A Cape Wrath Tale: The travelling stone – Part 7

The path slowly became rougher, turning indistinct at places. The rocks were slippery and the going was slow. Reaching Glendhu bothy, the heavens opened up. My carrier lady had left me inside the bothy with her partner while she went looking for the perfect bathroom spot. Returning after a while, she was soaked to her underwear. Together with her body temperature, her energy levels plummeted. Although the next section was an easy 4×4 track along Loch Gleann Dubh, her face had a grumpy expression. Too cold, too warm, hungry, thirsty and tired. Although the surroundings were as beautiful as ever, she mumbled and grumbled along. Luckily she had her partner to lean on. He took over her carrying poles and her two litre water bottle to lift her spirits. It helped. After another few kilometres a smile started to reappear on her face. A tired smile, but a smile nonetheless. 

They decided to take the easy alternative along the 4×4 track through Achfary Forest and down to the road. Maybe it was nature’s plan to punish them for taking the easy route or maybe it was pure bad luck, but while making their way downhill, they were attacked by an enormous swarm of deer ked, better described as flying deer ticks. They leached onto my hiking companions and shed their wings. They hid away in their hair as if trying to bury themselves in the fur of an animal. We soon left behind the swarm of ticks, but getting rid of them entirely took a whole lot longer. 

Reaching the road, they ate their first ever Tunnocks caramel wafer and instantly fell in love. Having recharged their energy with biscuits and water, they started to walk along the road. Hope lingered that they might find a hitch that would take them to the far end of Loch Stack near Lochstack lodge, but with hardly any traffic passing by, their hope soon diminished. Suddenly hearing a vehicle approaching, my carrier lady put out her thumb, hoping for the best. Much to her surprise it was a bus who decided to stop and give them a ride. The driver told them they would have to pay the minimum fee, but by the time they reached the end of the loch he had changed his mind. A free ride after all!

Happy as could be, my lovely carrier couple started to walk along the 4×4 track, leaving the main road behind. They decided to continue for a few more kilometres and then stop for the night. As ever so often, the plan turned out to be harder than it sounds. There were hardly any places to pitch the tent along the track and the fatigue that had come over my dear carrier lady soon returned. Noticing her energy levels dropping, her partner in crime said that he would continue a little further along the track to look for a camping spot. She could stay back with the backpacks. Waiting for him to return, she lay down and turned both backpacks into a bed. Before closing her eyes she saw a tick crawling around her trousers, but being used to that by now she didn’t give it much thought after squishing it to death. She listened to the wind picking up its pace and let her thoughts drift off. By the time her partner returned, she had nearly made her entrance into the world of dreams and wonder. There were no good camping spots ahead. Turning back to a place they had spotted a while back was their only option. The tent was erected, the meals prepared and water filtered. Preparing for an early night, my carrier lady already put on her pyjamas when putting out the sleeping mats and sleeping bags. Also similar to previous nights, the wind dropped and the tiny flesh eating monsters came alive again. Yet another in-tent dinner! By the time the meals were nearly finished, my dear carrier lady noticed that her merino woollen legging was covered in ticks silently looking for a way towards her skin. She joined me and the little flesh eating monsters back outside and tried to remove as much of them as possible. Feeling extremely frustrated, she cursed herself for once again having used the ladies’ room of nature in the middle of a ticks nest. Annoying little insects truly seem to be the curse of their Cape Wrath adventure! After a long time plucking at her legs while her partner created a miniature version of a battlefield inside the tent, there was nothing more left to do than hope that they had gotten rid of most ticks before going to sleep. The early night turned into a late one, but the next day made up for that. Energy levels were soaring, with the promise of reaching Sandwood bay lingering in the air. The morning rush was a short one, with breakfast inside the tent as the midgies were still out and about. After a well-practiced clean-up, they hit the road. Along the 4×4 track and then left at the heap of stones into the trackless muddiness towards Loch a’ Garbh-bhaid Mòr. Along the loch in its now very accepted, yet annoyingly fashion of grubby up-and-down till reaching the river Garbh Allt. Even when not in spate, this river turned out to be a cold and rather unpleasant experience. Too deep to cross with trousers on, the common river crossing dress code was applied: Underpants, raincoat, shoes dangling around the neck and walking poles guiding the way. 

Leaving the Garbh Allt river behind there was no clear direction to follow apart from straight ahead towards Loch a’ Garbh-bhaid Beag. Once reaching the loch, the path suddenly became a walk in the park. Logs to cross the muddy bits, little bridges and sometimes even short gravely sections to mix it up.

‘Moving swiftly, they reached Rhiconich just in time to rush into the public restrooms. Having emptied their intestines and filled up their water bottles, they started to move along the road towards Kinlochbervie. Still no fans of road walking, they decided to try their luck again at hitchhiking. Sadly it wasn’t long before the skies opened up and, as I was told that day, being soaked significantly reduces the chance of hitching a ride. Surprisingly enough, a kind young woman stopped along the road to pick up my soaked carrier couple and I. She dropped us a few kilometres before Kinlochbervie where they continued to ‘Worth a look’ restaurant for lunch and the one and only local Spar supermarket to buy some evening treats. 

INow Sandwood Bay was truly within reach. The end was near. With every step the sparkle in their eyes grew stronger. My beloved carrier lady kept pointing towards houses where she would like to live one day. Wouldn’t it be nice to settle in Oldshoremore? What about that cosy white house with its two cute chimneys? Or the one hidden away between the rocky hills? Or maybe the one with the red door? A red door makes everything a little happier, right? All remote places, yet with the necessary amenities at hand. After quite a bit of road walking, they turned right, on to the final track towards Sandwood Bay. Dashes of rain had been pouring down, but that did not affect their optimism. The walk from the road to Sandwood Bay couldn’t have been easier and yet it was incredibly beautiful. Nothing compared to reaching the beach itself, but if you are not a long-distance hiker, this is definitely a short walk you should consider one day. 

When we caught the first glimpses of Sandwood Bay it was hard to fathom such beauty. Remember that I told you that Glencoul was heaven-like? Well, this place belongs to that same type of world you would imagine to only exist in stories. Dunes covered with marram grass waving in the wind, a vast sand beach, waves rolling onto the shore and endless emptiness. Not a soul around. No sounds apart from the wind and water intermittently interrupted by laughter from my carrier lady and her companion and the screech of a seagull, although even the latter seemed to consider this place too special to break the silence. The pouring rain was replaced by the sun and a sky exploding into sunset. While I took shelter in the tent from the cold and wind, my carrier couple made its way to the beach for dinner. Having the whole beach to themselves, they started off with a celebratory can of cider, some crisps and a piece of cheddar while watching out over the sea. Nothing apart from water between them and the north pole. Celebrations were topped off with a boiling cup of tea and the indispensable carrot cake. By the time they finished, the sun with all its colours was hiding behind the horizon and even their hats and gloves could no longer protect them from the cold. They came back to me, brushed their teeth, watched the Cape Wrath lighthouse flash in the distance and crawled into their orange shelter. Tomorrow was THE day!

If you can’t wait to read the rest of the story, go check out the WalkHighlands website!