Tuesday 4th June 2024
I was awoken at the start of this day by the realisation that my tent had collapsed due to the strong winds, a pole had snapped, which was not a great way to start the day. I lay there for a while dejectedly thinking about how this holiday had not gone to plan until eventually I got up and slowly removed everything from my tent. Fortunately I was not planning on camping for the rest of the holiday so I didn’t need to worry about repairing it. After eating my breakfast I took the opportunity to explore Achmelvich Beach once again, which I had been doing every evening since getting there and I never tired of the complex, craggy scenery and the sandy beach. The previous evening I had set off along the coast along a waymarked path that took me over Gleannan an Fheadair and past Alltan’ abradhan until I reached an old corn mill in a deserted little valley. An information board described how this used to work though there was little now to see of the mill. A small bay, Port Alltan na Bradhan, lay nearby but as it was getting late I soon turned around and headed back to the campsite. This is a fabulous area that I previously visited in 2010 so I enjoyed the opportunity to return even though the weather was not kind to me, just as in 2010, with strong winds that felt bitterly cold for the time of year and robbed me of my enthusiasm for climbing mountains. The forecast for this day was even for snow at the tops of the high mountains so I had to look for low level walks on what was sadly my last day in the historic county of Sutherland.
When I finally left Achmelvich Beach, I passed through Lochinver and along the narrow, single-track road through Strathan past Inverkirkaig to a small car park on the southern edge of Sutherland where a path follows the northern bank of the River Kirkaig. This was a great route which helped to calm my troubled mind and afforded me with good views into the deep recesses of the valley where the river was soon enclosed by woodland. The pleasant walk kept me high above the valley while mountains began to appear on the horizon, from my right were Stac Pollaidh, Cùl Beag, Cùl Mor round to Suilven on my left. They were all clear of cloud for the first time in several days which made me feel that an ascent of one of them must be possible if not for the strong, cold wind. At a cairn, I ignored the fainter path that heads towards Suilven and took the clear path that brought me steeply down to the river and soon provided me with views of the Falls of Kirkaig, which looked magnificent even before the descending steeply while the sun came out at just the right time to illuminate the spectacle. At the bottom of the precipitous path the full length of the falls revealed themselves and I was able to bask in the amazing sight until eventually I tore myself away and climbed back up the treacherously steep path and along the same route I’d taken out.
After my difficult start to the day, this walk did much to revive me, but it had only occupied a couple of hours and any thought of climbing a mountain was wiped out by the rain that welcomed me back to my car and followed me as I drove through Lochinver and out along the main road. I eventually stopped at the car park for the Bone Caves of Inchnadamph where it was still raining so I had an early lunch before donning my waterproofs and setting off towards the caves. However, the rain stopped almost immediately to reveal gorgeous sunshine on a wonderful walk past a small waterfall and up to Fuaran Allt nan Uamh where the water for the river seemed to bubble out of the ground as if by magic and the bed of the stream further up the valley was dry: I was in limestone country. I followed the path across the stream and steeply up the bank to reach the caves where the bones of arctic fox, lynx and wolf have previously been found. I had a fascinating time exploring the various caves and gazing out of them until eventually I continued along the path that crosses the steep slopes below Creag nan Uamh before reaching a stream and descending to the dry river bed of the Allt nan Uamh where I slowly made my way back down to the car park. Inevitably it started to rain when I reached my car but I really enjoyed this short walk up to the bone caves which was helped by the timely appearance of the sun.
The rain was heavy but brief and with the skies clearing again I looked longingly on the surrounding mountains. At one time I had planned to climb Canisp on this holiday which is a mountain that lies west of the bone caves and I looked eagerly at it now. Despite knowing that Canisp is a big mountain and an ascent would take me a long time, I could not resist setting off along a boggy path that would take me towards the broad eastern slopes, but impenetrable bogs convinced me of the foolishness of my endeavour and soon I turned back. While driving towards Ullapool I was frustrated at the sight of fabulous mountains that I couldn’t climb but when I reached the Knockan Crag National Nature Reserve I pulled into the car park. I hadn’t planned on walking around this reserve, partly because it isn’t in Sutherland, it is just across the border, but also because I visited Knockan Crag in 2010. This area played a significant role in the development of our understanding of geology, but that wasn’t what motivated me to stop. I just wanted to do a walk and if I couldn’t climb a mountain then I would try to get a view of them instead. The awesome Cùl Mor was nearby while its lesser partner, Cùl Beag could also be seen, however it wasn’t long before a heavy shower overwhelmed me so I crouched behind the northern viewpoint and waited while hail and rain fell.
When it eventually began to ease I got up and headed into the rain along the path that runs along the top of the crag and by the time I returned to the car park it had stopped raining and the sun was out again. This day was a hotchpot of different walks that sadly ended my time in Sutherland. I was astounded by the sight of the tremendous mountains in the historic county but frustrated that I was unable to climb any of them. Instead I was forced to do small walks that I would otherwise never have done and surprisingly I found that I really enjoyed them.
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