Back in May I was a-hankering for a solo fishing expedition but also keen to have a family holiday in Scotland so following the success of last year’s dual purpose mission we decided to use the same formula again. The three of us drove up to Fort William (via a night in Moffat Independent Youth Hostel) for a few nights on the Glen Nevis campsite as Red Squirrel was booked up. To be fair, although Glen Nevis wasn’t our first choice the aspects about it that maybe put us off were the things that actually worked out for the best. I love the solitude of wild camping, or the basic but sufficient approach of places like Red Squirrel but you know what, when you are on holiday with a young child…having all the big site family amenities on your doorstep can be a massive convenience.
We had a fantastic holiday with a nice walk out to the Inver Lochy castle via an impromptu tour of the Fort William Fire Station, some relaxed meals and drinks in the nearby restaurant and cosy evenings in the tent with a few more relaxed drinks! Alas the time to part company came and my girlfriend and son started their day of rail travel home whilst I began my onward leg up to Achiltibuie. I had contemplated staying another night in Fort Bill and doing Ben Nevis but decided to save that for another time.
I got to Achiltibuie campsite around 5pm and the weather was glorious so was able to pitch base camp in the dry and, deciding to get the most out of the evening, hastily packed a daysack to go do a hill.
The lateness in the day meant only one option really – Stac Pollaidh! It’s a short walk up a mountain that punches far above its weight. A mountain that has been plucked straight out of a Ladybird dinosaur book which by rights should have Pterodactyls soaring above it and an Allosaurus biting a Triceratops in the foreground. Luckily there was space in the diminutive car park and after some last minute admin I worked my way up. Typically, the clouds descended as soon as I set off and the summit stubbornly remained in the clouds all the time I was there because Stac P rule ting round here bloodclart. Still, it was a fierce bit of cardio…probably heart attack territory but whatever….I got some goodly exercise.
Thursday – Suilven Day!
It is a bit of a drive from Achiltibuie to Lochinver but the views back over to the hills of Assynt are stunning going that direction and I wasn’t in a particular rush. Good job I wasn’t in a rush as I spent far too long in Lochinver hoovering up supplies for a night out in the Assynt Boondocks. I remembered at the last minute to get my permits from the Chandelry before stocking up on Lochinver pies, crisps, pop, brown sauce, chocolate, wine, whisky and a bag of firewood. Whoa there wild camping police, get off your high horse…..
I parked up at the Suilven parking spot (glad to have found a spot, it knocks the last torturous quarter of a mile off) loaded up the trusty Fjallraven Kajka, grabbed my bin bag of firewood and began the long trek in. My legs could probably walk this walk on their own they’ve done it so many times. Predictably, Suilven had its cloudy hat on permanently, an all too familiar sight but I didn’t really care as I was just glad to be out on a mission again.
After about an hour and a half I reached Suileag bothy where I could thankfully drop off my bag of firewood.
I’m not saying I hid it but nor did I put it plainly in view for everyone to use :-D. It’s a cracking bothy and although I don’t like graffiti I couldn’t help but enjoy reading the various scribblings on the walls and think of all the adventures that have happened here.
After a snack and drink I was on my way again, drawing ever closer to Suilven on the massively improved path but still a sweatin’ an’ a pumpin’ with my ginormous backpack weighing me down. By the time I got to the lochans , I was jiggered and wasted no time breaking out the stove, brewing up some tea and yamming down some food, all the while eyeing up the summit to see what the weather was doing and more importantly going to do. I dumped my rucksack and worked my way up to the bealach carrying just my drone bag and a Lucozade with some snacks. Yes, a drone! When I bought my new gadget I had allsorts of ideas in my head including mountain biking with the drone on follow me, fishing hill lochs, boat fishing, the works but top of the list was the Suilven money shot. Standing on the summit prow, all of Assynt opening out in to the far distance and the drone circling and sweeping around me in cinematic glory. Maybe edit in some stirring music after. The reality was when I got to the bealach it was blowing hard and almost certainly over the safety limits for the drone. I had to have a go, but after a few minutes realised it was totally pointless and there was a good chance my expensive toy was going to disappear into the clouds never to be seen again.
I made my way up to the summit but didn’t hang around, it was cold and very windy with toss all visibility. About an hour and a half after setting off from the loch I was back down and knocking up another brew before putting up my rod and getting some actual fishing in. I could also use the drone as it was a lot less windy down at the lochside but I really struggled to capture the beauty of where I was, partially down to the low cloud but no doubt also down to my ineptitude. It’s all well and good knowing how to fly a drone but you also need to know how to make shoot a successful video. Which I don’t.
The fish were not obliging either – whilst the drone was up I had not one bite but of course once it was packed away I had some great sport catching beautiful Assynt brownies on the fly. You’ll just have to make do with some photos.
After catching a few fish it was time to get to my B&B before it got dark – Suileag bothy. By the time I’d yomped my way down off the plateau to the bothy it was getting dark and….there was not even a chink of light visible from the windows. Excellent. I prefer my solo missions to be solo, it’s just the way I’m wired. I crave time alone – I don’t use it to think about my problems – fuck that! I use that alone time to think about the here and now and fuck all else. How far have I got to walk, what’s hurting now, where shall I brew up, when shall I eat, what fly shall I choose, where shall I fish next. I got to the door and performed a perfunctory ‘hello’ before opening it. “Hello” came the subdued reply. Never have 2 ‘hellos’ been spoken with less joy and my heart sank into my boots. The ‘lounge’ was empty so the other occupant was in the ‘bedroom’. I decided not to go in there, it felt a bit weird to do so, plus his water bladder was in here so I figured he would come through when he was ready to meet the dick head from Yorkshire sharing the bothy with him!
Within a couple of minutes I’d had a word with myself and recalibrated for company. Bring it on, I can be sociable! I feasted upon my provisions then began the main event. Out came the bag of firewood. I loaded up the hearth and got a fire on the go and began to relax with a brew.
Boots off. More wood on the stoker then it was wine o’clock – 2 mini bottles of red went down a treat. Now I was really relaxed in front of my roaring fire, and it became music and whisky o’clock! I did however nip outside for a wee and took the opportunity to fire up another new gadget, a Garmin In-reach Mini 2!
It allows you to use Iridium satellites to relay messages, I figured it would be good to have a little backup on these missions where I have zero phone signal. It’s all well and good leaving instructions saying ‘if you haven’t heard from me by x time’ but if something shit really does happen you don’t want to delay rescue being dispatched by 12 hours or whatever and then another huge delay as they try and work out where you are.
The music was barely audible but all the time I was working on the assumption the other guy was going to come through and say hello and pull up a chair in front of my fire but he stayed in his dorm all night so I don’t know what kinda vibes was I giving off!
It was a sad moment when the whisky and wood ran out but all good things must come to an end so I got my head down for the night. The next morning my fellow bothy dweller came through to get his water and departed in silence, choosing not to reply to my morning salutations. This is all starting to sound like the beginning of a ghost story but one where it turns out I’m the ghost. And everything I’m doing now is just me in limbo. Someone should make a film where something like that happens….
Speaking of which, whilst I was having my morning brew a couple of grizzled hikers entered the bothy to take a break from the rain. They were thoroughly decent chaps and we got chatting about allsorts of shit, including ghosts and I told them about the Uncanny podcast centred around haunted goings on at Lùibeilt Lodge bothy. I’ve always been interested in the paranormal and if something combines my outdoor interests with such spooky things then even better.
I bid the hikers farewell and dragged myself outside for the walk back to the car. Even just walking back from the bothy is a fair old slog with an overnight pack but I took it steady. I encountered a number of eager rambling hikers on their way to climb Suilven but some of them really didn’t seem to have a clue what to expect and didn’t have maps. They’re in God’s hands now, to quote American Werewolf in London. Back at Lochinver I went for a slap up breakfast at the Lochinver An Cala Cafe and reflected on the mission, often the best part! It was then a case of driving back to Achiltibui and spending the rest of the day doing not an awful lot apart from putting my feet up and chilling at the tent. After all, I had a long old drive back to Leeds the following day.
Looking back now, the whole trip was ace with many fond memories, but of the solo component I think my favourite is sitting in the bothy in front of the roaring fire and getting slowly tipsy. Which is interesting as I’ve not consumed any booze for the past 5 months and although I’ve been up in Scotland again during that period I wasn’t wild camping/bothying. Of all the tests, those could be the biggest challenge. It’s not like I have to stop drinking (although my BP might thank me) but it’s a personal side mission I have on the go at the moment.