SCO TLAND ADVENTURE
“I LOST COUNT OF HOW MANY PEAKS I COULD SEE IN THE VAST ASSYNT WILDERNESS. I CAN ONLY DESCRIBE THIS AS LIKE ‘CASTLES IN THE SKY’.”
this appears intimidating from a distance, it’s nowhere where near as bad as it looks. Arriving at the nick in the ridge after the final trudge up the gully was a truly magical moment. A glorious view south greeted us with the mountains of Stac Pollaidh and many more beyond popping out from this unwieldy lunar landscape. Suddenly we caught the chatter of a pair of Americans on their way down. A girl in a swim suit sped past in the direction of one of the lochans below whilst her father told us how the whole experience had been one of the best in his lifetime. His comment about the summit resembling a small football pitch was music to our ears and quite a surprise given its aspect from the base. Encouraged by his enthusiastic words, we turned right and started the easy final scramble. The path crossed the remains of a drystone dyke wall which was surprisingly level given the ridiculous angle of the slope it was built upon. The final summit plateau of Caisteal Liath was a simply gobsmacking location with a plentiful supply of soft green grass, ideal in fact for our night under the stars. The clandestine 360 views were staggering and we stood in awe for a few minutes mesmerised by what lay below us. I lost count of how many peaks I could see in the vast Assynt wilderness. I can only describe this as like “castles in the sky”
. Not a soul in sight and just the sound
of the breeze and the cuckoo that seemed to have been following us for most of the day. I’ve stood on big alpine peaks, and many iconic ones from around the world, and yet this felt like the most magical place on the planet. Looking south we could make out the distant deep blue waters of Fionn Loch snaking across the golden landscape. You could choose to pass this point if making an approach from the village of Inverkirkaig in the south-west after witnessing the magnificent water fall of Kirkaig. It certainly looked like an attractive route with the option to perhaps kayak across the loch if one felt so inclined. The tent was hastily erected and dinner consumed in time for a glorious golden hour. The view back to the middle peak of Meall Meadhonach was the most dramatic with Canisp to the left and the bizarre rectangular shaped Loch na Gainimh sporting a dazzling golden sandy beach. It is also possible to traverse Suilven in the opposite
34 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
direction from the Bealach Mor by embarking on an exposed but easy scramble onto the middle peak. However, venturing any further onto the last peak of Meall Beag involves some fairly serious climbing. As the sun sank low, we got to witness a wonderful dancing
shadow of Caisteal Liath super-imposed on the golden middle peak. This marked the end to an un-forgettable day in the Scottish Highlands and we retreated to our palace in the sky to rest our exhausted limbs. As dawn broke on yet another fine day, we bathed in the sun and enjoyed the silence in no rush to leave behind this remarkable spot. As the temperature rose the lure of the Loch below was too hard to resist so we clambered back down the gully to its sandy beach and submerged our half-woken bodies in the vitalising waters. Energised like never before, we scuttled back down the grassy gully and danced over the lowlands winding our way round the lochs and cnocs in the direction of Lochinver for a well-earned feast.
Words and Photos: Mike Hutton.
Mike is an adventure photographer and writer working for the outdoor industry, capturing images of climbers and walkers in places rarely visited by people.
www.mikehuttonimages.com
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