Tòdun and Sgaoth Àird

Sunday 3rd July 2011

  

For this walk I set off along the fabulous Tarbert path that I’d taken previously to get to the picturesque village of Reinigeadal, where I was staying. Until twenty years ago this path was the only way to get there, and it’s a great walk to have to take, weaving around the headland on a brilliantly engineered path. Soon after passing the abandoned village of Gerraidh Lotaigear I veered off the path to climb the steep hillside to my right away, from the sea and slowly up to the summit ridge of Tòdun. This was a tough pathless climb through heather and up steep rock faces, but after a lot of effort I eventually reached the summit ridge and there I had an enjoyable walk along the narrow ridge that took me up to the trig point at the summit. Wide views of the tremendous hills of Harris could be seen during the ascent but just as I neared the top the clouds dropped which obscured my view from the summit.

On the other side of Tòdun I descended the wide northern slopes all the way down to the road. This was an enjoyable descent as I soon emerged from the clouds and I was able to pick my route across the pathless terrain, slowly descending with great views along Loch Seaforth before me. After a short walk along the road I came off onto a track that used to be the old road to Tarbert and was an excellent track to walk on, part of the Harris Walkway, and I had a great time walking along this track, in the sunshine, with An Cliseam behind me and Sgaoth Àird before me. Near the summit of the pass, Bràigh an Ruisg, I had my lunch, and after eating I resumed my walk along the track down into Gleann Lacasdail, but my eyes were constant straying onto the hills to the right that top on Sgaoth Àird. 

I couldn't decide whether to go up the hills to my right or continue all the way down to Loch Lacasdail, but eventually, just before I reached the shore of the loch, I veered off the track without a moment’s thought and started steeply climbing the hill of Sròn an Toistear. This was a really steep climb that looked suicidal from the top, but somehow I managed to weave my way up the terraced hillside. With hindsight an easier route would have been to follow the Abhainn Dhìobadail into the shallow corrie of Glen Dibidale where shallower slopes would have led onto the hilltop, however the route I took was exhilarating until the gradient finally eased at the end of the ridge where easier slopes led me along the ridge all the way to the cairn at the summit of Sgaoth Àird. The view from the wind-swept summit was just awesome, not just across Bealach na Ciste to An Cliseam, but also south across the wide lochs of Tarbert.

From the top I descended the wide grassy slopes to Bealach Garbh and crossed into the vast rock strewn landscape of Beinn na Teanga that lies just to the north of the ferry port of Tarbert. Slowly I made my way across this vast and complex area descending over Goromul while carefully picking my route down. This walk frequently saw me walking across pathless terrain and I actually liked it for that, it added to the fun, but the slow descent over Goromul and Torsacleit was tricky as the land sometimes led to sheer cliff-faces where there was no easy way down. Eventually I veered to the left into Gleann Lacasdail down a handy ramp to the Harris Walkway track that I’d taken earlier, and this led me on to the road from Tarbert. Now all I had to do was walk along the path that I’d previously taken a couple of days before, but that would have been too simple. 

After a tiring climb to the top of the pass (imagine having to do that every day!) I veered off and walked along a well maintained path down to the deserted village of Moilingeanais which my guide book claims is being used as a summer home. Since the secluded bay had the air of trespass about it I returned to the path only to find that the excellent path that I had previously been on doesn't continue north. Although the OS map and my Cicerone guide book confidently indicates a path, all I found was a narrow, very muddy trail across steep bracken covered slopes high above the sea. This was a really tricky path, quite dangerous and I was relieved to finally reach the footbridge over the Abhainn Ceann na Locha where I rejoined the path to Reinigeadal. But I didn’t stay on the path long as the OS map indicates alternative paths near the main one. These are eroded so are not very safe to follow now, which made them really fun to walk along. The longer diversion, after crossing the Abhainn Kerram, is quite brilliant, features some nice bits of scrambling and after the path becomes indistinct the route is marked by a series of cairns across the bare rocks. This was a fun variation that eventually took me back onto the regular path to Reinigeadal. This was a long but really satisfying walk in the fantastic hills of the Isle of Harris along some good tracks and across some excitingly wild and pathless terrain.