July and August of 2017 offered little in the way of settled weather in Scotland. Frequent spells of windy conditions limited the opportunity for anything more than brief outings. In the second week of August Allan and I spotted a couple of days in the forecast which looked like giving a good chance of doing a camping trip - though there was uncertainty about the wind strength.
In general it looked to be from the south for a day before swinging through west to north for the following two days. Finding somewhere which would offer shelter from opposing wind directions on consecutive days was an interesting conundrum! We decided on a trip from Loch Torridon, with options to head out to the island of Rona if the weather was particularly obliging, or staying within the loch if it proved less benign.
We drove over to the west coast and prepared to set out from Shieldaig (from the old Norse "Sildvik" - Herring Bay). The sky looked quite threatening as we packed our boats, we hoped that the forecast of brighter conditions later was accurate.
We started out heading north west towards the outer loch. Loch Torridon is in three sections, the outer loch which is a wide expanse opening to the Minch, Loch Shieldaig forms part of the middle section and an upper loch which laps the feet of the great Torridon rampart, Liathach.
Shortly after setting out the overcast, drizzly cloud began to break up and allow some warm sunshine to break through. As so often in Scotland, the speed of the change from grey to dazzling colour was startling......
....and we were soon in bright sunlight under blue skies.
The view up the loch to the distant Torridon hills was particularly fine, rows of shapely summits marching into the distance. We landed in a rocky bay to take a leisurely second luncheon and enjoy the sun on our backs.
It was clear that the sunny conditions wouldn't last too long though, and with an approaching cloudbank came a strong southerly wind. This caused us to revise our plans - the strength of the wind within the shelter of the loch suggested that things would be a lot more gusty in open water. Our plan had been to paddle out of the loch and head south to camp in a bay which faced south - this was in anticipation of stronger northerly winds the following day. It was clear that we'd have a slog to the intended bay and that it would be exposed to swell and weather. We rafted up for a quick reassessment.....
Our revised plan was to paddle along the southern shore of the outer loch as far as Rubha na Fearna, (one of two headlands with the same name, less than two kilometres apart, the name means Point of the Alder trees), then to cross the loch with the wind at our backs to the north shore and camp there. The campsite would be exposed to the southerly weather but I knew a place that we could find a sheltered spot - and we'd be in a good position when the wind did swing to the north.
We weren't the only folk to be wild camping on the shore of Loch Torridon that evening; a pair of fishermen had set up their tent on the turf of a sandstone shelf. The site was very sheltered, but you wouldn't want to be prone to sleep-walking here!
In the late afternoon we reached the outermost point of Loch Torridon and turned our bows to the north. A steady breeze at our backs made for good speed as we set out. Away to the west lay the distant silhouette of Skye's Trotternish peninsula. As we moved out into open water the swell and wind increased and all my imaes of the crossing were spoiled by water splashing onto the camera lens - it was good fun though and we made cracking speed towards our camp.
Another good account, Ian. We've had quite the opposite weather here on Vancouver Island. There have been two days of light rain since May...all the blue skies and warm weather, however, have been too much of a good thing with the constant risk of forest fire. But the mornings are now a little cooler and there is the feel of fall coming and hopefully lots of rain to nourish our forests and streams again. Warm wishes to you and see you later next month.
ReplyDeleteBlue skies and warm weather have been in short supply since early summer Duncan, hopefully autumn will bring something more settled along with the rush of colour :o)
DeleteSee you both soon!
Some nice pictures, Ian! Trip interestingly told as usual. I try to follow your trip on the map, but the map link to Shieldaig seems to be to a place a little further up north with the same name in Gair Loch. Look forward to your next part!
ReplyDeleteSafe paddling!
Thanks Leif, you're right, I'd chosen the wrong "Shieldaig" from the links list...corrected now :o) The Aairloch Sheildaig has a rather good pub close by....perhaps a subconscious mistake?!
ReplyDelete:o)
Love the rock landscapes around that area and that tent position. Hardly a dry day this entire summer and rarely seen the Met office change their predictions so often from sunny all day to heavy showers within a 12 hour period overnight- today being an example which was first forecast dry and sunny everywhere but is now grey and raining. Brave going out up there when it is so unpredictable as I often find the other three seasons, even winter, to have more stable weather patterns these days.
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