Ken's report:
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West Coast 2016
A group of 6 this year = Ken,
Gordon, Stewart, Ian Sharp, John and Colin. Dave with a good excuse (I’ll be in
Peru), Ian Stewart less convincing (I’ll be pulling pints at the Aberdeen beer
festival) and Andy’s excuse has slipped my mind (might have been too early a
start).
Day 1 – Thursday
An early start with a poor
weather forecast –squeezed between rain in the west and fog in the east.
Settled on Ben Rinnes in Morayshire as our target for the day. The drive to
Dufftown was not promising with low cloud almost to road level on the Cabrach.
Playing for time in Dufftown we looked in vain for a coffee shop with
tumbleweed blowing down the main street. A passerby pointed us in the direction
of Dufftown station where we enjoyed coffee and bacon rolls on the old rolling
stock and were given a brief history lesson on the Dufftown to Keith railway
line, now being kept open by volunteer enthusiasts. Eventually we bit the
bullet and headed up into the mist on Ben Rinnes – cold, wet and foggy – an
inauspicious start. The viewfinder on top was all we could see rather than the
promised 80 km 3600 vista! Anyway good exercise for a couple of hours and
enough to justify our later dinner and drinks at Aultbea. A brief stop at Tisos
in Inverness and then onto the Aultbea Hotel – very comfortable establishment
and we chose the restaurant for our first night - perhaps a mistake – inverse
relationship between cost and portion size. Highly entertained by the young
waitress who gave us chapter and verse on the ingredients and their source.
Just a shame there wasn’t a bit more of it! A varied first day!
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| Dufftown Station cafe |
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| Topping out on Ben Rinnes |
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| The Aultbea Hotel – fabulous location! |
Day
2- Friday
Mixed forecast – showers, a bit
windy, brighter intervals but a lot of cloud around. Not really a day for the
hill tops. The Shenavall Circuit was selected for the day’s entertainment - a
12 mile walk with a couple of 350m ascents – seemed like a good idea (to me)
but perhaps not enough quizzing of the team leader by the team to establish the
effort required that day! Anyway, moaning aside, the walk was lovely – we
traversed round An Teallach and then down to the Shenavall bothy for a lunch
stop. A walk up the glen for a couple of miles with grand views and then back
over the col and a longish walk back to the car. Stewart claimed 33,000 steps
and 14 miles but I think he needs to recalibrate his step size! A latish
arrival to the Royal Hotel in Ullapool – pleasantly surprised by this establishment
despite its coach tour credentials. An average meal in the Ferry Boat Inn and
then we were treated to a glorious sunset over the Summer Isles down Loch
Broom.
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Shenavall Bothy
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Climbing out of Strath na Sheallag
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| Sunset over the Summer Isles and Loch Broom |
Day 3 – Saturday
Saturday started out very
dreich and wet. A morning of paper-reading and nursing aching limbs. A forecast
improvement for the afternoon tempted us out to a coastal stroll at Achiltibuie
and we delayed our start with a superb tea and cakes at the Highland Piping
Centre Coffee Shop – aside from the piped music, views and fare were excellent.
We drove to the end of the road and completed a short loop walk along the coast
and overlooking the Summer Isles with soft, misty lighting and the sea like a
mill-pond. Very atmospheric. Saturday evening was dinner at the Ceilidh Place
and then a musical interlude across the road in their trad music venue –
slightly curious duet – lovely fiddle playing and harmonies from Old Blind Dogs
fiddler (used to live in Upper Lochton!!) accompanying Fidel Castro look-alike
and sympathizer, who regaled us with happy dittys about our imperial past – the
slave trade, opium wars and the down-trodden masses. Power to the people!!!
Different…. We finished the evening with a dram at the Ferry Boat Inn and felt
like we were participating in a gay convention – absolutely no females in the
bar (apart from the bar staff)….the village was full of late-middle-aged men in
groups of bikers and walkers…all a bit weird.
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Looking across Loch Broom from Achiltibuie
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Day
4 – Sunday
After a restful Saturday, limbs
and weather were much improved and we set off to tackle Stac Pollaidh, a small
but prominent hill north of Ullapool. The car park was busy, including a
Channel 4 film crew who were filming a documentary series on geology
(Travelling through Time??). Anyway we set off on the well made path which
curved round the back of the hill and then steeply up to the coll. Stewart and
Gordon elected to circuit the hill while the rest of us made it to the lower
east top. Views were spectacular and remained stunning as we descended and
headed round the hill. Fantastic short hill walk. In need of a cup of tea, we
headed north to Elphin and more lovely views of the Assynt hills. A pleasant
drive back to Aultbea vie Corrie Shalloch Gorge and Mellon Udrigle beach. We
elected to eat in the bar for our last night – good choice – food still
excellent, but rather more of it! Finished the day with a gorgeous sunset.
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Stac Pollaidh
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Suilven and Cul Mor from Stac Pollaidh
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Stac Pollaidh summit
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Looking west from Stac Pollaidh
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| Suilven and Cul Mor and Cul Beag from Stac Pollaidh |
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Suilven from Elphin tea room
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| Corrie Shalloch gorge |
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Mellon Udrigle beach
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| Evening drams at the Aultbea Hotel |
Day 5 – Monday
The team split today, with
Gordon and Stewart heading north again for a photographic outing to a waterfall
north of Elphin. The rest of us headed for the Beinn Eighe mountain trail – a
steep, rocky ascent to 560m with great views into the Torridon mountains and
across Loch Maree to Slioch. A lovely to walk to finish off our trip. The rest
of us dozed while John made a sterling effort to drive us home. Great weekend.
Loose talk for 2017 raised the possibility of a Yorkshire Dales trip, maybe in September.
Watch this space.
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Looking across Loch Maree to Slioch
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| Beinn Eighe from the mountain trail |
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| Beinn Eighe from the mountain trail |
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| Looking across Loch Maree to Slioch |
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