Sgurr an Airgid

Sgurr an Airgid

Ben Attow

Five Sisters from Sgurr an Airgid

Loch Duich and Causeway

Friday, 23 February 2013

Ascent:      880 metres

Distance:   10 kilometres

Time:        3 hours 12 minutes

c   Sgurr an Airgid   842m        1hr 55mins

The day after the perfect day is always an anticlimax. I had planned to climb the Applecross corbetts but a blanket of grey cloud and the need to be down by 3pm to meet Aileen who was arriving by bus made me think again. Several people had mentioned that Sgurr an Airgid was an impressive hill and it was nearer the bus route. It gave me a chance to have a leisurely breakfast and read a bit before setting out. The view of the five sisters as I drove along Loch Duich set the pulse racing. I parked by the cemetery just a couple of hundred metres along the Strath Croe road and as I set out a farmer stopped and pointed to the nearby gate saying that the stalker's path was up there and not to follow the guidebooks that sent you a mile up the road and you then had to double back. 

He was right and I was soon climbing at the steady gradient designed for ponies on a long traverse that ran to the northeast. The path faded once or twice before becoming a series of zig-zags and crossing a deer fence at 300 metres. Beyond the path continues to a col at about 600 metres. My instincts told me to cut off and head westwards at about 530 metres and it was a wise decision, there was a grassy ramp before reaching the parallel ridges that take you to the summit plateau. I took the southerly and less used route so that I could enjoy the views of Beinn Sgriol and Skye. It became quite rocky and then there were fingers of rock-hard snow leading to the summit. I met a couple from Plockton who were descending and we had a long conversation during which we were regaled by an eagle swooping across the summit plateau.

I had lots of time so I put on a jacket and sat at the summit for about twenty minutes whilst I had lunch and perused the map. The descent was quick using the snow shutes and then the excellent path and I was down by just after 2pm. I had an hour and a half to kill before the bus arrived. I visited the attractive village of Balmacara and then did a bit of beachcombing before meeting Aileen. We drove over to the timeless village of Duirinish, where highland cattle graze on the common land that the road passes along, and then crossed the railway and found a new coastal walk at Port an-eorna where we watched the light fade and the sunset over Loch Alsh.

All days have their rewards that can assault any of the senses. Yesterday had been about the sight, sound and feeling in the mountains; today was about touch and taste. Aileen had arrived and we retired to the Inn at Plockton which provided us with an exquisite meal of fresh local seafood to go with a glass of wine and a local beer. 

Five Sisters