Cornish Hill Galloway Forest Park

Today was a beautiful crisp blue sky December day, almost the first such day of the year. I did my run across the golf course first thing and came across some frost in the sheltered spots but a overall I decided that it was too good a day to miss for a short walk. I immediately thought of Cornish Hill and contacted a friend who had never visited this hill. I knew from previous trips that this was the perfect day to get the best of the views from the top. This is one of the great short walks in a stunning rugged landscape.

Our journey was a nice drive through South Ayrshire heading for the village of Straiton then on towards the park. As we climbed the twisting road the wheels were slipping slightly on the black ice. The temperature on these roads without any sun had dropped to -1 but thankfully only for a short time.

We turned into the carpark and got a very pleasant surprise when a red legged partridge scampered in front of the car and dived straight into the undergrowth. Second surprise was 5 cars already in the carpark, I fully expected us to be the only people around. Must be a ramblers outing or something similar.

This walk is an easy walk for most people with reasonable fitness as there is a good circular path. The variety of flora and fauna are just spectacular, I wish I knew a lot more about these but their numbers are huge, it would be good to have an expert with us. Grasses, reeds, ferns. mosses etc all in their natural place whether shade, light, dampness etc.

The walk can be a straight up and back of around 5km but can be extended. To get the best views I think you start here going into the forest and come back via the short road section. The start of the walk is a beautiful spot. Before you enter the forest section the vista is perfection. A rambling burn cascading down to a spectacular stone road bridge. In the summer the fingerling brown trout rise to the surface.
The next stretch follows a path through the pine forest. The area is covered in these plantations and work has started on deforestation which can leave a right unsightly mess of the landscape.

The forest stretch has carpets of moss and ferns which add to its attraction.
When you break out of the forest you follow the short trail round the hill but keep stopping and looking back as the views extend all the way back to Irvine bay. With the blue skies the water of Loch Braden matched this colour, alongside the autumn colours quite beautiful.

As you reach the summit point a small stone cairn marks the spot. When you reach this point the vista now expands to bring in Cornish loch below you and the rugged crags behind the loch. In the distance the hills behind Loch Doon can be seen.
The trail zig zags down to the waters edge where we enjoyed a snack in perfect silence, only the running water and some singing birds broke the silence. We wandered on downwards alongside the cascading burn, again enjoying the plant life. We spotted movement in the trees, stood for a bit and were rewarded by a pair of bullfinches, the male in particular stunning colours.

We could see the deer trails in and out of the trees and alongside of the path we spotted this small conifer that had clearly had the attention of a stag and its antlers. Although we did not see any today I captured this shy one on my last visit. Sadly I auto-focused and it took the foliage and not the deer. One shot only as it disappeared on the shutter click.

The path now joins a newly packed forestry road. If you turn left you can follow the forest drive which eventually takes you to Loch Doon. Although not signed the small road will take you to Loch Braden where you could extend the walk but study the map first.

However for us today it was back to the carpark. A number of the birch trees along this stretch were covered in a greenish stringy moss like coat. Not sure if this is a fungus killing them, the trees certainly did not look too healthy.
Overall we were on the walk for 3 and a half hours but we were taking our time.
A good walk with good company.

Craig Fonvuick - Killiecrankie A small hill with a huge view

Tenandry Kirk

For all the times we have walked in this area we have just never got around to walking up this hill until now. What fools we have been as the views are magnificent from the trig point on a slightly dull and cloudy day like today. On a clear, crisp, blue sky day must be even more outstanding. Once again proving the point that you don't need to go too high to get views that make you smile.

Go that way

This walk is a circular route so you have a couple of starting options and also decision re walking clockwise or anti. We started at the Tummel Bridge car park and I would suggest you do likewise but I don't think that you will be disappointed whichever way you go. The walk took us about 3 hours 30 minutes but we did stop a lot to take in the views.

There are no obvious way-markers at this point so off we went following the trampled dirt path through the trees and quickly ended up on a tarmac road. Hmm is this correct. On we went up the road, climbing gently and I did have my doubts about whether we should have been walking round the other side of the hill. This minor back road soon brings you to a lovely church and graveyard with the impressive manse across the road. For a small place they looked after the minister well. Even in its heyday you wonder who this was for as the main town of Pitlochry is not really far away, even by horse and cart. A little bit of research and I found that indeed it was built as a 'chapel of ease' to assist the surrounding community which numbered around 800 and apparently the kirk can hold half of them. The church is called Tenandry and supports commonwealth war injured. A fund raising poster by one of the injured soldiers talks about being damaged but not broken, makes you stop and think, well done son.
Further on we come to a signpost taking us into the off-road path to the hill which comes with its own warning notice.
The fresh dung tells us that there are coos about so all senses alert just in case. The track follows the edge of the fields before crossing a stile to go up the hill. The coos, a nice herd of Highlands, were a bit further away in the field, some stood up to look at us but the most important thing was that the bull was disinterested, fine with us.

Path climbing through trees and bracken

Once across the style the path goes through a mixed wood and ground covered in colouring ferns, very pleasant. Just ahead a red squirrel popped onto the ground jumping off a broken stone dyke, had a look around and scampered back up a tree. The little blighter always hovered around the back of the tree watching us watch it.
The path climbs and takes you round the side of the hill towards the area I thought we should be going up. I was brushing spiders webs from my face so we were the first walkers on this path today. There is a fine sheltered meadow where you can imagine the deer lying for the night but none around today. A ruined steading indicates people stayed up here at one time.
As we neared the summit a pair of black grouse took to flight quickly followed by another pair. Its been quite a few years since I have seen a black grouse so this was a very nice surprise. A small trampled track leading through the heather takes you to the trig point at 413 metres.

Trig point Carn Leath behind

At the summit your eyes are immediately drawn directly ahead to Ben Vrackie and the pass coming down from Vrackie to Killiecrankie. Turn slightly left and you are looking north at the scarred track leading steeply up Carn Liath with its companions Carn nan Gabhar and Braigh Coire Chruinn-bhalgain tucked behind. These 3 mountains are all 'Munros' and are usually bagged on the same walk if you are fit enough.
Turn further left and the hills of Glen Tilt come into view, the estate of Blair Atholl is vast. Look right at the trig and you are looking due south over Loch Faskally and its caravan park, looking towards Perth. This is just a beautiful view and on another day it would be a grand spot to sit and enjoy your picnic.

The A9, Faskally loch & caravan park

On the descent the views look north towards Blair Atholl and in the distance Cairngorm, all in all glorious fertile scenery, surprisingly green considering the lack of rain but colourful as the leaves on the trees start to turn their ambers, yellow and gold. I was hoping to spot some deer on this walk but no such luck.

Looking south near the summit

It is a straightforward descent which leads you to an old stone bridge over the River Garry at Killiecrankie. Looking north the river was running better than I thought considering the dry spell and the salmon would cope with this ok towards the end of their epic journey. Looking south I spotted a salmon leaping out of the far pool and Lynn then drew my attention to a salmon on the rocks below. 

Sad end to a long journey

The salmon has a big chunk out of its neck and back, what a shame it was a big fish and looks as if it has a soft belly full of eggs. Look at the size of that tail!!! I can only guess but I suspect it was an otter that killed it. It had to be something big enough to drag a fish like that out of the water. Hopefully not a fisherman who had killed and left it. You never know.

River Garry looking upriver from Killiecrankie

A short walk up the hill through the village of Killiecrankie brings you to the soldiers leap. The story goes that a soldier leapt across the ravine at the River Garry at this point to avoid his pursuers. If true it was some leap as the distance is 18 feet.
There is also a salmon leap at this point and we were lucky enough to see a small salmon, probably a grilse, make two unsuccessful attempts to get up the river, it would succeed later no doubt.

Looking downriver and the pool the salmon leapt

There is a visitors centre run by the National Trust here at Killiecrankie which is free to enter and also handy if you want a break or some refreshments. 
We continued up the path along the side of the River Garry. Some late season anglers were trying their luck for the salmon. It is a beautiful stretch of gorge river and with a bit of scrambling some fine pictures and views to be had.
Overall a very pleasant undemanding walk which I am certain will be repeated.
As we went towards the car park we could hear music and screaming. Not murder but bungee jumping from below the road bridge into the gorge below. Not for the faint-hearted, one young lady backed out at the last minute after peering over the edge, I don't blame her.

Scald Law from Currie

It was a beautiful morning and surprisingly Mrs B decided to join me for this walk today. The plan was to start at the Harlaw carpark and walk to the Black Hill. We would then go round its flank southward to get to Scald Law, which sits behind the Black Hill as we approach from Currie. Depending on how Mrs B felt we would either retrace our steps or hopefully explore some of the ridge and its other tops.

Threipmuir Reservoir

Scald Law is the highest peak in the Pentland Hills but only just. At 579 metres high it is a grand 3 metres higher than its neighbour Carnethy Hill. The common route to Scald Law is to start at Flottersone and walk the ridge that goes up Turnhouse Hill, then taking in Carnethy and Scald Law. Those feeling good could continue the ridge and take in East & West Kip.

Mrs B going round Black Hill

We left the carpark at Harlaw and stopped to talk to the fishing bailliff at Harlaw reservoir. I had wanted to fish here for a while and I suspect tomorrow might be the day, weather permitting, our chat certainly put me in the mood for it.
It was a beautiful morning as we walked to the Black Springs which funnily enough sit at the base of the Black Hill. We had a clear view of West Kip in the distance. Scald Law would not be seen until we were well round Black Hill. I had suggested going over Black Hill but Mrs B was not so keen, maybe on the way back!!
At the Black Hill we turn right along a fairly well used track with Threipmuir Reservoir down to our right. No fishermen looking for brown trout today. Last night we had watched a triathlon club use this for their swimming leg, rather them than me. We were starting to gain height, it was a beautiful day for walking and the views were looking good already. After about half an hour we are not going into Green Cleugh, a narrow valley. Looking down I can see the path bring you into the hills from Balerno. As we went round we started to descend and I realised we were going to lose all the height we had gained and go all the way down to meet the path. Good exercise but not sure Mrs B appreciated this particularly as her walking pole, the only one we had today, broke at one of the joints. I had thought we stayed higher but not to be.

Green Cleugh

Mistake number 2 occurred when I saw a path to the left that might be a short-cut. Of course it wasn't to be. A stiff climb brought us to an open area which showed the path cutting back and would go to Hare Hill. The terrain across to the ridge was not for Mrs B so back down to the valley we went, me leading, daggers in my back, but at least we had sight of the ridge.
A short walk brought us to the waterfall area, it was not so spectacular due to the current dry spell. One side of the ravine has been planted with natural Scottish woodland and you are invited to see the difference.

The humpback of Carnethy hill from Scald Law

A couple of mountain bikers came up the slope, these were the first people we had seen today. We reached the Howe and the start of the walk up to Scald Law. This is an ancient thoroughfare which if you continued up and down would take you to the A702. It is a straight forward climb up until you reach the ridge which you can turn left to climb Carnethy Hill or left to Scald Law. As we climbed I enjoyed the views of Loganlea reservoir another place I want to fish. We were now spotting people on the ridge and on our path so no more isolation. 

Loganlea reservoir from Scald Law

The clouds were starting to gather but it was still a pleasant day. There is some erosion but overall the path is in good order and it was not too long until we were on the summit. To be fair Mrs B was not walking fit so she was now finding this a bit of a struggle but she made it.
The views are superb in every direction.  You have great views over to Fife. the Bridges, the Forth valley, south to the Border Hills and the town of Penicuik as well as the Pentland Hills themselves. Another great example whereby you don't need to climb Munros to get great views of Scotland. 

Moi at the summit

A nice picnic lunch, enjoying the views, on a grand day just can't be beat. However Mrs B was not for any more climbing so the decision was made to retrace our steps and walk along this side of Black Hill and Loganlea to Glencorse Reservoir. From there we would take the hill path back to the carpark.
The clouds had pretty much gone and it was a warm day. The descent was fine but took its toll on Mrs B's joints, the flanks of the hills were covered in blooming heather and ferns and these were pretty as a picture. Anyone who thinks bees are in short supply come to these heathers, buzzing bees were a constant background noise.
Despite its proximity to Edinburgh and this being the school holidays we are not surrounded by people.
There are some fishermen in boats on Loganlea and there are constant circles in the water as trout are feeding sub surface, I am jealous. This is a tarmac stretch and lasts for about 2 miles. Butterflies were constantly fluttering particularly the Small tortoiseshell. Herons stood by the burns looking for small brown trout for their lunch.

Loganlea reservoir

At Glencorse Reservoir the water level was exceptionally low, I'm not sure that the relative dry spell was that bad but maybe so.

Left is the way home

We now turned into the valley called Maiden's Cleugh and climbed gradually until we reached the join where you can climb Harbour and Capelaw Hills. This is quite a barren landscape and the sun was beating down, glad not far to go now.
Once we had reached the crest we could see the carpark about 20 minutes walk away. The combine harvesters were stripping the fields as we walked creating huge dust storms that could be seen a long way away.
Overall a great walk, we were out for about 5 hours and covered at least a dozen miles. The Juniper Green Inn and a pint or 2 of Yellowhammer were now the objective. a good day out.
PS: I did fish Harlaw the next day and it was great fun. A daddy hatch was on during the afternoon and evening and this was the only item that the trout would come for. And the takes were spectacular a superb few hours.

Cycling Loch Tay

Day 2 of my 3 day Perthshire trip was a washout but thankfully today the weather was back on track. The forecast was for a dry cloudy morning with temperatures picking up after noon. Perfect for a bike ride around Loch Tay. I drove around this area a few months ago and which inspired me to want to cycle round this beautiful loch.

Loch Tay from Kenmore

The trip around the loch is roughly 35 miles and I decided to start from Kenmore and cycle clockwise. Without a doubt this was the best decision as most of the undulating work is on this southern half of the loch leaving you more time to enjoy the views from the northern side. Today is about enjoying the ride and the views, no time pressures, just making the most of the day. Overall the road is in very good condition and there is no need for mountain bike tyres on this route. There are plenty of options to extend this ride and I will describe some of them later.
I arrived in Kenmore just before 10am and was surprised to find I was the first car in the small Kenmore carpark. I even had a look around to check it was actually open and it seemed to be, everyone else was obviously enjoying their breakfast or a long lie. Kenmore is a lovely small village and as you can see from the boats moored here that Loch Tay is popular for water-sports and fishing. The salmon will come up the river Tay from the North Sea and enter the loch at Kenmore. The view looking down the loch is a grand start to the day.

Crannog Kenmore

A right turn out of the carpark takes you to the end of the loch and another right turn sets you off. If you turned left at the junction you could climb a very steep hill and do the Aberfeldy circuit first. Personally looks like a cardiac event for me. A few hundred yards up the road on the right hand side is Kenmore's biggest tourist attraction, the Scottish Crannog centre. You can see in the picture the Crannog itself. The site is designed to educate you about life in Scotland around 2500 years ago. It is a pay to enter event but not sure how much it costs.

Looking across Loch Tay to Fearnan

After a mile or so you start climbing. A mountain biker is ahead of me, the first cyclist of the day but I suspect not the last. The climb rises steadily at times totally covered by trees, very nice. The right hand side is opening out to give views of Loch Tay and the hills beyond.
Throughout the route you pass many big houses with great views, some of them renovations and some new builds. Money is clearly not in short supply around this loch. 

Ben Lawers summit peaks from behind

For most of the ride the views to your right look down over the loch and give you a pleasant surprise at how high you have climbed but as you know when you climb you normally have a descent and this section is full of ups and downs. The views also take in the mountain range containing the impressive Ben Lawers which sits behind the main hills. Many casual walkers think they are looking up at Ben Lawers when starting their walk but the reality is that this is a big big hill and the main summit sits behind as this picture shows. This is great hill walking country.
The mountain biker has disappeared to the left. When I reach the spot it is a track heading off into the hills presumably to come back to Kenmore or Aberfeldy.
I was now into the fastest downhill section of the route where the speedo clocked 42mph.

This is the tarmac that you have to be wary of particularly as some bad cracks are on fast corners. Thankfully the south stretch had minimal car traffic today. It is very narrow in places. When encountered most cars slowed down to let us pass each other safely but as always there was the odd exception so keep alert. Another fast downhill takes you into Killin in the Trossachs. 

Falls of Dochart

This is a charming little town with plenty of eateries if you want to take a break. Probably its most famous 
feature is the Falls of Dochart where two rivers meet at an old stone bridge. I stopped to take a picture to find the arm of my sunglasses falling off and had just snapped, cheap rubbish. Hopefully there would be no insects in my eyes for the rest of the trip. 
There are guaranteed to be photos being taken here at the falls on any day of the week, avoid the tourists!!
Killin is popular with day trippers from the central belt and can be very busy at weekends. There is an old watermill here which is now a craft shop. It has a scenic golf course but no time for that today. My stop was at the local Co-op for a can of coke and a giant Aero bar for my nutrition. Well that's my excuse.

The quiet north road

As you leave the town there is a gradual climb of about 4 miles. It is easily done without coming out of the saddle but I was not expecting it to be so long. I had thought that the north side of the loch was the lower of the two but not at all. Most of the climbing is gained via this climb and after the effort you can then enjoy the views. The north stretch is more of a traditional 2 lane road and is busier than the south side but in reality it was still fairly quiet. You pass on your left the road to the start of the Ben Lawers walk and this road also takes you into Glen Lyon. This is one diversion for hardy cyclists that takes you to Bridge of Balgie where you can go on to Kenmore via Fortinghall. I think this adds on another dozen or so miles but does involve climbing.
Mainly to the left and down to the lochside there are quite a few caravan sites dotted about, plenty to choose if you wanted to stay in this area. From time to time there a good views of the south side that you have just cycled. Once I passed the Lawers junction the road went very quiet again. 

Quiet enough for the local wildlife, in this case a red deer to be only slightly interested in my passing. The views of the hills on the left are still spectacular. When I stopped to take the photo with my bike in it a buzzard was perched on the lamppost behind me, one eye looking at me but not the slightest concern for its safety. Normally a buzzard would take off when you stop close by.

Red deer hind

The loch is now opening up and you can almost see down to the finish at Kenmore. The one surprising thing is that how little boat activity there is today. They say that parts of this loch are deeper than the North Sea, impressive.
Now into the final run and for the most part it is a gentle descent. When you go through Lawers there is a rather welcoming inn but not the time for beer just yet. When you reach Fearnan the new and renovated properties come thick and fast until you get to Kenmore.

View from north road towards Kenmore

I decided to keep going for a while and headed to Weem before returning by the same route. This is flat all the way and eases the legs back into gentle activity. There are some good views of Scheihallion on this stretch. You could continue on this road to Aberfeldy and return via the main road to Kenmore. This does involve a serious climb, particularly if you come from Kenmore. Again this would add 16 or so miles to your trip.
When I got back the carpark was now full, the sun was beating down and the place was in full holiday mode, great to see. The Crannog centre was very busy so revenue for the area.
I had a great day out, around 45 miles in total and another new bucket list item ticked off. Time for that beer.

The mountain biker headed up that glen

Loch Tay from the finish at Kenmore bridge, no salmon yet

The boulder fields of Scheihallion

Today was day 1 of a 3 day activity break in glorious Perthshire & Tayside. The weather forecast for today was reasonable, high cloud, minimal rain and warmish. Tomorrow was to be rain & Thursday similar to today. I had two walks and a cycle trip planned but all of it was weather dependant. So today's choice was to walk Scheihallion for my first time on the hill. This has got to be one of Scotland's best known hills, lots of people know the name but can they spell it? It's name means the fairy hill of the Caledonians.

The profile of Scheihallion with Loch Kinardochy

Now that the decision had been made I decided to drive straight to the hill. During the journey from Ayrshire the weather was fabulous, blue with lightly clouded skies, until I reached Aberfeldy where rather dark grey full clouds sat ominously around the direction I was heading. A quick stop for a bacon roll & coffee, plus more importantly loo stop and the final 20 minutes to the Braes of Foss car park. A bonus for me was that as you turn into the drive to the car park you pass Loch Kinardochy. This is a water that belongs to the Pitlochry Angling club. I had been meaning to fish it sometime so now I know exactly what it looks like for future reference.
When I arrived there were half a dozen or so cars already parked up. No people around so they were all already on the climb. I didn't think that I would have the hill to myself and so it proved. At the car park I was surprised to find toilets on site and they were in working order, noted for the future. There is a charge of £2 for using the car park but today the machine was covered up, just broken, or broken into?
A quick change and some sun tan lotion applied, ever the optimist, a good look at the hill then off I went. It shows up well from the car park and indeed for most of the walk. There is a small description board where you can pick up a good leaflet about East Scheihallion.

At least on this walk there is not the usual forestry pine tree plantation to walk through to start your walk. After the gate you immediately join a good path which you can see clearly ahead of you. The path zig-zags up the hill, you are putting in a bit of effort quickly as most of the height gain is made during this stretch. One advantage of this is that you are getting good views as you climb plus the opportunity to stop and look back and get your breathing back under control. As I neared the top of this stretch I was surprised at my heart beat thumping away, not as fit as I thought or just going up to quickly. I met another walker, Ian from Buckie, and after a chat we agreed to buddy up which made the walk more enjoyable as we had a good crack.

Looking back towards Loch Tummel

At the top of this section the views are tremendous back down to Loch Tummel and soon Loch Rannoch would come into view. This caused me some surprise as I had mistook Loch Tummel for Loch Tay and couldn't understand why I could not see Ben Lawers. Later a check of the compass and the map confirmed I had lost my sense of direction and the range of Ben Lawers was actually prominent over to our left, great views all round. The walk had taken about 45 minutes to this spot which I was pleased with and I thought less than an hour to the summit, wrong. My research showed that the height of Scheihallion (Munro) climbed was actually less than the Merrick (Corbett) which I climbed the other week.

The terrain changing as you near the plateau

Because of what I had learned when I researched the walk beforehand I was prepared for a very rocky, stoney climb to the summit. What I hadn't realised was how much of the walk was this boulder field. It must stretch about half of the walk distance.
The path has now disappeared and there is no obvious route, just a case of picking your way through and mostly on the rocks. There are some spots of grass but these don't last for long. Our pace slowed considerably as it would be very easy to twist an ankle or worse. I didn't want to exercise the mountain rescue teams today. Caution was the order of the day particularly as some of the stones moved underfoot, not clever when your other foot is not on stable ground either. At times hands were necessary to get round some of these obstacles.

The boulder fields, summit to the right

You can see the hill clearly ahead of you, the plateau is expansive. We chose to go up right of centre which not the best option. Coming back we came down the other side which had a bit more grass and made walking a touch easier. Top tip if you go up stick as far left as you can without falling off.

Glen Mor below, Ben Lawers in distance

The views are still superb, that is when you can take your eyes off the rocks you are trying to clamber over. I don't think I have ever spent so often on a hill stopping to pick out a line of walking. We met another couple coming down who told us that the cloud was covering a lifting on the summit. Soon we could see the summit, coming from our direction it involved a bit of scrambling but we were finally there. Two ravens suddenly appeared above us, looking for our lunch scraps I presume.
The views were good but not as clear as I hoped particularly over Rannoch Moor. This is the direction that the wind and cloud was coming from. 

View from summit towards Rannoch Moor

A few photos were taken, texts to the loved ones and a brief rest for some grub then back down. Thankfully the cloud did not descend to our level. There were now a few more people on the summit and more could be seen coming up. 

Probably we passed about 20 people today, a popular hill indeed.
As mentioned the descent was slightly easier but still great care was taken to avoid any accidents. Lots of opportunities were taken to take in the views.
I can't remember a descent taking me longer than the ascent, a sign of the caution or just getting old.
A few wheatears and meadow pipits but little else seen today. The board suggested hares, grouse etc but not today.
Just as we neared the carpark I felt something not right with my right boot. The sole had started to come away, thank god it didn't happen on the boulder fields!! These were nice comfortable boots but they don't owe me anything. A trip to the shops required if the weather stays as forecast.
All in all a very enjoyable walk, time taken 4 hours 30 minutes which included our stops.


  

Askernish in South Uist 'A Fine Sunday Walk'

Askernish golf course entrance

Its been a long time coming, we wanted to go to the Western Isles so this year was the trip. There would be plenty of variety for both of us to be happy, the scenery, the beaches, the light, photography and for me some fishing for brown trout. Overall, I am pleased to say that the trip exceeded our expectations. However, these islands are not for everyone and if you are not an outdoor person then it might not be the break for you.

We enjoy the outdoors and for this break we decided to base

Yellow Iris

ourselves on South Uist and we chose a cottage in Askernish. It was a very good choice, both of the property and the location.

For today's exercise we took a circular walk which began from the cottage and headed via Askernish golf course. This then leads you over the dunes and onto the magnificent beach and the fantastic ocean views. It's a really nice walk combining the beach and the golf course and then takes us back inland, via the cemetery, into the village of Daliburgh and then back to the cottage. It was a delightful Sunday stroll of about 10 miles. It took us about 4 hours but in reality you could make a full day of it.

A typical fairway and green

The short walk along to the golf course is tremendous in its own right. You could spend many hours just in this stretch alone, catering for our interests. For birders we spotted the following in just over 30 minutes: short eared owl; cuckoo; redshank; skylark; black headed gull; goldfinches; lapwing; buzzard; blackbird; song thrush; greylag geese and a female hen harrier.
Between the houses/crofts there are lochans which all hold native brown trout although most were now starting to clog up with water lilies.
We are not really that knowledgeable about plants, so the reference book was constantly in use, the ground is sprinkled with colourful flora & fauna. Wild orchids were common particularly the Pyramidal variety (see the book works) and every stretch held massive amounts of the beautiful yellow iris.
A couple of the properties on this stretch house a local artist and a photographer. There were signs telling you when their studios would be open for passing visitors but none at this time.

Flora on the golf course

We arrived at the local golf course which is highly recommended,it as an original Tom Morris designed course which has been upgraded. There are 6 long traditional holes which can be played in isolation. There are also 12 links holes for the the more capable golfer. I am a golfer but I would find these holes very tough even on a calm day. With a strong wind the exposed course would be difficult to say the least. It does not have the same love and attention of top courses, fairways and rough intertwine and plenty of rabbit holes for your ball to find. For me to play I would have a spotter ahead of my tee shots (Mrs B) otherwise quite a few balls would be lost. However the rolling greens looked magnificent to putt on. Another bonus is that you would be unlucky to have golfers in front or behind, it was not busy when we visited, only spotted two pairs playing.
We walked the first 3 inland holes, the fairways were covered with clover, both pink and white, along with masses of daisies and buttercups, only marginally less covered the fairways than those plants in the rough. After these holes the path led us to climb the rough dune ground and behold the magnificent views of the long unspoilt, unoccupied beach which stretched as far as we could see in both directions.
The sand was rougher and courser than that on Eriskay, more rocky strewn near the dunes, but still magnificent. This was the machair areas that we came to see.
We live by the sea and are used to big skies but these seem even larger stretching even further. Probably because the land is so flat in 3 directions it gives you that impact and it is impressive.

The view north

Looking south, Barra in the distance

We mixed the walk between exploring the beach and the holes closest to the walk. As we walked along the shoreline up popped a head out of the water, a common seal gave us a long hard stare before dropping back under the waves. We spotted it again about 50 metres behind us no doubt glad to see the back of those pesky tourists. There was a rocky outcrop not far out at sea which presumably was its base.
Another interested species on the beach were the oystercatchers. They constantly dived, screeched and buzzed around us but without coming too close. It looked like they were nesting in the rocky ground between the beach and the dunes. No idea if it was eggs or chicks they were protecting as we could not find any.

You can just make out a green & flag

Our route now headed back inland which we did by walking down the 12th hole. From the tee the flag looks a long way away. This is a brute of a par 5 in calm conditions, it must be a nightmare with the wind blowing in your face. Potential for a few lost balls on this hole alone. Walking down the fairway you do get a great view looking inland towards the hills.

View from bottom of the 12th

The walk now cuts alongside the cemetery. If you are going to be buried this looks as good a spot as any. In the graveyard we had a scene from a horror film as one of the fenced off graves was absolutely full of cackling black birds, weird on a nice day it would be freaky on a dark winter one.

Cemetery top right

Along this stretch we found this sign. Despite having a good look around we did not find them. Probably they are obvious but not to this pair today. The path we followed just stopped in the dunes.

The walk now brings you into the small township of Daliburgh. If you want you can visit the Borrodale hotel for refreshments.
For us it was a road walk for a couple of miles back to our cottage. All the lochans were covered in weed and unfishable. Good news for the brown trout but not for the anglers.

Water lilly cover for the trout

A very pleasant walk of around 10 miles, mainly flat and good going. A great way to spend a Sunday. 

Beach art