Lochailort to A’Chuil
After a night in a bed, and a well earned Scottish breakfast, I was ready to set off on my journey.
Like yesterday, the next couple of days were going to include some hill bagging and cut out some dog legs on the Cape Wrath Trail. However, the weather has other ideas, so I’ve decided to follow my route to Corryhully bothy, but then stick to the Cape Wrath Trail. It adds on 11km of distance, but I’ve got wiggle room, as I’m half a day ahead of schedule.
I started by following the road, before taking the path towards Loch Beoraid. The path was a stony path, up the glen and through the bracken. It was nice to meander up the hillside.
It rose to give beautiful views of the glen beyond, before dropping steeply down (and steeply back up again) across a gully! This path was quite steep and I had to take my time. It took me about half an hour to do 500m! That did include a river crossing at the bottom of the gully too. I was climbing out, thinking “I would not bring a group down here!” .
The path was worth it though, as I was rewarded with beautiful views towards Meoble.
I then took the path along Loch Beoraid. It was a grassy path and sometimes indistinct, but as long as I kept the loch on my right, I was heading in the right direction.
At the end of the loch there was an old building. The left hand side was left open, as a bit of a bothy. I had a look in and thought about sheltering from the rain, but the midges had also had the same idea, so I had a quick snack outside instead!
I then headed up Allt a’ Ghlinne Dhuinn towards the bealach. There was no path marked on the map, but I occasionally saw the odd footprint, indicating that I’m not the first to come up this route. It was a lovely climb up the gorge, which opened out to mountains either side.
I then joined the path and descended down the glen to Corryhully bothy.
I stopped in the bothy and met a chap from Germany, who is walking the Cape Wrath Trail from north to south. We had a chat and I asked him about the next section. His report matched the description on Walk Highlands, saying that it would be good tracks, sandwiching a boggy section in the middle.
(Walk Highlands is a free website that describes many routes in Scotland, including the Munros and long distance trails. Before setting off in this section, I’d downloaded their description of the Cape Wrath Trail.)
I decided to continue on, it was 4.30pm, but my legs felt good and I knew there were also some camp spots along the way (if I didn’t make it to the next bothy).
I followed the track up the hill and reached the bealach, which was marked by a cairn. The descent down Gleann a’ Chaorainn was boggy. The path was pretty much a boggy depression, alongside the river! It was good fun though, I’m definitely part of the small percentage of hikers that enjoy bog!
At the bottom of the glen, I crossed over the River Pean and entered the woodland.
As I entered the woodland, there was a sign for the bothy and I knew there wasn’t far to go now. It was a lovely track through the woodland. Apparently there are wild boar in the area, but I didn’t spot any, as I went through.
I soon arrived at A’Chuil bothy. I was greeted by some deer in the distance, and beautiful views. The bothy was lovely, with two separate rooms and even a composting toilet!
I felt a real sense of achievement reaching the bothy. It was by far my longest day yet, finishing just before 9pm. I’d made good progress and had great fun. It felt amazing to be in the Cape Wrath Trail and in the remote parts of Scotland, that I was so looking forward to visiting, when I planned my trip!
I was joined in the bothy by Serena, from the Netherlands, who is doing the Cape Wrath Trail. It was nice to chat. One of my favourite things about visiting bothies is the people that you meet.
We were then rewarded with an amazing sunset. It looked like the hills were on fire! Then the deer came right up to the bothy.
P.S. Sorry these blog posts are being posted late. I’ve had very little signal on the Cape Wrath Trail and I’m updating them as I can. I’m doing well and have progressed on schedule. I can’t believe it’s just 7 days walking to go!
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