Ratagan to Maol Bhuidhe
Last night I felt very privileged to have the whole dorm room to myself, so I had a great night’s sleep! I was ready and raring to go, back along the Cape Wrath Trail.
I started off by taking the road back to Sheil Bridge, before continuing along to Morvich. As I walked along the road, a nice couple offered me a lift “along the tarmac”. It was very kind of them to offer, but I politely refused. I’ve walked this far, I don’t want to skip a section, unless I really have to!
From Morvich, I took the path towards the Falls of Glomach. The path was a lovely path, and really varied. It started through woodland along the river, before opening out into fields, then through some timber woodland, before opening out into the moorland.
There were beautiful views as I continued up the glen. The steep sided valley was really dramatic.
Once it flattened out at the top, I found a rock to sit on and enjoy my lunch. I also had some phone signal, so I rang my sister and we chatted.
The Cape Wrath Trail takes you to the top of the waterfall, and then around the side of the valley. The views from the top were beautiful.
I dropped down slightly and got views of the waterfall, before continuing along the path.
This section of the path is notorious for mountain rescue call outs, and there sadly have been some fatalities on this section. Walk Highlands describes it as “hair raising” and the guidebook describes it as “treacherous”. In reality the path is quite narrow with a steep slope to the right hand side and a couple of scrambling sections. This is a photo of the worst one. I turned round and down-climbed it. There were plenty of good foot holds. I took my time, and carefully made my way over the wet rock. I could see how a slip could end badly, and the path definitely commands respect, but I did feel that the descriptions over-exaggerated it a little. There is also a river crossing, but thankfully there had been a little less rain this morning, and I crossed that easily.
I felt really proud to make it confidently over this section. It made me realise how much my confidence on steep ground has improved. From going into shutdown whilst down-climbing on my ML training, to down-climbing over the wet rock with a quiet self-assuredness, felt like great progress. I now really enjoy scrambling and the wild connection to the hill that it brings me. I enjoy the tactile feeling of the rock and the mental puzzle to find your way up/down.
Once at the bottom, I crossed over a very fancy, double footbridge, before following the track along Loch na Leitreach. The track was well established and it was nice to make good progress along this section.
The track continued up the glen. The cloud had lifted and I had beautiful views of the dark green hillsides around me.
On the way up the track, I passed Stevie and Gordon (who I’d met in Barisdale Bothy). We’d worked out that we would probably cross paths again as they split the Barisdale to Morvich section into two days. It was nice to see them again, then I continued on my way. The path down to the bothy was a lot boggier, but after the light relief of the track, I felt like it averaged out! Eventually, I could see the White bothy in the distance and I had a destination to aim for.
I arrived at the bothy, having had another really great day. I’m really enjoying the variety, scenery, remoteness, challenge and bog that the Cape Wrath Trail brings. It’s just what I hoped for from this section.
I was greeted in the bothy by the German couple that I’d met just before Sheil Bridge. We had a chat, whilst they ate their tea, then they decided to press on a little bit further. Then Stevie and Gordon arrived shortly after me. Followed by Ella. Ella is from Australia and is walking Land’s End to Cape Wrath. She had been reading my bothy book entries on the way up. Stevie and Gordon had told me that she was behind me and it was nice to meet each other. We geeked out over routes up the country, and shared our experiences of the footpath network. It sounds like some of Cheshire’s footpaths are comparable to Wiltshire’s!
I shared the bothy with Gordon, Stevie and Ella for the night. We tried to get a fire going, however it was short lived due to not having enough dry wood. It’s been nice to meet fellow hikers on the trail, and it is definitely a really special part of bothy culture.
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