Saturday 28 June 2025 - Leaving Loch Duich and Fort William parkrun

On this final posting from Loch Duich, here's an index of the week's postings. If other members of the party send me any further diaries or pictures, I'll append those to this record.

Saturday 21 June 2025 A few 5km runs

Sunday 22 June 2025 - Beinn Mhialairigh

Monday 23 June 2025 - Beinn a'Chaoinich

Tuesday 24 June 2025 - Glas Bheinn

Wednesday 25 June 2025 - Meall Sguman

Thursday 26 June 2025 - Beinn a'Mheadhoin

Friday 27 June 2025 - Totaig, and a broch

Lochside House was possibly the best equipped holiday cottage we have ever stayed in. It's brilliant for up to eight people and with the wide range of walking options nearby it's a place that is certainly suitable for a return visit. Well done to Julie for finding this gem of a place.

Before leaving, I took a few photos of the living areas.

Sue and I left before the others rose, but they did eventually get away and Tom took this picture of David, Roger, Julie and Mike. Sadly the picture provides no clue as to the location of Tom's missing dirty washing bag.

Sue and I reached the mountain resort near Fort William in plenty of time for a completely midge free parkrun. (Midges have not been an issue on this trip, other than outside the house in the evenings.)

It's a slow, slightly hilly, course. Neither of us overdid it and I walked up some of the steeper sections. Very enjoyable though, and we savoured a chat with the locals afterwards. Sue finished in 27:07, position 19 out of 66 finishers, and I took a leisurely 36:45 in position 47. Full results are here.

Milling around before the start

Ready, steady, go!

It's an inverted lollipop sort of route. I was soon meeting folk who were returning from the end of the lollipop stick.

Turnaround point

Once back to the meat of the lollipop, there were good views from the narrow path, which seemed to me to be mostly uphill.

Back at the car park (this parkrun doesn't get any discounts from the £6 parking fee) an eagle sculpture greets the coach loads of tourists who arrive for a ride in the gondola.

We enjoyed a post run coffee from our flask (thus saving more than the cost of the car park) and admired the tow bar bike rack on my car, used for the first time on this trip. It seems to work well.

After our 400 mile journey we were back in Timperley, unloaded, and enjoying  a baked potato and tuna mayo and salad supper by 6:30 after an uneventful journey.

By Sunday morning I was enjoying a slightly quicker (31:38) 5km community run, despite tired legs from the week's tussock bashing with Julie. Sue had it easy on the Munro walks!

I even managed to finish a little ahead of legendary runner, Fechin.

Friday 27 June 2025 - Totaig, and a broch

On a 'more rainy than usual' day, Tom took David to Inverness to pick up a courtesy car, and everyone else either stayed in or went for a 5.8km stroll to Totaig and an impressive broch.

Beyond the road head nearly 2km along from our house, the path is lined with mature trees as well as plentiful wild flowers.

Eilean Donan castle loiters just across the loch from where we are staying a few miles along the dead end road to Totaig.

Beyond Totaig is a path that goes all the way around the coast to Glenelg. An obstacle is soon encountered, a huge landslip that has obliterated the path.

The way around this is very muddy, but we were soon back on the path to the broch. This is a fine structure remarkably well preserved, though currently threatened by overgrown bracken and other plants.

We spent some time admiring the structure before dragging ourselves away and returning to Totaig via the same grassy path.

On reaching the landslip we watched a white tailed sea eagle gliding high above the us.

After this, Sue said "now we just need to see an otter". I looked to my left and was able to respond "yes, there are a couple down there!"

We watched them for some time, fishing in the bay pictured below. They got further away and are just amorphous blobs in the sea in our pictures, but we followed them with the binoculars until they were far out in the bay.

Walking back to Lochside House, the rain had eased, but conditions in the mountains looked pretty grim. We were happy to be enjoying a well earned rest day, which will conclude with a meal at the Kintail Lodge Hotel, where I held my Munro compleation party back in 2004. I doubt the food will match the quality of our own home cooked meals that we have enjoyed over the past week.
It turned out to be very good.

Here's our 2.9km each way  there and back route:

Just a few 'botanical' pictures today. 

Tree Lungwort coats many tree branches, Yellow Iris flowers are abundant, Maori Holly may be an invasive species - should it really be here?, Northern Marsh Orchid should definitely be here, and we came across a very pretty patch of Common Butterwort. 

Tree Lungwort

Yellow Iris

Maori Holly

Northern Marsh Orchid

Common Butterwort

Later: a slight problem getting to the pub! Luckily a gentleman with a chain saw was in an oncoming vehicle.

Thursday 26 June 2025 - Beinn a'Mheadhoin

Sue and Roger climbed Carn Ghlusaid and its two neighbours. 

Tom went up two Munros at the eastern end of the north Glen Shiel ridge.

David supervised the removal of his damaged car by way of a low loader, then went for a local walk.

Early morning rain had subsided before Julie, Mike and I drove to Dornie to set off up the breast of 414 metre Beinn a'Mheadhoin. There was a nice view across Loch Long (above).

Whilst this hill is modest in height it punches above its weight. The gnarly summit ridge looks challenging from below.

 

It wasn't long until we had good views back past Dornie.

The Bell Heather is showing off in vibrant dark red clumps just now.

Julie and I made it to the top before a brief squall saw me diving down to a sheltered spot while Julie waited for Mike, who had got a little directionally confused.

There were good views from our sheltered lunch spot.

After a fairly lengthy break we headed off towards a lochan, passing it near Julie's head and taking a right turn from there.

Eventually we reached a 'path' beside or in the River Glennan. This is the view of our onward route after reaching the 'path' which criss-crossed the river, getting wider every time thanks to side streams.

Intermittent showers visited us as we soldiered our way back to Dornie, crossing the river several times.

This may be a small hill, but after 10km of pathless yomping it had Mike complaining that the walk was harder than the much higher Munro summit that had been his target yesterday.

Here's our route- 11km with 450 metres ascent, which took us nearly all of 6 hours.

Meanwhile, Sue and Roger were enjoying the paths that led to their Munro summits.

Sue spotted some Round-leaved Sundew.