Tuesday 31st May 2022
At the start of this day I woke to a stunning view of the Cuillin mountains from where I had camped near the village of Elgol on the southern shore of the Isle of Skye. The sun was shining and there was hardly any wind, which meant I had to eat my breakfast while trying to not be eaten by the midges that were swarming around my tent. Eventually I broke camp and made my way down to the pier where several boats run trips to Loch Coruisk and it was very tempting to ignore the Skye Trail that I was following to take one of those boats to the foot of the Cuillin Hills and take in the sensational view. I could even have taken a one-way trip and continued my trek through Skye from Loch Coruisk, but I had previously been there in 2011. Eventually I decided that I had to take advantage of the good weather by keeping to the Skye Trail, so I climbed the steep road away from the harbour through Elgol to a footpath that heads north along grassy slopes high above the waters of Loch Scavaig while ahead of me the mesmerising views of the Cuillin slowly improved. However, the path was perched so precipitously above the sea that I had to concentrate on where I was putting my feet, despite the great views.
At the mouth of Glen Scaladal I followed a clear path that turns inland beside the Scaladal Burn, but I should have stayed beside the beach and so easily seen the clear path that would have taken me out of the valley, but instead I wandered all over the place and ended up far too high up the side of the hill and only then to discover the clear path which necessitated a steep descent. I guess if I had been doing the Skye Trail in the usual direction, from the north heading south, then this valley crossing would have been easy to follow. Back on the correct path, the gradient steepened and I entered thick woodland that was difficult to push my way through, especially when some people came the other way. By the time I reached the other side with the gradient easing, the good weather that I had been enjoying was deteriorating as clouds now covered the sky, but I was now approaching the bay of Camasunary with the bothy not far away. I couldn’t resist stopping for a look inside noting that there is no fire or stove and seems a good place to stop, though it must get very busy at times. Soon after I left the bothy and before I reached the large, private house of Camasunary it started raining. It had been interesting passing though Cammasunary as it is a place that I have seen from afar on a number of occasions, but it would be great to linger in better weather and to spend the night in the bothy.
An alternative to the path from Camasunary takes a path around the shore to Loch Coruisk, but there is a bad step that would be particularly treacherous in wet weather, so I turned left in front of Camasunary house into Srath na Crèithach. As the weather worsened I headed north on a good path past Loch an Crèithach amongst grey, misty surroundings that had little appeal until I reached the Allt Teanga Bratlan near Loch an Athain where I stopped for lunch and enjoyed the views up into Coire Dubh where mist dramatically swirled around the rocks below Bla Bheinn. Soon after I started walking again, the rain finally stopped and gradually the clouds began to break and the sun came out, but it would take me several hours to walk out through Glen Sligachan whose broad floor lacked the dramatic appeal of the Cuillin that I had seen on my approach to Camasunary. I felt as if I had been sheltered from seeing the mountains while passing through Srath na Crèithach and when I did have openings into the heart of the mountains, such as into Harte Corrie, the mountains seemed too far away and shrouded in mist. The previous day, while walking around Loch Slapin, the views of the surrounding mountains had been fabulous, but this path lacked the sunshine that I had enjoyed then and even Sgurr nan Gillean was shrouded in cloud and looked very dark.
The clouds never successfully cleared the Cuillin, so by the time I reached the main road beside the Sligachan Hotel, the epic views south were overcast and grey leaving the statues of the early explorers, Collie and Mackenzie, to gaze across a shrouded landscape. I moved quickly past the crowds and over the road to the closed campsite making my way to the path that heads away from the dark clouds that lingered over the Cuillin and towards the sunshine above Loch Sligachan. I had originally planned to camp at Sligachan, but it didn’t open till the beginning of July and I wanted to start the next day further along the trail, so I pushed on along the path that follows the shore of Loch Sligachan. My map indicated there were two river crossings here that may be hard to cross in spate conditions, so I had become worried when it started raining earlier, but I needn’t have been as they were shallow and easy to cross. The weather away from the mountains continued to improve as I slowly followed the wet and often sketchy path enjoying the solitude and the sunshine that included Glamaig on the other side of the loch where many vehicles thundered below the steep slopes on the A87 road. Eventually I reached the tiny car park at the road end near the remote settlement of Peinachorran. Climbing the grassy slopes above I found a sheltered spot beside a stream where I was able to put up my tent. This was a varied day with both the weather and scenery that had started dramatically, but once I got to Camasunary the views were hidden and the weather deteriorated.
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