Bla Bheinn the Beast

 

Well that was a brute of a walk! The summit is just out of sight beyond the left hand peak above.

 I had selected it on the basis that it was a climb, and we haven’t done one of those this week. The weather was set fair, which the book stipulated, and all we have to do tomorrow is drive home.

That being said, the contour lines on the map were so close together that you needed a magnifying glass to see any gaps. In other words, stupidly steep. Plus we were starting virtually at sea level, so we had the full 3,000 ft/915m to contend with. I was 80% certain that it would be too much for me as my muscles were still sore from Wednesday, but if you don’t challenge yourself, how do you know what you can do?

So off we headed to Skye again on a beautiful sunny morning, parking at the head of Loch Slapin to begin our walk. Initially it was pleasant - a gentle, undulating path up through heather alongside a burn which reminded us of the famous Fairy Pools elsewhere on the island.

Then it got less pleasant. Steeper and steeper on rocky and then scree-like terrain. Very tough going,  but again some fab-u-lous views all around.

As we got nearer the top it became less and less clear exactly how to reach the summit, though we knew it was possible as we occasionally caught a glimpse of people on the way up. Blimey there were some tricky moments scrambling over big slabs of rock. Joff had to pull me up a couple of times as my legs weren’t long enough to reach.

Eventually we made it. Some grey cloud hovered over the tops for a while but soon dispersed, and we were glad of our usual walking lunch of eggs, apples, nuts and tea.

The views from the top were magnificent - the Cuillins, Glen Sligachan, and out over to Rum. Coming down was even more tricky, and by then my legs were all out of juice. By the time we got to the bottom of the steepest part I was staggering around like a drunk person, barely able to support my own weight.

Needless to say it was all fine, though a slower descent than Joff would have done on his own. An hour and glass or two later and I was capering into the village for dinner. We ate at the Plockton Shores restaurant, which is also the corner shop. Sort of. Very tasty whitebait and then smoked fish chowder.

Final view from our cottage. Look at that blue sky. In April. In Scotland. How lucky are we?!

So there we are, our last day. It’s been a really great week, and I feel like I’ve renewed my vows with this spectacular country. Definitely looking forward to my own bed (this one’s not the best), and starting the new term with Voce, but otherwise in no hurry to return. Bring on the next holiday!

Em x