assynt Coastal Route to Lochinver. It was hard to get above 3rd gear most of the time - and my car has 6 gears.
We arrived intact at our destination to be wowed by the view towards the harbour and out to sea. It was sunny for a change so we were able to take a mid-afternoon snack and cuppa at a picnic table beside the sea-loch.
We did a quick reconaissance of the area before paying a visit to The Caberfeidh Bar and Restaurant to enjoy tasty battered cod goujons washed down with, in my case, beer made from porridge oats. A chatty motorcyclist from Sheffield taking a random ride around Scotland, and a builder from Somerset, kept us company.
The weather was looking good for the next two days, so in the morning we packed our rucksacks for an overnight expedition to climb Suilven, a remarkable mountain because of its unique double-humped shape, like a camel's back. End-on, it seems to rise almost vertically out of the surrounding moorland, but it can be climbed from the side up to the dip between the peaks, although the route is still very steep. From there, each of the two summits can be accessed. The 723m high eastern one, called Meall Meadhonach, usually requires ropes to reach. However, the higher 731m western summit, Caisteal Liath, is accessible on foot, so this was our goal.
We parked the car near Glencanisp Lodge and started walking about 1.30pm. Roughly 3 miles further on we reached Suileag Bothy where we met Tony, from Christchurch, who was staying there temporarily. He was on the last week of a three week camping and fishing trip in the area.
Leaving Tony at 3.30pm, it took us another two and a half hours to reach the dip between the peaks, and another half an hour to reach Caisteal Liath. We were treated to the most stunning views across the moorland to adjacent mountains and the sea.
The wind was low so we made the decision to pitch the tent and stay the night on the summit. This enabled us to see a beautiful red sunset over Loch Inver.
In the morning we were treated to a further amazing sight as there was a carpet of clouds below us, called a cloud inversion, with the mountain peaks poking through.
The wind had risen a little during the night so we had to take care not to let anything blow away as we took down the tent and packed our rucksacks.
We returned by the same route we came, and it was a challenge to avoid slipping on the steep rocky slope down. Around 4 hours later we were back at Glencanisp Lodge. They had an Honesty Shop here (serve yourself and put the money in a box) so we made ourselves a welcome cup of hot chocolate.
We finally left Lochinver at around 5.00pm and continued our southerly journey, stopping briefly at Ullapool and eventually reaching Gairloch a little before 8.00pm.
To make a change from cooking in the car, we ate at the Millcroft Hotel in Gairloch before identifying a car park close to the beach as a suitable place for our stopover.