Wonder after wonder on Loch Gairloch

From the beach at Port Henderson we looked straight out across the Minch to the "Long Isle"; the conjoined islands of Lewis and Harris, the more mountainous skyline to the left of this image is An Cliseam and the hills of Harris.  The two small dark islands just showing to the centre right of this image are the Shiants.....they're a destination which is most definitely on my radar for an expedition.

Our plan had been to paddle south from the mouth of Loch Gairloch for a short distance to check out Opinan beach.  Allan decided to omit this diversion and to make a leisurely crossing north to Longa Island.  Lorna and I headed south into the eye of a searing autumnal sun......

...and soon reached Opinan.  The beach is a good one, reddish sand backed by dunes; in low swell conditions makes for an easy landing.  We didn't linger too long before getting back on the water and heading straight north towards our rendezvous with Allan at Longa.

With the sun now behind us we enjoyed a superb view of the Flowerdale hills - Baos Bheinn (Wizard's Hill) to the left and at the extreme right of this image, Beinn an Eoin (Hill of the Birds - this usually refers to eagles).

Part way across the mouth of Loch Gairloch I stopped to take in the suroundings.  A kayak on a flat calm sea, under a searing sun and backed with a view to the Trotternish peninsula of Skye - it's one of my favourite memories of this trip.  But if that scene was special, to look the other way was a wee bit special too....

We'd met up again with Allan at Longa (from the Norse Ship Island), where I'd briefly landed on an awkward bouldery shore.  The view to the Torridon skyline was really, really fine.

Sometimes the sheer beauty and majesty of Scotland just grabs you by the throat - and this was one of those times.

And to make things even better, a shape on the summit trig point of Longa unfurled itself into a White Tailed Eagle and flew purposefully and powerfully across the loch towards the mountains fo Torridon....really, it doesn't get a lot better than this...........

.....although second luncheon on a sweep of immaculate beach simply called "Big Sand" helps too!

Days like these, a winter day in Torridon

Looking through some images on a memory stick, I came across two from an outstanding day's hillwalking in February 2006.  I'd set off from Kinlochewe well before dawn on a clear, frosty morning and walked down the Torridon road.  Approaching Loch Clair as dawn was breaking, I detoured to the loch shore to take this picture of Liathach (the grey one).  This viewpoint is a popular one with photographers but I had it to myself that morning while the whole mountain was bathed in pinkish sunlight.  In the shadows where I was, my fingers were sticking to the camera in the frigid air - which may have gone some way to explaining why nobody else was around!

Liathach is a tremendous hill, steep and challenging with multiple summits.  It has its standard routes but also some superb quieter routes to the summit ridges.  Composed of Torridonian Sandstone and quartzite, the whole mountain is, in geological terms, upside down with older rock overlaying the younger - an amazing thought.

Liathach wasn't my objective that day though.  I headed past the eastern end of Liathach and up into Coire Mhic Fhearchair (Farquharson's Corrie), also known as Triple Buttress Corrie from the stupendous rock architecture on the corrie headwall.  A very steep climb of a further 550 metres (you earn your hill summits in Torridon as nearly all routes start from near sea level) got me up above 1000 metres on Beinn Eighe (hill of the file).

The view from here is simply breathtaking.  A sweep of bold, primeval looking hills backed by the blue of the Minch and spattered with glistening lochans.  Just magical.

This view shows (from left to right) the end of Sail Mhor (the big heel) which is the western summit of Beinn Eighe and forms one of the arms of Coire Mhic Fhearchair; the Corbett of Beinn Dearg (red hill) and beyond to the distinctive chisel summit of Mullach an Rathain, part of Beinn Alligin (jewelled hill).  Across the trench of Loch a' Bhealaich (loch of the pass) is another Corbett, Baosbheinn (wizard's hill) and on the far right, Beinn an Eoin (hill of the birds).

All evocative names for hills of great individual quality. The memory of that view is as clear as the winter air  near the summit of Beinn Eighe.

I turned northeast to walk the quartzite ridges of the "hill of the file".  Soon I was in a strange mist through which the sun shone, making everything appear soft and pale.  No more photos,but a magical and strange experience.  By the time I reached the base of Beinn Eighe near the road I was very tired and it was just about dark.  All along the final few kilometres of road back to Kinlochewe my headtorch picked out the golden reflections in the eyes of Red Deer browsing the grass at the roadside.

Days like these; they live with you for ever.

Shieldaig

The final community on my trip was Shieldaig, sheltered in Loch Shieldaig. The name is from Old Norse Sild Vik "Herring Bay", though herring are no longer fished from here. It's a pretty village in a spectacular setting.



I enjoyed a pint of Black Cuillin ale outside the Tigh an Eilean Hotel
and enjoyed the pleasant afternoon sunshine. The ale was very nice, and it seems to me that the hotel is a great sea-kayaking pub, but it must await rating by the staff of seakayakphoto.com
in due course!





I was accompanied back to the shore by this fine chap; a Springer Spaniel with three legs. Despite a missing front leg, he can certainly get about, and was very keen to come with me either by swimming or by getting in the boat with me. He looked genuinely disappointed to be left behind...

I left the shelter of Loch Shieldaig and headed back along Upper Loch Torridon into a stiffening headwind. There were great views of the mountains - here Beinn Alligin from a different angle. The headwind increased rapidly to Force 5-6 and it became very difficult to make any progress. Eventually I got back to Torridon village, tired but very pleased with a great day paddle of 38km. All that remained was the four hour drive home...

Lower Diabaig

The village seemed deserted. As I wandered along the short stretch of shore road, this motif painted on the front of a metal outbuilding caught my eye.






On the beach, a wrecked fishing boat lay near the high water mark. I could tell that it had originally had a blue hull and red bottom, and that the wheelhouse was steel.





It looks that someone has tried to burn the wreck in situ; scorched timbers surrounded the open bow. A photo on the Undiscovered Scotland website shows the boat in much better condition, and it looks to have had white upperworks and a covered fo'c'sle.




It doesn't look like a local boat, and the Scandinavian manufacturer's name on this tank lid next to the hull suggests it comes from across the North Sea.

Sadly, there was nobody around to ask. Lower Diabaig remained deserted, except for an elderly lady who wandered out onto the pier as I was leaving.

I rounded the southerly point of Diabaig Bay and headed south towards the final community I wanted to visit on this trip.

Enfolded By Arms Of Naked Rock

Continuing to the the north west, a succession of rocky bluffs are passed. Ahead, Tom na Gruagaich of Beinn Alligin (Hill of the Maiden, Jewelled Mountain) was just clearing the cloud.




Around a final point, I entered Loch Diabaig. I have an out-of-print guidebook to the West Highlands written by the late W.H. (Bill) Murray, one of Scotland's great writers, in which he describes Loch Diabaig as "a mile long bay of outer Loch Torridon enfolded by arms of naked rock". It's a good description; no photograph I could take showed properly the setting of the village in it's sheltering rocky arms.




Bill Murray also wrote of the community itself; "On a coast where loveliness is met at every turn, Diabaig is remarkable".

I paddled into the shelter of a fine stone pier and landed on the beach to explore a little.

The Lost Community of Loch Torridon

The rocky point on the north shore of the kyle between Upper Loch Torridon and Loch Shieldaig is called Rubha na h-Airde Glaise (point of the grey height). It has a small flat area right on the edge, formed from glaciated slabs with a skin of turf. Here there was a community; the walls of several houses are visible and a larger enclosure which may have been either a small animal enclosure or a larger building.

I've been told that it may have been a fishing station, and I've also read that there may have been a Inn here.




On the pebble beach, a boat "noust" has been made from large boulders. It must have taken quite an effort to make, as I'm sure some of the boulders will have been washed away in stormy weather. This community was clearly a going concern, but like so many up and down this coast is now just an echo in a "ruckle o' stanes".




This ruin is on a slab right on the very tip of the point. It has a wide view out to sea, and up Loch Torridon, but must have been a windy place to live.

I'm always intrigued by these visible marks of past lives; who were the people who lived, laughed loved and died here? How did they come to be living on this exposed point, was it by choice or necessity? So many questions from a few old walls.

Some of the information about this place was kindly provided by Steve Carter, who runs a website about Torridon and Shieldaig with loads of information and some stunning photographs.

Having contemplated times past, it was time to move on; out into Loch Torridon proper and the next community.

Loch Torridon Communities - the Upper Loch

On the one day of predicted good weather in the week prior to Easter, I left home at 0545 and arrived at Torridon mid morning. The plan was to explore the area using first the ebb tide to get out to Loch Shieldaig, then the flood on the return run.

Loch Torridon is divided into three parts. From seaward they are Loch Torridon, Loch Shieldaig and Upper Loch Torridon. The upper loch is surrounded by some iconic mountains; Liathach, Beinn Dearg and Beinn Alligin.

I started out from Torridon village and headed along in heavy rain showers to the first community - Inveralligin.




This painting of a Puffin was on a rocky point - perhaps painted by a tour boat's crew so they could guarantee a sighting to their passengers?!





Nearby, a band of feral goats were eating the seaweed exposed towards the Spring low tide.




They clearly do well here as there were several kids amongst the group.

Upper Loch Torridon is separated from Loch Shieldaig by a narrow kyle, through which the ebb, now in it's last two hours, carried me swiftly.

The next community I was to visit was one I'd not known about before, a lost community.