439am Gairloch to North Erradale

Posted on July 23, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 13th August 2020]

I start today’s walk from the war memorial at Gairloch. The weather is dull, with low cloud covering the sky and obscuring the hills. So different from yesterday.

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438pm Kerrysdale to Gairloch

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 12th August 2020]

I leave my bike in the parking area by the bridge over the River Kerry. (Well, actually, I haul it into the bushes and chain it up among the ferns and gorse. I don’t want anyone to steal it at this point, as I need it for future walks.)

Then I set off along the road towards Gairloch.

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438am Badachro to Kerrysdale

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 12th August, 2020]

I cycle back to Badachro, and chain up the Monster bike in the parking place by the water’s edge. What a view.

It’s another day of road walking today, like yesterday. But, unlike yesterday, I’m walking through woodland. No sight of the water to start with, just beautiful trees.

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437pm Opinan to Badachro

Posted on July 15, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 11th August 2020]

In a little hamlet, called Badachro, there is a car park marked with a blue [P] on my OS map. I can’t find the car park at first, and drive aimlessly along the same 200 yards of road several times – before I eventually discover the little parking spot. It’s down a steep track and right beside the sea.

Safely parked, I haul my Monster bike out the boot…

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437am Red Point to Opinan

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on the 11th August 2020]

After a lazy day yesterday, I’m determined to get some miles under my boots today. It’s a late start, because I get distracted by breakfast in the hotel (a strange experience where you wear a mask to enter the room but remove it once you’re seated, as if Covid only infects you when you’re standing up).

I walk through rain showers to reach the viewpoint at Red Point, where I take a self-portrait.

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436 Beaches and Red Point

Posted on July 5, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk took place on the 10th August 2020]

Yesterday, I was in a bad mood and found the walk tedious – and that means I was in breach of one of my own rules: “Enjoy each and every walk”.

I’ve never been to this part of Scotland before, and will probably never return. The weather is beautiful, the scenery is stunning, and I’ve decided to spend a few hours just enjoying the place. So, I drive back towards Red Point, and park near the village of Melvaig, where I’ve spotted a lovely stretch of sand.

I sit on the beach for an hour or so.

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435 Craig’s Bothy to Red Point

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk took place on the 9th August, 2020]

Because of the logistics of this part of the coast, I’ve decided to split the walk to Red Point into two sections, with two separate there-and-back walks. Yesterday, I walked to Craig’s Bothy from Lower Diabaig, and back again. Today, I’m walking onwards from the bothy to Red Point.

I start from the rickety bridge that crosses over the Craig River, just below the bothy.

Of course, in order to get to the bridge, I’ve actually already walked here from Red Point. So, when I reach the bridge, I’m hot and tired, and desperate for a drink and some lunch. But, no sooner have I slung my rucksack off my back… but the dreaded midges surround me.

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434 Inveralligin to Craig’s Bothy (part 3)

Posted on June 5, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk took place on the 8th August, 2020]

I’m tired after my long hike out to Craig’s Bothy and back, followed by my trek up the road. But my day isn’t over yet. I need to join up with yesterday’s walk, which ended further down the road, at the bridge over the Abhainn Alligin, just above Inveralligin.

Having retrieved the Monster bike, I park my car, again, at the view point near the top of the pass.

A white campervan has pulled up beside me, and a couple get out. They watch as I heave my bike out of the car. “Good for you,” they say. Followed by, “You’re brave.”

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434 Inveralligin to Craig’s Bothy (part 2)

Posted on April 15, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk took place on the 8th August, 2020]

I leave my bike above Loch Diabaig, and set off walking up the road. Cottages are scattered over the hillside. Some are clearly working farms and crofts, while others – the grander ones – are probably holiday lets.

31 up the road from Lower Diabaig, Ruth walking the coast of NW Scotland

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434 Inveralligin to Craig’s Bothy (part 1)

Posted on March 29, 2021 by Ruth Livingstone

[This walk was completed on 8th August 2020]

It’s a thrilling, downhill, free-pedalling ride to Lower Diabaig, where I leave my bike chained near the beginning of a footpath. This is the path that should take me all the way to the famous Craig Bothy.

01 bike at the start of the path, Ruth's hike to Craig Bothy and back, Scotland

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