10-11 July 2021
There is so much of interest on this map that it’s difficult to know what to choose to do. However 10 July was a day to transit from the Lairg area to Lochinver having not managed to book anywhere to stay near Inchnadamph. Sadly this meant that an ascent of Conival and Ben More or even of Breabag wasn’t going to fit into the itinerary.
We were able to break our journey to climb from the road up a limestone valley to the dramatic Bone Caves located on a steep slope at the foot of a cliff. The caves have been excavated and remains of animals including lynx, polar bear, arctic fox and lemmings found.
We went inside the caves wearing head torches. For the truly intrepid, there is a passage between two of the caves, but we didn’t find that…..
We travelled on to Lochinver with various stops along the route to look at scenery. We had managed to book into a self catering house at Hillside, Lochinver (bed and breakfast in pre-Covid times)
28 Hillside, Lochinver – Updated 2021 Prices (booking.com)
This was ideal as my husband wanted to spend the day relaxing whilst I was intending an adventure climbing Suilven. Thank you to Mary for this wonderful accommodation and warm welcome which exceeded our expectations in all aspects and for popping round later to check that I had “survived” my ascent of Suilven.
Suliven is “only” a Graham (a Scottish hill between 2000 and 2499 feet high with a drop of at least 150 metres on all sides) but has an iconic outline and many people think it is one of the finest peaks in Britain with superb views on a clear day. It was a clear day! Perhaps not staying at Inchnadamph was a blessing in disguise as I would have missed this peak.
I walked all the way from Lochinver village, turning down an offered lift to the small car park near Glencanisp Lodge. The walk in continued along an undulating and increasingly stony track with fine views initially of the dome and then the ridge as well as views of Canisp (higher at 846m) to my left.
The turn off the track was on to a well-defined path that it wasn’t possible to miss. It was steep up to some lochs and then a flatter section before a very steep ascent up a gully to the bealach. It was on this section of path that I met a young couple who turned out to be newly qualified GPs from Plymouth!
The arrival at the bealach happens suddenly with an instant remarkable view revealed only at the final moment. A remarkable feature is the amount of water in the form of lochs in the view – almost as many as from Eaval on North Uist.
A view from bealach 
Ridge towards Caisteal Liath
There just remained a final mix of walking and scrambling up the sometimes rocky ridge to reach the domed summit of Caisteal Liath at 731m, with fine views all the way and a 360 degree panorama at the top. I stayed on the summit for at least forty five minutes to feast my eyes on the splendid views and my mouth on lunch. Quite amazing and a coincidence that the summit was for a time occupied by three people, all GPs from Devon.
One of the doctors tried to scramble up to Meall Meadhonach as well by turning left from the arrival point on the bealach. He is a proficient climber but ended up turning back as there was an area where the exposure was too great to manage without ropes. It is 8m lower than the domed summit so we had all reached the high point anyway.
The descent was easier than I had expected, particularly making use of my walking poles. Some walkers I had overtaken soon after Glencaisp Lodge were still ascending as I went down. I hope they were rewarded with a good view as some cloud and a shower of rain temporarily reduced visibility.
Once at the lodge, I was still feeling energetic and the weather had improved again so I turned off to head towards the River Inver. Initially there were good views back to Suilven. Later I followed the wide river downstream, also ascending to a cliff high above the river, emerging on the road just north of Lochinver village. A lovely end to a fine walk, meaning that I had not needed to entirely retrace my steps.
Where's Kathryn? 