Friday 9th September 2022
Last night we took the larger car to the end of today’s walk and so this morning we had a short drive from Lochaline to Kinlochteacuis. We squeezed the Volvo onto the only verge space as we had yesterday. The only formal parking is 2 miles back up the road and we could certainly do without any extras today.
We walked a short way up the private road and then right up an estate track. The peninsula is not amenable to being walked around but there are two routes over the top to Loch Sunart. Originally we were going to take the shorter route which follows Bealach Sloc an Eich but reading reports elsewhere, there were potential blockages from fallen timber and the like and, though the ascent had been managed, the descent had caused some problems. The longer route we are taking adds three miles and some height but is on verifiably passable estate tracks and is almost certainly faster walking and so things will even out. Neither route would be very near the sea nor provide views of the sea so we do not feel we are missing out on very much.
We were following up the glen, well above the Kinloch River and with every metre of ascent the views opened up more and more. The day was warm but there was thin total cloud cover and at times it looked as if it might rain.
We were heading to the west side of Beinn Iadain which looks to be an interesting and eminently climbable mountain.
We went over the pass at 360m or thereabouts. Here the track passes out of the Kinloch Estate to the Glencripesdale Estate and there is a locked deer gate. We climbed the rickety ladder stile which wobbled and had a broken rung on one side.
On the other side there were some drainage channels to negotiate to get back the track. We were now in forestry land but the tree planting was well back from the track and so we had good views around us. The path meanders its way down Glencripesdale until it eventually comes to Loch Sunart.
Near the loch side is a Scottish Rights of way signpost indicating three possible routes and just a little confusing.
We now had a steady ten mile walk along the track beside the loch. The track is good and firm and was quite pleasant walking but seemed to have little evidence of regular vehicular traffic; it is probably much quicker by boat.
The loch is lined by natural forest of oak and birch mainly. We found a place on the shore near Glencripesdale where we could sit on the rocks though I improved my seat with a hunk of wood as a makeshift bench. We had coffee overlooking the loch.
At lunchtime we struggled to find anywhere at all to sit to eat our lunch and kept walking a bit further hoping we might find suitable rocks or logs; we have sit-mats but it is not very comfortable sitting directly on the ground unless it is on a bank or there is something to lean against. Eventually we found a couple of tree stumps to perch on in area felled many years ago.
We passed the very impressive Laudale House and, as respectfully requested, we took the shore route past the house.
Now we just had about two miles of tarmac back to the car.
Just Coasting 