Walk 251 -- Lochailort to Glenuig

Ages:  Colin was 68 years and 14 days.  Rosemary was 65 years and 156 days.

Weather:  Muggy and warm, turning hot as the sun came out.

Location:  Lochailort to Glenuig.

Distance:  8 miles.

Total distance:  2331 miles.

Terrain:  All roads.  Slightly undulating.

Tide:  Out.

Rivers:  No.265, River Ailort.  No.266, Alisary Burn.  No.267, Irine Burn.  + lots of streams.

Ferries:  None.

Piers:  None.

Kissing gates:  None.

Pubs:  None.

‘Historic Scotland’ properties:  None.

Ferris wheels:  None.

Diversions:  None.

How we got there and back:  We were staying in our caravan near Arisaig.  The daily bus we wished to catch was not until after midday, so we were able to have a relaxing morning.  We drove to Glenuig and parked outside the shop.  We caught the bus from the roadside opposite, and alighted at the Lochailort Hotel.

At the end, we finished the Walk at the car parked outside the shop in Glenuig.  We had our tea and caramel shortcake, then returned to our caravan near Arisaig.

The next day we towed our caravan back home to Malvern, taking two days to do so.

We were much more relaxed today because, due to the only bus being after midday, this was an afternoon Walk.  Also the weather was quite balmy.  Our Walk took us south alongside Loch Ailort, sometimes next to the water and sometimes behind rocks — but always on a higher level so we had good views.  We sat by a jetty to eat our lunch (pies had been consumed much earlier in the day.)

There were lovely views back and forth.  Looking back we could see the lonely white chapel we passed on the last Walk.  At a later date I looked up its history on the internet.  

Apparently it is the former Roman Catholic chapel of Our Lady of the Braes, built in 1872 and unused since 1986.  It served the now non-existent village of Polnish, and came to fame when it was used in the film ‘Local Hero’.  Planning permission has been granted to change the use of the building to a dwelling house, but nobody has started any work on it.  It is considered to be a building ‘at risk’ — such a pity for a lovely chapel in a most beautiful setting.

We passed some fish farms down there on the loch.  They were smelly even from where we were up high.  We watched a boat go out to them, and heard the sound of pumping water.

  There were tiny waterfalls coming down the hillside on our left hand side.  
There were wild orchids on the verge, gorse and rhododendrons in flower all over the place, and kayakers on the loch.  Pity about the speeding ‘souped-up’ cars tearing past us every few minutes!

We came across a cairn which was a memorial to Mrs Cameron Head of Inverailort who died in 1994 aged 77.  A friend to all, apparently, but we wondered who she was and why she had such a memorial.

We passed two caravans with flags flying from their roofs saying “Bonnie Scotland”.  The men were fishing with nets on the rocks below.  We wondered if they were tinkers.

The road led away from the shore temporarily.  We passed some brand new gateposts and an area where an artificial pond had very recently been dug out.  But we didn’t see the house, it must have been down low behind some rocks.   

We sat on a pallet by a small non-working hydro-electric station to eat our chocolate.

The sun came out and the views across the loch seemed to get more picturesque by the minute.  We could see rocky islands, and the mountainous peninsula across the loch which we didn’t walk round after Arisaig because there are no paths.  It all looked so beautiful in the soft sunlight.  It made us feel good!  It began to get quite hot and we both stripped off layers.  It was the first time in days we hadn’t had to wear waterproofs.

We passed a group of caravans in a wood that definitely was a tinkers’ camp.  One caravan was high up on a ledge under some trees, and we wondered how on earth they got it up there!

Further on we were amused by some sheep lying nonchalantly on the road.  Good job there wasn’t much traffic about.

We came across an abandoned derelict caravan on the lochside.  It had a “Police Aware” notice pasted on it dated last October — but it hadn’t been taken away.  We looked inside, it was a sad sight as it had been trashed.

The road led on, round the corner into Glenuig Bay.  And there we reached Glenuig at last.  It had been an enjoyable Walk along the lochside.  We were pleased the weather had cleared up — just as we were about to go home!

Glenuig is a tiny community with a shop (open part-time) and a little chapel which is Roman Catholic.  Did the Reformation not reach these isolated communities in the 16^th century, so they remained Catholic?  There wouldn’t have been any roads or railways linking them in those days, the people probably came and went by boat — if they travelled at all.

Just as we were sitting half in the car changing out of our boots, a shepherd with a crook in his hand came to the field opposite to weigh a lamb.  I’ve never seen a shepherd use a crook before, but I had nothing on my feet at the moment!  So Colin grabbed my camera and went over to ask him if he could take his photograph.  Thank you shepherd!  

He really looked the part, a bit like Billy Connolly actually!  Meanwhile his dog herded all the sheep into the gateway by itself, no instructions from its master were needed.  Clever dog!

That ended Walk no.251, we shall pick up Walk no.252 next time next to the shop in Glenuig.  It was quarter past five, so the Walk had taken us four and a half hours.  We had our tea and caramel shortcake, then returned to our caravan near Arisaig.

The next day we towed our caravan back home to Malvern, taking two days to do so.

Walk 250 -- Arisaig to Lochailort

Ages:  Colin was 68 years and 12 days.  Rosemary was 65 years and 154 days.
Weather:  Drizzle off and on all day. Pretty miserable.

Location:  Arisaig to Lochailort.

Distance:  10 miles.

Total distance:  2323 miles.

Terrain:  A lot of roads.  Several miles of a firm woodland track which was very pleasant.  Undulating.

Tide:  Out.

Rivers:  No.261, The Canal.  No.262, Brunery Burn.  No.263, Borrodal Burn.  No.264, Allt à Mhàma.

Ferries:  None.

Piers:  None.

Kissing gates:  No.214, as we left the woodland track.

Pubs:  None.

‘Historic Scotland’ properties:  None.

Ferris wheels:  None.

Diversions:  None.

How we got there and back:  We were staying in our caravan near Arisaig.  This morning we drove to Lochailort Station and caught a train to Arisaig.  From the station we walked down into the village to the spot where we finished the last Walk.

At the end, we finished the Walk at the road junction next to the Lochailort Hotel.  We walked up to the station which was only about two hundred yards away.  We had our tea and caramel shortcake, then drove back to our caravan near Arisaig.

It was a miserable day, and very misty as we left Arisaig.  Photography was a problem because we didn’t want to get the cameras wet.  So we kept them tucked away in plastic bags, only bringing them out occasionally to photograph something special because it was such a palaver trying to keep them dry under an umbrella.  The Walk was very scenic, and the few pictures we did take didn’t do it justice at all.

We took a lane leading south out of Arisaig.  We had good views across the bay with a number of yachts moored in the mist.  We passed a picnic site with rope swings — nobody playing there today in the damp and gloom.

After about a mile we turned on to a very pleasant woodland track labelled “Farm Track, no Vehicles”.  It was a lovely leafy woodland track which led alongside a stream — pity about the weather.  We met a couple with two dogs coming the other way, and stopped for a chat.  They both had accents like Billy Connolly!  We passed a little waterfall, and sat on a fallen tree to eat our pies.

Further on we passed a small loch where the water was absolutely still.  All too soon we came out on to the road again through swanky green gates.  It was raining too hard to risk getting out my camera at this point, so they remained unphotographed!  I got a bit fed up with keep getting my camera out of its plastic bag, then having to put it hurriedly away again.

We were on the road for the rest of the Walk.  This road was vastly improved just two years ago, and is now a lovely smooth road to drive on.  Trouble is, this makes the traffic go fast.  Sometimes there was a cycle/walkway, and sometimes there was not.

It goes parallel to the railway, occasionally very near to it and at other times on the other side of rocks.  We heard a steam train in the distance and we saw smoke, but it went into a tunnel and we didn’t see it again.  It was going towards Mallaig.

We went under the railway — the bridge was so narrow it had to be controlled by traffic lights.  Almost immediately we came to Beasdale Station, a tiny halt in the middle of nowhere with a minute ‘waiting room’ on the single platform.  Since it was still tipping it down, we made use of the seat under cover to have our lunch.  A young woman wearing a railway worker’s uniform appeared unexpectedly and stopped for a chat.  She said she had stopped off to make sure the station was clean, but she didn’t do much cleaning while she was there.  Was it a coincidence that her ‘cleaning’ visit coincided with our picnic?  We don’t think so because we noticed the CCTV camera after she had gone!  It is said that we are the most spied on nation in the world, with all these CCTV cameras everywhere.  But at least we know that this beautiful line won’t be vandalised — she must have been tipped off pretty damn quick that we were there!

We continued down towards the loch.  The road cut through the rock, over a river and under the railway again.  Meanwhile the railway cut through little tunnels so it could keep an even height.  The rain just about stopped, but the mist hung over the hills and it remained very dull.

There were some history boards down by the loch, telling us how, in the 18^th century, the French aligned themselves with the Scots — particularly the MacDonald clan — against the English.  How brave the Scots were, and how the English were forced to retreat!  There are rumours that there is still some gold hidden in the hills nearby, left over from this conflict.  Prince Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, left these shores for the last time in 1746 after his failed attempt to regain the throne of the United Kingdom for the House of Stuart.  There is a cairn marking the place where he is thought to have embarked on a ship to France.

We came, then, to the Loch-nan-Uamh viaduct where the railway line comes straight out of a tunnel on to the viaduct.  The train is horizontal and the ground is vertical!  Colin knew that the last steam train of the day was due to return from Mallaig anytime soon.  So we went over to a rocky knoll and sat down to wait for it.  And we sat there….and we sat there….and we sat there.  At least it had stopped raining, but we got a bit bored.  We even started eating our chocolate, for something to do.

Colin said, “I’m going over to that pier of the viaduct to see what the plaque is about!”  He called me over because it read:

THE  LEGEND  OF  BUILDER  ROBERT  MACALPINE’S

HORSE  AND  CART  FALLING  DOWN  INSIDE  A

PIER  OF  GLENFINNAN  VIADUCT  IN  c1899  WAS

CORRECTED  IN  2001  WHEN  RADAR  IMAGING

PROVED  THAT  THE  EVENT  OCCURRED  HERE  IN

THE  CENTRE  PIER

So the body of the horse is still there, inside the viaduct!  What a horrible death for the poor creature, I wonder if there is a ghost!

We were just discussing the enormity of that terrible accident all those years ago when we heard the train on the other side of the tunnel.  So we rushed back to the knoll and took up our positions again.  And there it was — straight out of the tunnel and on to the viaduct, blowing steam out fit to bust!  How it took us back to our childhoods!  Then we travelled frequently on trains, for we had no cars, and every time it was a steam train.  We just took it for granted.  This engine was the ‘Sherwood Forester’, we could see its name quite clearly.  The only mild disappointment was that the engine was on backwards.

The road continued further inland than the line of the railway.  We crossed a stream on a new bit of road, and admired the original stone bridge on the loop of old road.  Then we went up a steep hill, and down crossing the railway again on a high bridge.

Not only had it stopped raining, but it got quite hot and we found we were peeling off layers as we went.

We came to Loch Ailort with a white chapel high above it.  There we sat on a rock to finish our chocolate.  We both felt very tired, our feet had had enough!  We had less than a mile to go to the road junction where the A861 led south towards Glenuig.

That ended Walk no.250, we shall pick up Walk no.251 next time at the road junction near Lochailort station.  It was half past four, so the Walk had taken us six and a half hours.  We walked a couple of hundred yards up the road to Lochailort station where our car was parked. We had our tea and caramel shortcake before driving back to our caravan near Arisaig.

Walk 249 -- Mallaig to Arisaig

Ages:  Colin was 68 years and 11 days.  Rosemary was 65 years and 153 days.
Weather:  Dull and gloomy.  Some light drizzle.
Location:  Mallaig to Arisaig.
Distance:  10 miles.
Total distance:  2313 miles.
Terrain:  Nearly all roads.  One short path by the cemetery in Arisaig.  Undulating.
Tide:  Going out.
Rivers:  No.259, River Morar (Scotland’s shortest river draining Scotland’s deepest loch).  No.260, Allt Cam Carach.
Ferries:  None.
Piers:  None.
Kissing gates:  None.
Pubs:  None.
‘Historic Scotland’ properties:  None.
Ferris wheels:  None.
Diversions:  None.
How we got there and back:  We had towed our caravan to Scotland a week or so ago.  Yesterday we moved it from Reraig to a site near Arisaig.  This morning we drove to Arisaig Station and caught a train to Mallaig.  There we walked the short distance to the ferry terminal where we started the Walk.
At the end, we finished the Walk in Arisaig village.  We walked up to the station where our car was parked, and ate caramel shortcake.  Then we drove the short distance back to our caravan to make proper tea in a teapot with real tea leaves — none of this teabag rubbish!

I still have my cold, but I am now feeling better in myself — not so drained of energy.  Yesterday, when we moved the caravan, was a lovely day weatherwise, sunny and warm.  Today it was much colder, dull, misty and gloomy — so disappointing.  The light was too flat for good photography, so my pictures don’t do the magnificent scenery justice.

We walked down the ferry ramp as far as we were allowed because we weren’t actually going to catch a ferry out of Mallaig.  It is a pretty port, and very busy with ferries arriving and leaving for Inverie, Rum and Eigg as well as Armadale. 

We watched a ferry leave, then we walked the length of the harbour to look at the statues on the opposite harbour arm where we weren’t allowed to go.

We came to a painted house which looked fabulous on such a gloomy day.  We remembered it from our last visit to Mallaig ten years ago when we had a holiday B&B-ing round the north coast of Scotland.  (That visit was just a holiday, nothing to do with our coastal Trek — we were walking the coast of East Sussex at the time and never thought we would get this far!)  There was a big lorry parked in front of the building today, but I still managed to photograph it.

We took the main road out of Mallaig to the south.  The first mile was next to the shore where it was scenic, but the road was busy and the traffic fast.  Why do they have to speed so?  The road ends in Mallaig so they only have a few more yards to go, surely they should be slowing down?  Colin saw a seat across the road up high on the rocks, so we were above the traffic.  We sat there and ate our pies. 

The mist had lifted a little, and from our ‘perch’ we could see the ferry docking at Armadale.

We were right next to the railway line, the one we had come on into Mallaig this morning from Arisaig.  There is a back road into Mallaig from that point, and we could see the bridge where it crossed the railway.  It looked like a little Toy-Town bridge, arching from rock to rock.  The main road went behind rocks for the next mile or so.  We couldn’t see the sea, and the Walk became a bit deadly.  I don’t like traffic-dodging.

We cheered up when we heard a steam train!  This railway line is arguably the most scenic in Britain, if not the world, and steam trains run regularly from Glasgow, through Fort William to Mallaig throughout the Summer season.  (We caught an ordinary Diesel train this morning from Arisaig.)  We were not in a particularly good position to see the train when we heard it, but we did manage to catch a peep as it puffed past, though not a photo.  This photo Colin took in Fort William the day before.  He thinks the engine is called ‘Sherwood Forester’.  The local tourist industry also make much of the fact that parts of this line were used in the Harry Potter films.

The road soon opened out for the River Morar — Scotland’s shortest river which drains Scotland’s deepest loch, so we were told.  The river flows through a wide estuary, but the tide was in when we passed making it look more like a bay.

We turned off the main road, much to our relief, and followed the original road which snakes along much nearer the coast.  We also left behind the railway line, so didn’t see or hear the steam train as it came back.  Beaches along here were used in the film ‘Local Hero’ (1983) though the action was supposed to take place in the tiny hamlet of Pennan, Aberdeenshire.  

Fans come from all over the world to look at, and use, the red telephone box in Pennan which I featured in Walk 183.  Then they look around for the sandy beach which also featured in the film.  They can’t find it, because it is the other side of Scotland near Arisaig!  That’s films for you.

We should have had good views across to the islands of Rum and Eigg, but today they were merely shadows in the mist.  Yesterday, when we arrived with our caravan, we had excellent views from the caravan park.  We thought we would photograph them later in the week, but that was a mistake.  Visibility was so poor for the rest of our stay we never had the opportunity again.

We were much happier on this minor road because there was hardly any traffic and the outlook was more interesting.  Unfortunately this was spoilt by the drizzle which started up, and the mist which descended over the hills.  In fact it turned pretty miserable.  We walked across one of the beaches in the gloom, then sat on a rock to eat our chocolate.  

The flowers, especially the gorse, were stunning in the rocks above the beach reminding us that it was the month of May although the weather made it feel like mid-winter.

Later on we passed the lane leading down to our caravan park — where we knew we could be snug and warm with a cup of tea in our hands at the flick of a kettle switch!  It was with great difficulty that we walked past — we knew that if we stopped off there for a break we would never have the impetus to get going again. 

Further on we turned off and descended to the village of Arisaig, passing a roadside memorial to a young man who was killed in 2003 during the construction of the main road.  High on a hill to our left we could see the local War Memorial.

We passed a huge church dated 1848, and were surprised to find it was Catholic.  It only became legal in England to establish Catholic parishes in the early part of the 19^th century, and then the Church had no money to build big churches like this one.  Perhaps things were different in Scotland, especially parts which were remote like this area was at the time.  The Reformation didn’t hit them so hard.

We took a path through the cemetery which led us down to the beach.  There we came across a memorial to Czech and Slovak soldiers who trained here during the War. 

This memorial is very new, the foundation stone having been blessed by the Pope only last year.  There were several wreaths of red, white and blue flowers.

We walked round the beach road until we came to a lane leading up to the station.

That ended Walk no.249, we shall pick up Walk no.250 next time on the beach road in Arisaig.  It was twenty to five, so the Walk had taken us six and a half hours.  We walked up to the station where we learned that it is the most westerly railway station in Britain!  (A notice on the wall told us so.) 

We were also amused by a notice which read:  Stop  Look  Listen —  Passengers must not cross the line.  How else are they to get to the other platform in order to catch the trains towards Fort William and all places East?  There is no footbridge.  The opposite platform, only accessible by crossing the line, was neat and tidy, and even had a nice waiting room to keep passengers dry on wet days.  It looked very much in use, but we were forbidden to go over there.

However, that wasn’t our problem.  Our car was parked nearby, so we opened it up and ate some caramel shortcake.  Then we drove the short distance back to our caravan to make proper tea in a teapot with real tea leaves — none of this teabag rubbish!