After the eventful and scenic journey along the
unnamed ‘F’ road that leads from Lochinver to the south through Inverkirkaig,
one meets up with the road that leads east-west to Achiltbuie, jump off point
for the Summer Isles. Turn left (east) at this junction and after approximately
3.5 miles one arrives at a car park on the shores of Loch Lurgainn. This is the
start point for the walk up Stac Pollaidh.
In my original blog on the day I did this walk I
expounded on getting old. Suffice to say that this walk had me worried. I had
still not fully recovered from my day at Sandwood Bay (physically and
emotionally) and, despite my easy exertions of the previous day, I fretted over
the 1700 feet elevation gain up the Stac. I need not have worried. Chugging
away at my usual Rocky Mountain hiking pace of ‘glacially slow but erosionally
steady’, I ascended without real hardship.
From the parking lot, cross the road and soon pass
through a kissing gate from where the rocky path rises steeply. This first
section can be muddy. After 10 minutes or so pass through another gate and
continue up the remorseless incline noting the ever improving views of Cul Beag
and Loch Lurgainn and later, Cul Mor.
There are some beautifully cross bedded
boulders of Torridonian Sandstone spread all across these hillsides.
Rounding
the right side of the Stac keep an eye out for the split where one pathway (the
left one) continues its ascent to the ridge and the main path continues to
circle the mountain, hugging the contours more closely.
The day was fine, the clouds were scudding across the
sky and the wind was modest to downright blowy and cold at times. There was
even a half hearted attempt at snow when I got closer to the ridge line but it
downgraded itself to an all too brief hail shower and then faded altogether. At
various times I had my Rab outer shell all zipped up over my microlight down
jacket and at other times it just had to come off only for the wind to start up
again and force me to put it back on again. That’s the way the day went. It
took me less than 2 hours to reach the summit ridge and that included copious
stops for photography.
The ridge was sparsely populated and the near
solitude was wonderful. The highlight of the walk is to arrive at the ridge and
then wander along the rugged and fantastic outcrops of eerie rock formations
searching for a way up to the summit. I didn’t attempt the real summit due to
the need to scramble over some sections and my back just was not up to it on
that particular day. I don’t think there is any scrambling that a reasonably
fit person could not manage comfortably.
The summit ridge with rock cairn and outcrops
Looking down from the summit ridge to the valley and Loch Lurgainn
People scrambling over a boulder that bars the way to the real summit
The views are tremendous of course and
one can see all the way to the Summer Isles in good weather (which I had that
day!). I had a pleasant lunch of left over breakfast croissants and water and
then made my way slowly back down to the contour path. I then followed the path
all the way around until it met the upward path just beyond a gate. From the
north side of the Stac there are grand views of Suilven and Cul Mor.
Suilven from the north side of Stac Pollaidh
Cul Mor from the same place
The 'Stac' from the contour path at south-west
The total length of this walk was in the order of 4
miles and it took me about 4 hours but with lots of stops. If I was a fitness
fanatic I could probably do it in less than 2 hours but who would not want to ‘stop
and smell the roses’ just a little?
Stac Pollaidh and Fence
