Friday 21st April 2023

At risk of sounding repetitive, we awoke to clear blue skies and the forecast was for a warm sunny day and no rain.

We set up the walk by leaving a car at Blairmore car park and returned to the start of the walk near Laxford Bridge. Fortunately we have a couple of miles “in the bank” and so we should finish today’s walk quite early which should allow enough time to set up a car near Durness for the end of the two day trek around Cape Wrath.

We took a few photographs which may start to look a bit “samey” but lots of beautiful scenes in the Highlands are similar. The road sign for tourist facilities obviously pre-dated the opening of the NC500 route in 2015 (by Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay) as it had faded to white making it illegible.

We continued to Laxford Bridge which is not a very special bridge but there is an important road junction there and for that reason it is a famous landmark.

At Rhiconich we made use of the public loos. Jill opened the door of the Ladies to find a small rucksack propped up inside by the washbasin and the cubicle occupied so waited outside until a short, older woman opened the door and called her in as the loo was now free. The woman, probably in her late sixties, was wearing walking gear and had a walking pole but only trainer-type shoes and seemed to be using the washbasin for a general wash – she looked like a serious walker but was not English and didn’t seem keen to engage in conversation. We moved on and turned onto the B801 towards Kinlochbervie. We found a bench for coffee overlooking Loch Inchard.

As we approached Kinlochbervie, we noticed a solo female walker who we thought we had seen when we were setting up the cars for this walk and that turned out to be so. Rachel was walking the Cape Wrath Trail but fortunately happened to have a friend living in the village and so she had called in for shower and mug of tea. We got chatting and she said that she and a few other walkers on the Cape Wrath Trail (CWT) would be spending a night at Cape Wrath and that she had organised the Cape Wrath minibus to do a “special” to pick her and several other walkers up and take them to the ferry. The ferry would also do a pre-season special and take them across the Kyle of Durness. I explained that we had repeatedly tried to contact the ferryman to find out if he would do a special trip for us Sunday afternoon but had had no response; Rachel said we would be welcome to join them for the ferry trip and took Cliff’s phone number so she could let him know what time the minibus was picking them up and so what time we would need to be at the ferry. It might mean an early start for us to cover the 11 miles of track to the ferry but it would save us a tough 4 mile walk down the side of the Kyle of Durness and a road walk up the other side. What a stroke of luck!

As we walked up the hill out of Kinlochbervie, we met up with two German walkers, Christine and Tomas, who had been walking the CWT at the same time as Rachel. We chatted with them about our respective journeys – they had started the CWT in heavy rain with rivers in spate and everywhere very boggy – Rachel said this was the first day she had not worn gaiters. As we approached the car park at Blairmore where we had parked this morning, we headed for the car and the three of them continued through the gate onto the track that leads to Sandwood Bay where they would be camping tonight. They would be 4 miles ahead of us tomorrow, probably with an earlier start, but we will see them again at the lighthouse where we should be able to have quite a party.

Now we just had to set up the cars for the next two days. Until we had the offer from Rachel of the ferry ride, we had planned to leave a car near to where we would join the road after trekking down the side of the Kyle of Durness. However, if we were now to be arriving at Keoldale by ferry, it made sense to leave the car further north. There is a spacious car park beside the main road where the turning goes off to Keoldale and, though a notice said there was an overnight charge of £15, some local lads confirmed that was just for the camper vans so we left the Volvo tucked in the corner where it wouldn’t spoil the view for anyone and drove back to Inchnadamph, about an hour’s drive away.

Thursday 20th April 2023

We cannot quite believe it but it is a another clear morning and another warm day in prospect.

We drove to a parking bay a couple of miles short of Laxford Bridge, left the Subaru there, returned to Duartmore and set off.

After half a mile on the main road, we turned off onto what I assume was the old road. The first half mile was quite good because it is used by a fish farm.

We then turned right up a track which still has a ribbon of tarmac where nature is reclaiming its own along the edges and almost meeting in the middle but it was simple enough to follow.

All too soon we were back on the main road which was quietly busy with camper vans. We had just over three miles on the road to bring us to Scourie where we turned down to the beach.

There were two or three benches and a very smart bird hide and so we stopped and had coffee enjoying the view of the beautiful bay and a black labrador (called Marmite – I bet they love it) that was thoroughly enjoying a splash in the sea.

From Scourie there is a footpath to Tarbet (yet another one).

Other walkers have commented on a plethora of warning notices regarding the dangers of the path. This seems to have been reduced to a single sign saying that the path is mountainous in character requiring some physical fitness. I think the path has probably been incorporated into the “Core Path” fold. It is actually quite easy to follow though the first few hundred yards went through some rather exuberant gorse; long sleeves and trousers recommended.

There were a few square wooden posts with plastic discs marking the way at the start and there were also some green paint markings on rocks along the first part. Then there are a selection of small cairns along the path and finally, for those determined to lose the path there are some freshly white painted posts. In short you are unlikely to lose your way on this path.

The path, Bealach an Eilein, is a pleasure to walk it rises and falls a good deal and weaves around the craggy landscape; nowhere is it particularly difficult but it is not a fast walk either.

We took two hours to walk from the beach at Scourie to Tarbet, a distance of a little under four miles.

Being 1pm it was time for lunch when we arrived at Tarbet. Fortunately there were a couple of picnic benches and so we settled onto one of them and had our sandwiches. I took off my boots to air my feet and was surprised to see water dripping out of the heel of one boot. I quick looked showed I have worn right through the the heels of both boots. They are my favourite boots; a pair of all leather Scarpa boots bought in 2002 and resoled in 2006 after my walk through the Pyrenees. I fear the uppers no longer justify the expense of new soles and so after 21 years perhaps I must pension them off? Never mind I have an identical pair I have kept in store since the old boots went off to be resoled.

We had excellent views across to Handa Island and could watch the limited activity at the jetty.

We could also see back to Stoer Point and the Old Man of Stoer.

There is quite a smart looking restaurant called Shorehouse overlooking the bay but it was such a beautifully warm day that we had no need to visit it. Curiously its opening hours are just 12-7pm.

We had about six miles of road walking left to do. It was by now very hot but generally there was a breeze.

There are some steep climbs including a double arrow climb to Bealach Tharbait but there were also good views and hardly any cars though we did see the same postie that had passed us the day before; she again gave us a cheery wave. We passed Fanagmore and Foindle and then came to A894, tuned left and had a couple of miles to go to get back to the car.

Once again there is not a lot to write about a beautiful day with magnificent scenery one just has to have experienced it to understand. The ups and downs and views all have meaning to us at the time but are soon forgotten as another spectacular view alights upon our retinae.

Wednesday 19th April 2023

Another fine Scottish April morning with clear blue skies and every prospect of another hot day, albeit a bit breezy.

We left one car in Duartmore, a mile or so beyond the old Duartmore road bridge and drove to Drumbeg to start the walk. The drive gave us an insight to what to expect; the road is narrow very tortuous with some really stiff climbs.

Drumbeg is the only place I know with two lochs named after it. Inland is Loch Drumbeg a freshwater loch and, on the north side, a sea loch with the Gaelic name, Loch Drombaigh.

Drumbeg was still waking up as we left. The villages shop doesn’t open until 10am. The hotel looked very quiet. We enjoyed a good meal there some years ago. The air was very clear because the strong wind was blowing any haze away. We had great views all around but especially of Quinag; a mountain we climbed a few years ago. (My proof-reader points out that “a few” is actually 20 as we climbed it on the same holiday as we climbed Suilven in 2003). After Drumbeg we were at Nedd only half a mile away with its own loch.

Around every corner a new view opened up. Our only concern was to watch for vehicles. It may only be April but there are a good number of camper vans most likely on the NC500 route. Some of the drivers fail to understand that they need to wait in a passing place to get past walkers. We had a very close encounter with one camper van that insisted on continuing past us and very nearly hit both of us. We don’t mind stepping off the road where we can but in many places the is a steep drop beside the tarmac or a ditch. Steam must give way to sail as I believe happens in nautical places. 

We could soon see the Kylesku bridge across the loch. This is an elegant, concrete bridge opened by HRH Queen Elizabeth in 1984 replacing the rather small ferry that we had used on our first trip here. It spans the narrow strait of Caolas Cumhann which has very turbulent water with strong currents as the tide filling and emptying the sizeable lochs of Glendhu and Glencoul forces its way through twice every day.

We made it to the A894 by about  12.30 and walked on through Unapool and Kylesku. Boat trips were available from Kylesku to the UK’s highest waterfall, Eas a Chual Aluinn, which tumbles 638′ down the mountainside above Loch Beag at the head of Loch Glencoul. We had walked to the top of it with Andy back in 1983 but the view from below is probably a better one.

On the far side is a car park and view point where we made use of a bench and had lunch in the sunshine cooled by the breeze. Jill was fairly sure she saw an otter in the loch near the bridge but it remained in the water keeping a low profile and so we were unable to confirm it.

After lunch we continued along the main road. There were relatively few vehicles though they did come fast. The A894 is a wide road and there is usually a verge and so we felt  as safe if not safer than walking the B869 from Drumbeg. Again the views were good; just see the photos.

We were back at the car by 15.15 and so we went on to Scourie to buy fuel and then headed back to Drumbeg to retrieve the other car and get some food items from their village shop. It is a tidy, well-organised place run by an incomer. To be honest we have hardly come across any natives of the area.

Tuesday 18th April 2023

We have to keep reminding ourselves that this is only the fourth month of the year.  We awoke to clear blue skies and the mountains around Inchnadamph looked wonderful.  The forecast suggests that we will once again have the warmest weather in the UK.

The majority of today’s walk is around the Stoer peninsula and so is almost circular in nature. When we have completed the walk around the peninsula we will decide how much further to go depending on how we feel.  We left one car at Clashnessie and the other by the village hall in Stoer, only a couple of miles apart. When we left the car the local sheep were clearly waiting to be fed.

We set off in jackets since there was an early morning chill in the air.  We took the road down to the shore at Balchladich.  Just beyond the farm we turned off the road and made our way along the coast. There is no path shown on the map but I was pretty confident that it was a walkable route.

Indeed there is quite a decent path which seemed at times more of a sheep trod but unerringly followed the coast.  Then, to our surprise, we saw someone coming towards us accompanied by four large dogs which, for a moment slightly concerned us as none were on leads. They were well-controlled though and stopped as soon as their owner saw us and blew her whistle.

We stopped to chat and she told us that she walked this path most days but rarely saw anyone else. She told us about the otters along this stretch of the shore. Apparently she knows of three and one of them comes to her pond every year to “harvest” the frogs which mate there.

We walked on up to the lighthouse and enjoyed the views.

There were a number of cars parked in the little car park.

From the lighthouse there is a recognised path to the Old Man of Stoer and the Point of Stoer just beyond.  All the guide books describe this as a there and back excursion but I was sure there was a walkable path back along the east side of the peninsula from accounts of other walkers.

We set off from the lighthouse along the well-walked path.  Indeed there are multiple paths which divide and rejoin along the way.  There are quite good views but you need to be close to the edge to see the cliffs.  There are a number of boggy “would-be” burns to cross. 

Eventually the Old Man of Stoer comes into view. It is a sea stack some 60 metres tall of sandstone.  Google helpfully notes that it is open 24 hours a day.  We dutifully posed in front and tried to take a joint selfie (as had been requested by our daughter) but neither Jill nor I have really mastered selfies (and I would usually regard them as egotistical nonsense). We then perched on a rock for our coffee.

The land then slopes down to Point of Stoer where a wire fence stops cattle getting right to the point.

We found the return along the east side of the Stoer Peninsula to be much more enjoyable. There is a path that is easy to follow. It hugs the edge of the cliffs which are much more precipitous than on the west side.

There is a large geo, Geodh’ Dearg which has a sandy beach with remarkably straight parallel waves breaking on it.

A little further on there is a small sea stack at Geodh’ Ban which Jill called the “The Old Lady of Stoer” . 

At the end of Geodh Ban we noticed a man looking intently at something through his binoculars. He paused as we approached and told he was watching three otters, a mother and two cubs.  So we got out our binoculars and enjoyed the spectacle. 

The path then climbed to pass through a gate in a dry stone wall.  We could have cut up to the road from here but we continued around the coast because there is a very good path all the way to the Bay of Culkein where we had lunch looking over the bay.

From here any of the roads would have just taken us back to Stoer where we had left the car at the start.

We decided to follow my preferred route –  finding our own way around two more headlands. We followed the minor road SE, turned off through a farm gate  and made our way around Cnoc na Buaile and Meall an Tulaich and past Achncarnin.  There were traces of a path or sheep trod most of the way.  From Achncarnin we walked around An Uaile, again on sheep trods, and that brought us to the road end at Clashnessie which we followed to the car park overlooking the beautiful beach of Clashnessie bay.  The following photos give a taste of what the walk was like.

We had plenty of time in hand and so we did a quick car shuffle to Drumbeg and then walked the five or so miles along the road to Drumbeg.

It is a very pretty walk albeit on a very narrow, winding road.  The views are spectacular which helped the miles slip away. We reached Drumbeg at 17.30 at which time it was still 19°C.

All in all it had been a wonderful day’s walking.

Monday 17th April 2023

The forecast suggested a warm day but with the possibility of some rain. Looking out to clear, blue skies it seemed they may have been a bit over-cautious.

We drove to Stoer and left the car at the village hall and then went back to where we finished the walk yesterday beneath Coigach to resume our walk. In the shade of Glen Strathan we were comfortable walking in our jackets.

We followed the road to the “Stepping stones” as marked on the map which is where the cross-country route from the salmon farm would have rejoined the road. This appears to be an old weir with the remains of cemented stubs of weir on each side with a flat top about 18 inches wide.  The central section, which I presume, was effectively a bridge has been washed away.  It would be possible to cross it but not easily and certainly not after heavy rain.  A little further down stream it was quite shallow and could be forded in the present conditions.  It is worth bearing in mind that it is very close to the sea and at high tide the river level probably rises making a quick paddle not so easy.  It is interesting to note that the other end of the path also crosses a weir which is also broken in the middle. Could it possibly be that someone is trying to discourage walkers?

The walk into Lochinver from this point is delightful, even if it is along a road.  Some of the time the road clings to the shoreline with nothing but a low stone wall to keep motorists from going over the edge. The road follows its original course following all the contours and weaving its way around rocky outcrops.  There is no evidence of any recent attempts to upgrade the road.  We only met half a dozen cars all the way to Lochinver, though I imagine that in the holiday season it could be quite a trying drive with all the reversing into passing places to let other road users through.  Even cyclists need to use the passing places to pass cars safely.  The banks at the side of the road were sprinkled with primroses and a few violets.  Occasionally from the sea came the call of seals hauled up on rocky shelves.

As we approached Lochinver we turned into the community woods and followed a path down to the harbour.

We arrived at Lochinver at about 11.00  and met another walker with a well loaded rucksack.  He is also on his way to Cape Wrath but he thinks he will not be going to the lighthouse until Sunday; as far as I could make out he was just on a walking trip with no specific purpose.

I had told Jill that Lochinver would be a good place for a proper coffee stop and we would also be able to buy a paper.  I really must stop “promising” coffee stops.  We got a paper but there was nowhere serving coffee.  We might have been able to get take-away coffees from the Pie Shop but that has stopped serving customers indoors permanently; and we had coffee in our flasks if all we wanted to do was sit outside.  So we sat on a bench near the Free Church and had our coffee overlooking the bay.

We moved on with our next stopped planned for Achmelvich where there is a beach and a loo.

We walked on to Baddidarach where a path crosses the moors to Ardoe and then a track continues to the road to Achmelvich.  The path is well used and easy to follow and in the sunshine it was very enjoyable. There has been no rain for a few days and so the path was firm and mud free; how unusual in Scotland?

As we walked to the beach in Achmelvich, I was (as usual) some yards ahead of Jill.  An elderly couple were coming towards me and the man asked in a Yorkshire accent if we didn’t talk to each other any longer.  I explained the nature of our walk and that we have spent many hours in each other’s company and so frequently we walked in silence.  Jill then joined us and he explained that they were both 92 years old and had first come to Achmelvich over 40 years ago. Jill asked what had brought them here and his wife told us that many years ago, a doctor had told her to avoid strong sunshine for the sake of her skin. So they came to North West Scotland 43 years ago and stayed in B&B in Achmelvich.  After five or more years returning to the same B&B their hostess had offered them a plot of land just down the road which her late husband had intended to build on. The couple then spent five years largely self-building a house for themselves where they have lived ever since.  He said it had cost them £5000 to which his wife added they had recently been offered half a million for it! They were both still admirably active, not exactly striding across the dunes but clearly still enjoying the beautiful beach at Achmelvich. nWe parted company then Jill went back to ask if they would let her take their photo and they were happy to oblige. A lovely encounter.

We got onto the beach and had our sandwiches gazing out over the white sands and blue sea.

It was crowded with half a dozen other people but that is the way of things at popular resorts.  After lunch we walked over to the next beach which our interlocutor had described as being even better than the perfection of Achmelvich Beach.  He was not wrong.  It would have been fun to while away the rest of the day there but we had places to go to.

From Achmelvich there is a track and then a path which leads a short distance over the moors to Clachtoll. This is another easy, well-used path.

The path joins a track to some modern/refurbished houses which look rather suburban but the path then continues to a narrow gorge at Altanabradhan where there was an old water mill (a clack mill, so called because of the noise it made, was horizontal and did not require a head of water to drive the wheel). The outer walls and some old mill stones persist. It was shared between the villages of Achmelvich and Clachtoll and operated until the end of the 19th century. Since there is not even a track to it, one assumes it milled in quite small quantities and that donkeys brought in the grain to be milled and took the flour out again.

Clachtoll would be pretty but for the caravans. It too has a good sandy beach. It also has Flossie’s Shop which is really just a shed but it is reasonably well stocked and serves tea coffee and cake. We decided that it was bit early to stop for tea but agreed we would call in when we went back for the other car.

We had an easy walk of 1 ½ miles into Stoer to the car.

Sunday 16th April 2023

Today we awoke to a clear but cloudy day but the weather forecast predicted only a 5% chance of some light rain in the afternoon.

We drove from Inchnadamph via Lochinver and left one car at the end of the walk just near Rhegreanoch in the Inverpolly Estate. We continued to Polbain where we left the other car and resumed our walk.

The view out to the Summer Isles took a more sombre tone in the absence of sunshine. The colours were all muted but the air was crystal clear bring a clarity to the views and also the reflections in the dead calm water.  We walked down to the shore where there is a way-marked route to Old Dornie which made the first couple of miles pleasant and simple.

The anchorage at Old Dornie is very well sheltered and perhaps explains the number of commercial fishing vessels even though there is virtually no local housing.

We walked on to Altandhu.  We had debated whether to try walking around the wild headland of Rubha Mor to Rubha na Coigich, the northern extremity of the Coigach peninsula. Andrew Dempster describes the walk around this little peninsula which has some rocky cliffs and good views to the Assynt mountains and we know Jon Combe did it. However, it is a largely pathless route across tussocky grass and heather which can be very wet and boggy and it didn’t hold the attraction of some other peninsulas we had included such as Stattic Point, so we had decided against it.

The rest of the day’s walk would be along tarmac road which was bound to be something of a trial but Assynt does offer some wonderful scenery as compensation.  We followed the road around to Achnahaird Bay but stopped for coffee at the viewpoint above Althandu where I had to rebuild a pile of stones supporting one of the slats of the bench.

We joined the road to Ullapool for three miles before taking the left turn to Lochinver.  We were heading in the direction of Stac Pollaidh as we crossed the moors. This is one of our favourite mountains and is the first mountain I took Jill up; it was in 1975, the year before we were married.  From a distance it looks as if it would be impossible to scale but a path loops around to the north aspect where a steep path climbs to the shattered castellated summit.

As we passed along the west flank of Stac Pollaidh, some light drizzle started to move across. Despite this we settled on a couple of rocks to eat our sandwiches.

After lunch we had a little less than six miles to walk.  The road was very quiet and the scenery very good.  We didn’t see much wildlife; Scotland is denuded of its original woodland and has been overgrazed by sheep and deer.  Nevertheless, it has a beauty of its own.

The Inverpolly Estate is, at least, free of rhododendrons whether because they were never planted here or were kept under control in ornamental gardens.  There is a huge salmon hatchery at Inverpolly.  From here there is the possibility of a cross-country route but reports from other walkers say that path-finding particularly at the north end was not easy and one needs to cross a river along the top of a concrete weir which has a deficit in the middle requiring a confident jump.  This was definitely not a route for Jill.  We stuck to the road and were back at the car by about 15:30.  We still had ninety minutes of driving along some very windy narrow roads through superb scenery to retrieve the other car and get back to Inchnadamph.

Saturday 15th April 2023

Yesterday we drove from Cumbria to Ardmair where we stayed in a very nice B&B – Skylark.  We had fabulous views across Loch Broom to the Summer Isles and, amazingly after the recent rain, the weather was wonderful.  When we arrived we then ferried one car around to Polbain where today’s walk ends.  By road it is about 20 miles but the walk we will take will be only 14.5.  We ate at the Ceilidh Place last night as is our wont if we are near Ullapool.

This morning we awoke to clear blue skies with quite a chill in the air but a good day was in prospect.  We managed a full cooked breakfast (one of the best we have had) since we were at a B&B which would set us up for the day.  We drove to the little car park by the Keanchulish Nature reserve.

We followed a tarmac track as far as Keanchulish House after which it is just a gravel road.  This brought us to a good bridge over the River Canaird. 

On the other side, I was hoping we could make a fairly direct line for the Posties’s Path coming from Blughasary. There was a steep bank ahead of us and a high deer fence along the top.  Instead we went through a gate tied with some rope which got us through the deer fence, then we climbed the bank and followed the fence in a NNW direction. We then came to another tall deer fence but by means of scaling two high, but firmly-locked, gates we came to the Postie’s Path.

For other walkers going this way I would recommend following the track around Blar Mor and where it comes close to the Postie’s Path there is a convenient gate through the deer fence. That would have been a lot simpler.

 

The Postie’s Path is a spectacular coastal walking route around Ben More Coigach, Scottish Wildlife Trust’s largest wildlife reserve. It stretches for about 7 miles along the coast between Blughasary and Achduart.

In the 1860’s postman Kenneth McLennan carried the mail twice a week all the way from Ullapool to Achiltibuie, a distance of about 15 miles. This very challenging delivery round continued for years. The track to Achiltibuie only became a tarmac road in the 1960s ( I have been unable to confirm exactly when). I have not been able to find out if the postman continued to use the Postie’s path into the 1960s or perhaps he was provided with a Landrover before the road was metalled.

Most walkers who have travelled this way comment on the difficulties of the path; some land slippage had made it dangerous and difficult. Thanks to funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, through Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape Partnership Scheme, Scottish Wildlife Trust has supervised significant but sympathetic path improvement work. This was only completed in 2021, it certainly blends in well with the terrain so that in many places you would not imagine that anything has been done at all; the obvious areas of repair and restoration are near the beginning and end. We had about six miles of very challenging walking.

The path is very tortuous with rarely more than a few strides before the direction changes or you ascend or descend, scramble over rocks or cross a water course and, of course, there are boggy sections as well. It is impossible to recall all the little challenges along the way.  We were very glad we had not attempted this as originally planned in March when we had all the snow, ice and extreme cold. There are sections of the path that would be unsafe to attempt in snow and ice (or very strong winds such as we had in February) and the crossing of some of the burns might be difficult after heavy rain. The path is otherwise quite manageable for fit, experienced walkers. It is quite well way-marked with older wooden posts and the addition of some elegant stone posts from the recent restoration activity.  The path is visible on the ground at most points though often you are not aware of the path until you are right on top of it. In one or two places the path crossed an expanse of bare rock where boots leave no tell-tale signs.

I have included lots of photos mainly for our benefit, but they give a good idea of the terrain.

Having reached the Postie’s Path by means of the gate-climbing we followed it until a marker post indicated it turned directly uphill.

It climbs steeply and steadily until about 100m when it crosses a shoulder and then continues to climb to about  190m before dropping to cross a burn flowing from Loch Barr na h-lubraich. 

We followed the burn a little further south than the path shown on OS maps and were close under Creag Dearg. The path continued and descended about 100 m and crossed another burn, Allt Slac a Bhuilg Mor.  A little further on, beyond Creag an Airgid  was the scariest part of the walk as far as Jill was concerned.

There are a few feet of rock with no ridge or crack in it and it is inclined across the path at about 35° to 40°. To the seaward side there is just a steep drop and on the landward side there is a rock face but no real hand-holds. The rock itself is a coarse sandstone or conglomerate which actually provides very good grip for boots.  I strode across it not giving it a second thought but then realised Jill was not behind me.  I turned back to see her frozen at the start of the traverse. She had looked down and could see nothing but water far below beyond the slab of rock and knew one slip would be catastrophic. She was not confident her arthritic fingers would have the strength to grip the rounded rocks above but, after a brief meltdown and some persuasion from me, she managed to advance onto the rock slab – and even reminded me to take a photo of her once she felt safe.

After that nothing seemed quite so terrible even though we encountered several more narrow paths with steep drops but none with such inclined rock and lack of hand-holds.

Although preoccupied with finding and following the path, we did find time to stop and admire the scenery and Jill spotted some porpoises in Loch Broom beneath us.

We pressed on, sometimes questioning whether we were on the correct path but always finding it and often realising that there was a marker post if we had but spotted it. 

Approaching Geodha Mor, the path descends following the line of an old fence; only the iron posts remain. It then turns 90° to the right and uphill in pursuit of a safe crossing of the burn that tumbles beautifully down a rather romantic gorge.  We were definitely on a correct route because there was a way-marker at the 90° turn but after toiling up the steep fence-line, Jill noted there was also a way-marker higher up suggestive of a higher more direct route around the headland; the OS map only shows the route we followed.

As we approached Geodha Mor, we saw four other walkers on the other side coming toward us – the first folk we had seen all day – but, rather than follow the marker posts uphill, the family left the path and descended down the very steep side to the beach at Geodha Mor. By the time we had walked round to where we could see them, it was obvious they had been swimming. They must have been there before, or had been told it was possible to get down to the beach to swim there, as it required some determination to get there from Achduart.

We clambered up the fence line and had a fairly simple crossing of the burn before the path heads down the other side of the gorge. Such was the attractiveness of the location that we stopped to have an early lunch; or perhaps we were just really tired and we found a suitable rock to sit on in the sunshine.  Either way we stopped and ate some lunch and enjoyed the sunshine.

After lunch we continued along the path but now it was generally easier roughly contouring along the cliff, albeit on a very narrow path but the need to scramble up and down rocks was considerably less.  In the distance we could see the white-washed cottages at Achduart. 

We just pressed on slowly but surely and, soon after crossing Allt nan Coisiche, passed the turn off to Culnacraig and continued along the path to join the road at Achduart arriving there at 2pm from an 8.30 start. It had taken us a total of 5½ hours to walk about eight miles.  We still had 6 ½ miles to go. 

We followed the road for about a mile and then took the track to Acheninver which took us to the shore path which we followed to Badenscallie. We could have continued along the shore a little further but we were keen to get some tea at the Summer Isles Hotel in Achiltibuie which we had visited many years ago. The offerings at the hotel were a bit limited being early in the season but we got a pot of tea and some biscuits. Cream scones will have to wait for another day.

The last three miles to Polbain slipped by readily enough we were keen to get to the end and  relax.  We passed the cottage where we stayed more than forty years ago.  Then we were at the car and all the aches and pains seemed to ebb away as we drove the very windy, twenty miles back to the other car at Ardmair. We had done a very challenging walk in ideal conditions and really enjoyed it (well, most of it).

Sunday 12th March 2023

Today’s walk is a relatively short road walk which is fortunate because we are leaving Poolewe and moving our base to Inchnadamph.

This morning there was no frost and so we were off before 8.00 and drove to Ardmair. We left one car at the little car park for the nature reserve and drove back to Inverlael and started walking at about 9.45. Moderate rain was forecast from about 11.00 onwards and so we were keen to get as much done as possible before the rain started. We then planned to have a relaxed lunch at The Ceilidh Place in Ullapool, leaving about 5 miles for the afternoon.

The A835 is fairly straight and traffic goes very fast; there is only a relatively narrow verge. We marched along, verge-hopping as required. There are various road signs aimed at preserving wildlife, though someone seemed unclear as to the difference between a red squirrel and an otter.

The views were not that impressive because the light was quite poor. We could see across to Newton Loggie and the line of the footpath running behind their boundary fence but we could not make out anything of the indistinct path to there from the jetty at Altnaharrie that we had walked yesterday. At Ullapool we could make out the steep, snowy track that came down to the jetty from the road to Badrallach.

By this time the rain had started and by the time we reached the centre of Ullapool, it was raining quite heavily.

I had booked a table for 12.30 but we actually arrived at 12.00. We were seated close to the roaring woodburner and so we warmed up and our wet clothes began to dry. We first came to The Ceilidh Place in about 1975 soon after it opened and have always enjoyed the food and the atmosphere; we return whenever we are in the area. We stayed here once as well. Jill enjoyed a visit to their bookshop while I chatted to a couple on the next table who came from Fraserburgh. Our lunch did not disappoint, but the weather did when it was time to leave.

The last five miles readily slipped by in the rain and we were at the car  by 15.15.

It seems strange having so little to report after the previous four beautiful days. We collected the other car, topped up on supplies from Tesco and headed for Inchnadamph. We have been upgraded to the cottage instead of a studio apartment in the Steading because the pipes there have frozen. It is still quite snowy here being well inland but I don’t think we are due to have quite such cold weather for the next few days. Tomorrow a gale is forecast but I don’t think it will be carrying snow with it. We have already decided to postpone the exposed Postie’s Path to Achiltibuie and change to a road walk tomorrow on grounds of safety.

Epilogue: We had decided to base ourselves at Inchnadamph because, though well inland, the road connections to the coast would mean less driving. The “upgrade” in our accommodation, necessitated by the accommodation we had booked being frozen up, was not quite what we were hoping for. We unloaded the cars, got ourselves some supper and Jill made sandwiches for tomorrow’s lunch but we were struggling to keep warm.

In the morning the wind had got up and snow showers were blowing through although fortunately it was not yet freezing. We had not (and I don’t think anyone else had) envisaged that the weather was going to turn so wintry. When we had set out for Scotland the previous week, the forecast had been for the very cold snap to last just the first two or three days. A week on, the Met Office was now forecasting terrible weather for most of this week too, especially at Inchnadamph, with even daytime temperatures staying at -6℃ and heavy snow most of the time. With a lot of the driving to the start and finish of our walks being on small, remote roads, I was concerned we might not be able to get to where we needed to be – or worse, if there was fresh snow during the day, not be able to get back, even if it was a bit warmer along the coast. We could see there was a real risk of getting snowed in at the isolated cottage and so, after a rather chilly night, we decided that we would head for home. Although it was snowing some of the time, we had mostly clear roads to Inverness but as we got onto the A9, the snow was much thicker and only the slow lane was safe to use. Then the snow turned to rain and with heavy spray and lots of water on the road we had a difficult journey south, the rain only easing as we crossed the border. We had been looking forward to walking up through Assynt which we know quite well but we knew we had made the right decision to abandon this trip. We will return next month and hope for better luck with the weather.

Saturday 11th March 2023

I had a certain degree of anxiety about our proposed walk today because it involves walking along the southwest side of Loch Broom between the jetty at Altnaharrie (not named on OS maps) opposite Ullapool, to Newton Loggie; there is a path marked on the OS map but I could only find three recent accounts of coast walkers doing this route. Two independent walkers, Charles Compton and Alan Palin, walked in the same direction as us and both failed to find the start of the path and struggled along parts of the shoreline. Jon Combe, going in the opposite direction, reported the fords being a little tricky but found the path though said it was difficult to follow. We were going to do it in cold weather with snow and ice on the ground; possibly not entirely a sensible endeavour.

There was just some light snow overnight but it was very cold.

We had a long drive to set up the walk. It took an hour to get to Inverlael and then twenty minutes to get back to Dundonnell House and start the walk. The drive was slow because the roads had not been gritted and we were driving on compacted snow or ice. On the Dundonnell Pass the temperature was -7C but at 8.45 the walkers’ car park was already full.

We started walking at 9.45 by which time the temperature had risen to freezing point.

We headed up the road and after mile took a path off to the left which goes to Kildonan a deserted village.

The path runs parallel with the fence, roughly speaking. We could not make out anything very definite on the ground but the ground was largely covered with snow.

At the highest point there was a small cairn and there was a definite track albeit a very old rocky one. There were some boggy areas hidden under ice lightly covered with snow and the track itself had a lot of solid ice overlaying rock so it was mostly an exercise in stepping from tussock to tussock or jumping between bare rocks.

Once we were over the highest point, it was a gentle incline down towards Kildonan. I was some way ahead when I turned to see Jill lying on the ground having slipped on some ice. I rushed back to see if she was OK and she asked for a pull up; she had landed with the weight of her rucksack making it difficult to get up – she said she now knew what a cast sheep felt like.

We then came to the edge of the plateau and tracked round a rocky outcrop and then spotted the narrow path down to the river.

We followed this path down to Kildonan and crossed the river on some stepping stones.

The other side there is a good track back up to the road.

We joined the road part way up the hill above Badrallach from where a path continues to Scourie. We were not going to follow it because it is a strictly there and back route that we walked in the early 1980s. We sat on some large stones by the gate for a quick coffee and shortbread then we headed right up the hill and followed the minor road to a saddle of sorts at 230m. Here there is a closed gate and a sign saying the route ahead is only for 4x4s; the public road turns sharply to the right and goes back to Dundonnell.

We proceeded straight ahead onto the track which was covered in snow. The track crosses a high plateau for half a mile before descending quite steeply to a jetty where the Altnaharrie Restaurant used to be. It was Scotland’s only 2* Michelin restaurant and was sold for £0.5m in 2003; diners took a ferry across from Ullapool. Today it is deserted. A ferry would have been very welcome as Ullapool is only about 600m away across the loch.

I had looked at maps and satellite images previously and last night Jill and I reviewed the route. We came to the conclusion that the two coast walkers who did not find the path were looking in the wrong place. The path turns off some distance above the jetty. There is a wide track that passes through a gate some two hundred yards or more before the jetty. The path runs well above the shore line and only dips down to the shore once to cross a stream.

The path is something I have looked at from Ullapool years ago and I have always wanted to walk it. Being the north-facing side of the loch, the snow and ice had persisted here and so it was quite a matter of luck that we managed to follow the path as closely as we did.

After traversing rough hillside for about half a mile, at Chona Creag the path drops to the sea where there are several old boats and a stream to cross.

On the opposite side the path climbs quite steeply up through the trees and it took us a few minutes to find a route. Jill spotted a possible line which brought us up onto the path again at much the same elevation as before.

Another half mile and there is a river crossing at Achadh Camas a Chonnaid. This was very pretty and quite ice bound.

We could now see Newton Loggie where we had to finish up. There was a constant need to try to avoid the hard ice on the rocks where one could easily slip and the thin ice overlying boggy areas where one could easily get wet feet but fortunately we managed to follow the path pretty consistently from here. Looking back at our GPS trace we followed the path marked on the OS map very closely except for the first part from the jetty at Altnaharrie.

At Newton Loggie a proper track leads up from the beach which came to a five-bar gate through a new deer fence rather unattractively constructed with galvanised steel posts unlike traditional timber deer fences. It looked like an internment camp. I felt uneasy about going over the five bar gate and through the rough pasture though there was a track and rechecked the map which suggested the path ran around the outside of the new fence. Within the enclosure, what had been a derelict croft was now a moderately large house. Jill headed up the bank and said she could see the path took us out onto the road at the far end; it was quite a squeeze in places to get between the fence on our left and the hillside on our right. Had we carried on across the rough pasture we would have found ourselves the wrong side of a full height, locked deer gate across the driveway to Newton Loggie.

Our walk along the path was only 2 miles but it took us an hour and a half and we were going at it quite hard. It is quite a boggy walk, particularly the first mile. We had lunch at 2.30 sitting on a telephone pole awaiting installation. Then it was six miles to go along the road through Rhiroy, Ardindrean and Letters where we noticed a lot of the houses were recently built and much better kept than in most of the rural settlements we had walked through in Scotland. We eventually crossed the R.Broom at the Inverbroom Bridge and then walked the last ¾ mile along the A835 to the car at Inverlael.

Friday 10th March 2023.

Last night the frost was not as severe as the previous two nights and so we were off quite quickly. Unfortunately, though it was not as cold, there had been a fresh fall of snow and the gritting lorry doesn’t get here very early and so we had a very careful slow drive to set up today’s walk.

From Little Gruinard Bay we walked along the A832 as far as Mungasdale. From here we planned following the un-pathed coast around Stattic Point to the road at Badluachrach and then back to the A832, a distance of 6 ½ miles. The alternative would have been to follow the road, a distance of just 3.2 miles but walking along “A” roads is always better avoided even when they are as quiet as this one. Our route started with 3 ½ miles of uncertain terrain.

We left the road and passed behind the dunes where we had to cross a river. Fortunately there has been lots of snow but very little rain and so all the water is still stored on the high ground which meant the river level was very low and so we managed to ford/stepping stone it. The alternative would have been to go back and get on the beach and cross the river there. We followed a farm track through a couple of fields and eventually came to a deer fence and a formal stile.

Once over the stile there was no apparent path but we could just discern a set of remnant boot prints coming towards us. I guess they were  couple of days old because they were partially filled with last night’s  snow and in places were obliterated or we failed to spot them. There may have been more of a path than we realised, it was just under the snow.

There is one significant stream which flows down steeply through quite a deep gorge. We decided to to drop down closer to there sea and were rewarded by a narrowing of the burn which we could step across.

I began to get confused by the prints on the path. In addition to the human track there appeared to be sheep tracks and so it seemed we might be on a well used sheep trod, not that we had seen any sheep today. We made better progress following the sheep. Then we came to a bouldery beach and I could hear the rattling of rocks. Then I spotted a rather well camouflaged herd of goats on the beach. I continued to follow what I now realised were goat tracks but veered away uphill where the goats had gone very close to the edge of the cliff; a simple slip would have sent either of us over the edge.

The cliffs here are not drastically high but they are are quite impressive and was worth the effort to get there. We came to Stattic Point and I can confirm that it still has not moved. Here we lost the boot prints we had occasionally been following.

We followed the general line that I had plotted which took us at around 200ft elevation but there was still a lot of climbing up to avoid the steep-sided inlets. The going was quite hard because the snow was deeper on the north aspect of the hill; this made it difficult to gauge how deeply your feet would sink in – sometimes it was safer and easier to walk on the protruding heather rather than trying to follow a path through it.

Once we could see the fence outline in the distance, we headed for it and walked parallel with it until we came to the track which shortly becomes a road.

Very few coast walkers have followed this route, indeed the only record we could find was of Alan Palin’s walk. In reasonable conditions it would not be too challenging for most walkers. In winter it needs careful consideration.

By now it was 12.30 and we had not had a stop all morning. Unfortunately there were no convenient boulders – or holiday cottages with garden furniture left out that we could sneakily use. In the end we walked almost to the main road. Just before the main road is Badcaul School which was closed today and where we could see picnic tables in the school grounds but sadly behind a locked gate. We just sat on the ground leaning our backs against the stone wall enclosing the school grounds. When the sun was out it felt warm and sheltered and when it snowed we were glad we were not more exposed.

After lunch we were back on the main road. Fortunately there were very few vehicles. The squalls of sleet and snow came and went as did the view across Little Loch Broom.

There were beautiful ice formations at the side of the road. After one of the snow showers we were treated to a vivid rainbow. 

We got back to the car parked in the car park by the Dundonnell Mountain Rescue building and finished our coffee. Then we walked the 1 ¼ miles  to our agreed finish near Dundonnell House. This involves crossing a narrow suspension bridge which is not shown on OS maps for some reason. Having arrived we turned around and went back to the car. (it wasn’t worth driving six or seven miles each way to get a car to the finish).