After writing my latest blog post about our autumn 2024 holiday in Scotland and the English Lake District, I realised that I had never written about a more recent hike we did in the far north of Scotland last summer.
The weather was pleasant and warm but breezy and midge-free, so we chose a suitable day and headed north. My goal was to get to one of the ridge lines of Quinag, which I had originally intended to visit before I changed my mind and hiked Canisp in summer 2024. The view from that peak had encouraged me to return: the triple-peaks of Quinag are clearly visible from the summit and stand pleasantly isolated from the surrounding landscape.
We parked in the reasonably-sized car park beside the main A894 road. Looking across towards our goal for the day was a little daunting at first, although less so than from the road approach along the shoreline of Loch Assynt, as the road climbs steeply from Skiag Bridge to take some of the elevation off the challenge. However, I had studied the topographical maps and knew what to expect. It was certainly no stroll in the park, but the comparatively gentle approach to the base of the mountain gave us a good warm-up. I was happy to see the well-defined path this time around, as I found the path-less hike to Canisp more challenging thanks to being unguided that time by anything more than a dotted line on a map.
A golden plover seemed to accompany us at a distance for part of the walk in, tweeting pleasantly as we approached Lochan Bealach Cornaidh at the foot of Spiedean Còinich (one of the three summits). From there, the path became quickly steeper as we made our way towards the saddle, reminding me a little of the walk up to Leiterenpass in Switzerland. From there, we caught our first views of the west coast and stopped for a break and something to eat, before turning partly back on ourselves to follow a steep, heavily used path uphill.
About two hours after leaving the car, we reached the second saddle between Sàil Ghorm and Sàil Gharb, with a view down to the Kylesku bridge and decided that this was enough ascent for the day. These days, I am more than happy to let a walk take its course and recognise when I have reached my personal goal, even if it is not the actual summit.
We took some photos, sat down for another rest and watched the clouds race across the mountain landscape before making our way slowly back to the car.
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