KYQ4: A Lazy Day in Lochalsh

Friday, 24 March 2023

A Lazy Day in Lochalsh

Kyle of Lochalsh Station

After two days of climbing Munros on dreich March days, we had decided to take the morning off, the clouds were low and the limbs needed tweaking. Lazing in the cottage had an appeal, I had been here on half a dozen occasions but it was usually a base for long days in the hills. I had once come to write a long report but still managed three days out walking. I was able to write a few blog posts on the recent Munro walks and find a book to read. I have had neither the time nor the appetite for reading for the past seven months.

We had some lunch and Gregor had decided he would like to run to the Glomach Falls and back from Morvich, I had walked this route on a previous visit and knew the uphill path to 500 metres before dropping to the Falls was a slog. I suggested he start from Killilan at the head of Loch Long. run up Glen Elchaig and up to the Falls of Glomach and then continue on the mountain pass to Morvich. I dropped him off at Killilan and drove back alongside the scenic glen that hosts many new houses to the A87 by Dornie. I had a couple of hours to kill,

We needed some provisions so I drove to Kyle of Lochalsh and bought a few things at the modern and well-stocked Coop. I parked by the old ferry slip that I had used many times when visiting Skye in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. The hotel that used to be too grand to ever visit now operates as a stopping point for bus tours. I walked to the railway station that I had first visited in 1961 to watch the steam locomotives discharging passengers and collecting fish trucks. The station was glinting as the grey rainy skies of the day so far were being illuminated by shafts of sunlight. Even the piles of logs waiting for transit were saturated with colour. I noticed a shop that claimed to be a Community Fridge and entered to find out what this entailed. It had opened during Covid and businesses would donate excess food that could be taken by locals who were struggling to cope with the cost of food. The two large fridges were almost bare but the shop had morphed into more of a charity shop.

I decided to head to Morvich for a walk but stopped at the Donald Murchison monument that sits on a headland a couple of miles east of Kyle. I had passed it on scores of occasions and always promised myself a look but was usually rushing to get to the Cuillins or back home. Arriving at Morvich, I figured that I had 45 minutes before Gregor would arrive so walked up Strath Croe and into the forest. Gregor and I walked here two years ago when climbing Beinn Fhada on another dreich day. The sun was still trying to penetrate the skies and the Five Sisters of Kintail revealed their summits with snow etching the skyline. My walk was the perfect way to end the day and I had only been back a couple of minutes before Gregor arrived from his 20-kilometre run. It was only a 20-minute drive back to the cottage to a log fire and a good book.