KYQ4: Creag Rainich

Creag Rainich and An Teallach behind

Saturday, 29 May, 2021

Ascent: 656 metres

Distance: 17 kilometres

Time: 4 hours 9 minutes

Creag Rainich 790m 2hrs 22mins

After the glorious start to the day below Beinn Leoid, Creag Rainich was bound to be a step down. I had driven 80 miles from the magic of Sutherland, passing over 70 motor homes parked in lay-by and passing places, through the Highland metropolis of Ullapool and on to the west end of the Fannichs. The blue skies had given way to clouds and the elation of the early morning had subsided with Creag Rainich a less inviting hill than those that I had enjoyed in the previous 24 hours

It was still only 10:30am but the car park on the Dundonnell road was full and I joined a line of vehicles parked on the grass verge. Most of the walkers had probably headed for the Fannichs but the track splits after a mile and a rough track leads towards Craig Rainich along the shore of the uninspiring Loch Bhraoin. It has seen some work in the last year with some new slab crossings of the numerous burns and two or three new sections of track avoiding the stony shoreline.

About four kilometres along the track I climbed the steep grassy slopes to Bristeadh a' Mhil Dhuibh. The sort of climb that you just churn out after years of similar experiences, it is good thinking time but the UK does not inspire positive thoughts any longer with Westminster sounding like the title of a lost Hitchcock film. There was a couple ahead of me on the ridge towards Meall Dubh. I decided to stop for some lunch before I caught them, it was already over 6 hours since what might loosely be called breakfast. The cloud cover also limited the visibility so that the prospect of a peek into Fisherfield was less exciting than is normal on those bright sun filled days. I eventually caught the couple ahead as we reached the cairn and we all circled the flat undistinguished summit looking for photos.

The couple were from Essex and had travelled to Scotland for the last twenty or so years to camp and climb the hills. Lockdown in the flat lands of Essex must have been hard for them and their quest to return to the Scottish hills was manifest. They queried me about hills they still had to climb and asked about wild camping spots in the hills. They were dismayed at the influx of 'tourists' who were attracted by the marketing campaigns such as the North Coast 500. It had made it impossible for them to arrange B&Bs or to find places to get a meal, the traffic was slow and parking spots were often full. A familiar story of what happens when tourism infrastructure lags behind the drummed up demand generated by VisitScotland that also explains why so many are buying or hiring motor homes.

I had made better time than expecte, it was just 1pm when I reached the summit. After the conversation with the Essex couple, I began the descent, dropping down to the track about a kilometre further west than on the ascent. The walk out was easy, a couple of cows with young calves were heading towards me at a pace on the narrow track and looked anxious, so I had to circle around them. Reaching the end of the track, a farmer was releasing another cow with its calf and a massive bull from his trailer. Again I was forced onto the shoreline of the loch. He told me the bull was a bit slow, lazy and dozy because he knew he had 17 cows waiting for him on the lochside. I suggested he call it Boris.

I spent a while changing and gathering what food I had left before setting off for home. It had been a fairly full 28 hours on the hills with 3 Corbetts, a Graham, 47 kilometres, 2600 metres of climbing and it would be 500 miles of driving by the time I arrived home. I made it for 7pm after another quiet evening on the A9, all the traffic was heading north. Just seven Corbetts to go.