Into Knoydart

Introduction
Day One - Glenfinnan, Mallaig and Inverie
Day Three - Sourlies to Strathan
Day Four - Strathan to Corryhully in Glen Finnan
Day Five - Back to Glenfinnan

Inverie to Sourlies

Day Two, Tuesday 5 August, 1997

We were up fairly early to be greeted by the usual hoard of midges. These delayed the process of breakfasting and packing our sacks but we were on our way by 9:45am. The weather was still fine and promised a good day - shorts all round once the midges retired from the hot sun. The path ahead is extremely well built and maintained, rising steadily but never steeply over the 3.5 km to the col. The many burns that were crossed were all either overlaid by stones of bridged by wooden slat structures. The surrounding terrain is rugged with large outcrops of rock and steep cliffs on most summit ridges. It was obviously heavy going once you ventured off the paths.

We reached the col in good time despite several stops to take a drink at the many burns. It was 'busy' up here - we were caught up by two walkers, one woman was completing the walk from Glenfinnan, and a family party were on a day walk over Mam Meadail col and back to Inverie. This was the only time we met a number of other parties - elsewhere we only met the occasional walker. We settled down for lunch and a brew on a knoll in the strong breeze looking forward to the conical summits of Sgurr na Ciche and Grabh Chooch Mor. We were content to stick to our walk and were not tempted to tackle the summits on this trip.

The path down to sea level was much steeper - half the distance - but it was still clearly defined and easy to follow with the steeper sections taken in a series of zig-zags. It was agreed that we were tackling the path in the 'correct' direction.

At Carnoch (now a ruin) a decidedly rickety suspension bridge crosses the stream - a crossing that is vital when the river is in spate. A sign reminds you that camping is not allowed at this site and walkers should progress further around the bay to Sourlies. The water was inviting and we spent a lazy hour or so swimming in the stream, sunbathing and brewing tea. Finally we shouldered our sacks and walked round to Sourlies. The tide was out so we were able to wander around on the beach to find the bothy hut and an adjacent flat patch of grass on which to pitch our tents. The stream was only a trickle, but enough to give water for cooking and drinking.

A group of four walkers arrived from the Glen Pean bothy having aborted an attempt to get two Canadian canoes up Loch Arkaig and over to Loch Morar. They had found the streams too shallow and man-handling the large boats all the way was not going to be practical. The party collected mussels from the bay and cooked them - we helped to eat them. The breeze stayed with us as the bay filled on the incoming tide. The way forward looked steep but not too high. The view down the loch with the white houses of Kylesknoydart on the right looked exquisite. A local fisherman called by holding a few tins, eggs and potatoes in case a group was short of food or fed up with dried meals - and for a chat.

Introduction
Day One - Glenfinnan, Mallaig and Inverie
Day Three - Sourlies to Strathan
Day Four - Strathan to Corryhully in Glen Finnan
Day Five - Back to Glenfinnan