477 Drumrunie to Clach Mor

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 13th July 2022]

I was planning to drive round to Culnacraig and finish the Postie’s walk today, by walking from there to the cairn where I ended my previous attempt. BUT… of course there was going to be a BUT… the weather is even worse today, with driving rain and a swirling wind.

So, here I am, back at the Drumrunie turn-off. I stow my bike behind a green shed, and snap a photo. That’s the road I will walk down today – a narrow, single-track road that threads its way along the side of a long valley.

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476 Blughasary turnoff to Drumrunie

Posted on December 22, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 12th July 2022]

I’m back at the turn-off to Blughasary. But I’m not attempting the Postie’s walk today.

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475 Ardmair to Blughasary

Posted on December 21, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This post was completed on the 11th July 2022]

Yesterday was full of gorgeous sunshine and warmth. This morning, I wake to a gloomy sky. Never mind – it’s perfect walking weather. This is the view from my camping pitch.

I drive to my end-point for the day (more on that later) and cycle back to the campsite, chain up my Scooty bike, and begin my walk, starting along the A835.

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474 Ullapool to Ardmair

Posted on December 19, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 10th July 2022]

I had been staying in a B&B, but last night I moved on to a campsite at a place just north of Ullapool, called Ardmair. This morning, I cycle back to the car park where I ended yesterday’s walk. Today, I’m walking into Ullapool itself, and then on to Ardmair.

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473pm Lael Forest Garden to Ullapool

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 9th July 2022]

I finish my lunch, shrug my backpack over my shoulders, and set off again. I think I’ve fallen in love with the A835. What a road!

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473am Lael Forest Garden to Ullapool

Posted on November 23, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 9th July 2022]

I stayed in a bed-without-breakfast place last night. So, this morning, I drove to a parking spot just outside Ullapool, brewed up some coffee in my van, ate my muesli, then jumped on my Scooty ebike and cycled back to the car park at Lael Forest Garden. The ride seemed longer than I anticipated – I’m still walking “off the map” – but luckly my bike’s battery held out.

Back in the car park, I chain my bike to a sign post, and look at a plan showing the forest trails.

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472 to Braemore Junction and Lael Forest Garden

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 8th July 2022]

Different weather today. Still plenty of clouds, but they are lighter, don’t drop any rain, and there are patches of sunshine moving across the landscape. I cycle back to the layby where I ended my walk yesterday, leave my bike in a ditch, and set off.

Nearby, a track leads off into a different branch of this same valley. Two “core path” signs tell me I can go this way to get to Lochluichart 18 miles away (never heard of it) or Kinlochewe 15 miles away.

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471 lay-by through Dundonnell Forest to lay-by

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 7th July 2022]

Today, I’m filled with a sense of urgency because I want to get to Ullapool before the end of this trip – and I discovered yesterday that Ullapool is much further away than I realised.

Its a dull sort of day, but at least it isn’t raining. I hide my bike in the bracken, and begin my plod along the A832

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470 Dundonnel to lay-by

Posted on October 16, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 6th July 2022]

The landscape is obscured by mist and the air is filled with a constant, miserable drizzle, interspersed with heavier downfalls of rain. A real change from the glorious sunshine of yesterday.

This morning, I filled the van with diesel from the self-service pumps in Laide. As I was driving out of the forecourt, I noticed a woman standing with her thumb out. She was wearing a flimsy jacket over shorts, open-toe sandals on her feet, and carried a large backpack. She was thoroughly drenched and shivering with cold. She had been waiting for the bus to take her to Ullapool, but it wasn’t running any more.

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469 Mungasdale to Dundonnell

Posted on October 15, 2022 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 5th July 2022]

I start from the spot I ended yesterday’s walk – a nondescript lay-by on a corner of the road, overlooking Gruinard Island, near a place called Mungasdale.

It’s a sunny morning, with virtually no wind. Gruinard Island looks lovely – a gently-rounded green hump of an island, treeless and enticingly tranquil, lying less than a mile away across the blue waters of Gruinard Bay. I wonder if anybody lives there?

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