Physics teacher’s sabbatical

Having a slight hesitancy about the cycle into Glen Affric, despite my desire to see some rewilding taking place there, I decided on Tuesday 21st May, the day after completing the South Glen Shiel Ridge, to venture into Mullardoch. Walkhighlands claims it’s a 29km day, and after my 28 km walk the day before, this was destined to be another exhausting day on the hills.

Aside – I’ve noticed that Walkhighlands always underestimates the distance of these hill walks. Perhaps it’s due to mapping a route out on a page does not take into account ascents and descents, or simply the movements within each kilometre were you zigzag but ultimately are heading approximately in a straight line, were all these short extra distances add up to a greater overall journey length.

Regardless, I wanted to see if I could shorten the day somewhat. Walkhighlands suggested that the route could be reduced in length by chartering a ferry along Loch Mullardoch. After a quick google I contacted Angus on WhatsApp via his Facebook page, and it was all arranged.

As you can see from the picture, the Loch was beautifully still and the reflections off the water were as good as one could hope for. The ferry wasn’t cheap – I’d go as far as saying it was the most expensive cost per minute ferry I’ve ever taken, by quite a margin. Time would tell whether I thought it was worth the money.

When we reached the other shore, I wished my fellow travellers well for the day and off I set. The view back down to Loch Mullardoch was absolutely stunning, and it was set to be a belter of a day.

From there I walked steadily in the rising heat toward the ridge, upon which there were fantastic views all around.

Just ahead of me were a couple from the Cotswolds (can you spot them in the picture above?), who the week previous had climbed all the Glen Affric hills, and I’m fairly convinced had bumped into a Watson’s group, ‘going very slowly‘… their words, not mine!

Eventually we all reached the summit of An Socach pretty much together (around 9:50am) and enjoyed views back to the Glen Affric hills, along with amazing panoramas to my favourite parts of Scotland; Skye, Torridon and Wester Ross.

After a quick bite to eat, I headed toward the second top, pinching myself about how fortunate I was to be there. As I approached it, I caught my first of two sightings of a ptarmigan. It didn’t hang about – see if you can spot it…

Soon I reached the top and views from An Riabhachan, Munro number 2 of the day (at around 11:30am), were just as good as from An Socach.

At this stage my left boot was starting to give me some pain, particularly on the downhill, with the padding rubbing against my ankle. I guessed I wasn’t used to what amounted to walking 50km over two days. At the low point, Beach Toll an Lochain, I met the first and only walkers of the day heading in the opposite direction, the non-ferry option! They asked that I would think of them when I’m at the pub later and they’re still on the long lochside walk out!

I reached Sgùrr na Lapaich on my own, and enjoyed a good ten minutes rest in its considerably large wind-shelter cairn, with the sun beating down.

At this stage I expected to see my companions from the Cotswolds coming over the brow of the hill, but after a while longer waiting, I decided it was time to go. The descent of Sgùrr na Lapaich was somewhat challenging, with large slabs of rock restricting progress, clearly the result of a landslip at some point in the past. It was here I noticed the second ptarmigan, quite a bit tamer than the first, so I was able to get a little closer…

It amazes me how well they can camouflage themselves against the rocks. My father-in-law tells me that they turn white in winter, no doubt to once again be well hidden from predators.

On the approach to the final munro of the day, Càrn nan Gobher, the views looking back are much more impressive than looking forward…

That said, there were some very pretty mosses and flowers to spot on this final hill, not to mention bees…

Sadly I cannot identify the moss with its pretty pink flower, or the other pink flower that grew abundantly in the Bealach an Tuill Ghaineamhaich and as I approached the final flat top of Mullach na Maoile. Suggestions are gratefully received!

The walk back toward the loch was down a very steep and uneven slope of heather and bracken. I was conscious of wearing shorts in this section, and frequently stopped to flick ticks off my legs. However, I soon reached the bottom and began the much more straightforward journey along the track back to the dam.

Looking back, after what turned out to be a 23km walk, I was thankful of my decision to splash out on the ferry that morning. It made the day all the more memorable.