I spent a great but tiring weekend recently in the west with Peter Evans, staying in Suardalan Bothy in Glen More, near Sheil Bridge, then in the Kintail Lodge bunkhouse.
On the Saturday we ventured up Beinn Sgritheall from its more dramatic north side, which has a much less demanding gradient than the roadside route from Arnisdale. We had a beautiful clear day – before all the snow arrived this week – so enjoyed views from the summit over the Knoydart and to the Cuillin ridge on Skye.
We walked in and out to the bothy in the pitch dark, so I’ve no idea what the route through the forest from Moyle looks like. We struggled to find the bothy late on the Friday night when we arrived, in fact. In hindsight, we should have taken a bearing from the bridge where you emerge from the forest, but thankfully there’s a wall which we followed round until we found our beds for the night.
There was no-one else there that weekend, and we found the bothy well looked after and in excellent condition. It even had some candles and firewood and coal waiting to be used. It was a cold night outside but I slept well in my down sleeping bag, and that was without us lighting the fire.
After doing Ben Sgritheall, we headed to Skye on the Sunday, to do another long walk (around 10 miles) around Elgol and above the cliffs from Camasunary.
In the lodge, we had the company of a chap who was cycling around Scotland for three months and climbing Munros as he went. And he was 60! Happy retirement – I hope I’m doing something like that when I’m 60.