Hi all,

I enjoy reading accounts of your adventures so I though it was about time I put something back and wrote about mine.

I set off in the rain for Lochinver in Sutherland by car

which is a looong way from West Yorkshire.

Driving in, I caught the first glimpses of a cloud covered Suilven which I planned to walk up in the morning. A very impressive hill.

I parked my car up the road near Cansip Lodge at 5pm, packed my rucksack with sleeping and cooking gear, coal, kindling and firelighters and cycled off down the stalker’s path towards Suileag Bothy and Suilven.

After 30 mins or so of riding, and a bit of pushing up the hills (the pack was heavy ok!) I came to Suileag bothy, my home for the night.

For a first ever bothy experience I was surprised at how well kept it was, there was even a dartboard (the darts have seen better days so if you go take some new ones)

The view from the front door wasn’t bad either

I set a good fire going, read the visitor’s log and a 2 week old copy of the Sun someone had left and drank some single malt. The night was cold and filled with strange throaty echoey warbling noises – aliens probably. I got up at 2am and went outside to go for a wee with my headtorch and 3 pairs of eyes lit up looking at me. I finished sharpish and dove back into the protection of my sleeping bag 😯

The next morning I cycled further on down the stalker’s path to as far as I could take the bike, ditched it off the path and walked up to Suilven, aiming for the middle of the ridge

Half way up I could see the bothy (middle left of the pic)

Some crazy ancient fool has built a wall on the ridge

The views from the summit were incredible

Then back to the bothy for lunch

and a ride back to the car

Coming back down south, amongst some amazing scenery

I stopped off at Fort William and walked up Ben Nevis via the main path

Which, like my first and only other time up, was covered in snow and cloud at the top

Once down I headed home, parking at Glen Coe to brew up and admire the Aonach Eagach ridge (left side in the pic) which I don’t have the balls or skillz to do

And turned round to see this

A cracking few days in Scotland although I was glad to see civilisation again. Not sure I’ll spend another night in a bothy alone but it was a brilliant experience.

Awesome. Would love to bothy. Looks like a cracking adventure.

Excellent report! Only bothied out once, at Meannanach. Fantastic experience with the stags roaring away at dusk!

Looks like a great trip , I’ve still to break my bothy cherry . As much as I moan about the scottish weather It is a great country.

Nice write-up.

Here’s another recent Inverpolly trip….(not mine)

http://www.trailscotland.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3222

Superb stuff.

When you ditch the bike, do you lock it? I always used to and it seemed so ridiculous to be slipping a D-lock through the wheels in the wilderness. I wonder if anyone’s ever had their bike nicked leaving it out in the wilds.

Yes! Epic adventure!

Give me a shout next time your planning a wilderness ride/camp/bothy, I’m generally mincing around in the Highlands most weekends. TJ might even come too 🙂

Aonach Eagach is amazing btw. Pay £150 and take a guide for the day, it’s worth every penny if you’re not comfortable on airy, technical ridge scrambles. You don’t need a huge amount of skills, but a head for heights and exposure is a must 🙂

Inspiring stuff! Great report and photos.

Looks like you had great time. I once kayaked along Cam Loch and went up Canisp when the cloud was similar to your top pics of Suilven It was like a blanket only over the peak. When it broke the views were amazing. I love the NW. The wilderness and peace really give you sense of your place.
I am sure you would have been fine on the Aonach Eagach it is not as bad as you may be lead to believe.

I took out the wheel skewers and hid it out of sight from the path which I hoped would have been enough.

peterfile – cheers, will do although it could be a while now before I get another pass.

Great write up, looks like the weather stayed good for you too!
Night alone in bothy = good work sir, I bet the quietest of noises sounded like axe wielding madman at the door 😆

^^Sounds like we should have an STW multi day highland adventure

ha ha, that was probably my sun paper bought for lighting the fire! My friend and i struggled along the track (walking) with 20kg + rucksacks (booze) and a 20kg bag of coal a few weeks back. When we arrived there was already 6 drunk Dundonians there with a load of coal and booze. Suffice to say it was not an easy walk up Suilven in the morning. We left the bag of coal there too!

GL- there was a guy on a local forum that i use who had his bike nicked while bagging quite a remote munro in the cairngorms.

i have forgotten my lock a few times on trips, i just hide it well and take wheel axles with me.

No way supremebean! I think it was dated 6th may and it had an article on top 100 sexist women. Better that than the financial times. Cheers!

Very good, thats my fave part of the country up there. Suilven looks amazing from every angle and different every time.

The track by the Kirkaig has always looked like it would be a good ride down from Fionn loch, must try it some day.

We were there 4th and 5th, i did’nt look at the paper as it was just bought for lighting the fire but was not used. Was there a big blue bag of coal there? Stupid question actually as the garage in Ullapool is probably the coal stop for everyone who goes to Suileag.

Nice report, looks like a great trip.

A dartboard and a fortnight old copy of the Sun… an upmarket bothy.

top 100 sexist women

enjoyed that typo too 🙂

The night was cold and filled with strange throaty echoey warbling noises

You bastard. I’ve not made it out into the hills much this year, but two or three trips have been dedicated to hearing the “strange throaty echoey warbling noises”. Last time I heard them (and saw them!) was Shenavall Bothy slightly further south. The latin name, according to Stuartie_C, is birdus hoolie hoolieus

Inspiring – would love to try something like that

100 sexist women! Oops 🙂

13thfloormonk, have u any idea what was making that noise? I’m going to have to scour the net for sounds to try and work it out. Sounded like a big beastie, or aliens, or a mad axe murderer.

Supremebean, yep there was a blue coal bag there.

Aonach Eagach is amazing btw. Pay £150 and take a guide for the day,

As a teenager I just walked it myself, from the Youth Hostel to the Wade Road and then hitched back… has it got harder?

The night was cold and filled with strange throaty echoey warbling noises – aliens probably

My guess would be Roe deer. Had one or two of them making that sort of sound around the house recently, and same again on an evening ride last night

Aonach Eagach is amazing btw. Pay £150 and take a guide for the day,

As a teenager I just walked it myself, from the Youth Hostel to the Wade Road and then hitched back… has it got harder?

If you are going to quote me, and then try to be smart about it, try to at least keep some of the original context.

Aonach Eagach is fine if you have a head for exposure, otherwise it can be quite daunting.

😀

Pay £150 and take a guide for the day, it’s worth every penny if you’re not comfortable on airy, technical ridge scrambles.

fantastic mate……..i love scotland trips.

Pal of mine and I did Aonach Eagach when we were at Uni at Glasgow. Was a bit more exposed than I’d expected…..amazing day, what views.

13thfloormonk, have u any idea what was making that noise? I’m going to have to scour the net for sounds to try and work it out. Sounded like a big beastie, or aliens, or a mad axe murderer.

I’m not telling, wouldn’t want to spoil the mystery. 8)

If it is what I think it is then we heard it the first time on Skye outside the Sligachan pub, sounded like a really weird sheep orbitting the tent. Freaked me out thats for sure.

I crossed the edge of Rannoch Moor at night last year with the intention of hearing them again, I think you only really hear it at dusk though, not at the dead of night! Have become a bit obsessed now, good excuse for a few more nights remote camping!

Fantastic! I so much enjoyed your pics and report; I’m swatting mosquitoes in Abidjan today.

Treasure the experience, later in life you won’t have the time for that kind of adventure. The spooky noises might have been an owl, I was scared shitless the first time I heard one circling around my tent one lonely night in Knoydart; stuck my head through the flap and saw a huge pale-coloured bird circling silently around me.

They’re still skiing at Aviemore, if anybody is interested!

Globalti, I don’t have the time for it now really, I’m married with a 4.5 yr old kid, but I had 2 weeks to kill between jobs which I couldn’t engineer a family holiday with, so I went ferral! Glad u enjoyed the pics

globalti – Member

Treasure the experience, later in life you won’t have the time for that kind of adventure.Bollocks to that. I’m doing more of this stuff now than I ever have!

My mate has his mtb borrowed when he was climbing that very mountain (Suilven). Someone took the bike and left a note saying ‘sorry they were running late’ and that they would leave it at the start of the stalkers path. It was there but a bit **** cheeky as it then made my mate very late.

Seven stanes bothy trip is worth a look stay at White Laggan bothy NX4677 you can ride Kirroughtree adding some natural trails also Glentrool footpaths or just sit about getting pissed

One of the most spine chilling sounds you can hear in the middle of nowhere is the black-throated diver calling, it sounds like a banshee is hunting you down…

Not sure what throaty echoing warbley sounds could be, grouse make some interesting noises this time of year, and other ground nesting birds are very active too. Lapwings sound like a computer game.

Lapwings sound like a computer game

+1

I came across some in the Pentlands and thats exactly what they put me in mind of.

I’m surprised no-one’s figured out what the space alien noises were, I’m 99% sure from the OP’s description and where he was that they weren’t Roe Deer or Owls.

Snipe?

imnotamused, did they sound like this?

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/s/snipe/index.aspx

Nice thread imnotamused, slightly ot question – how do you like the Astra estate?!

monk – yep, not the chirping in the foreground but the flying saucer noise in the background! Freaked me out, I thought it sounded like it was echoing through the valleys from something much bigger then that.

Nice one, and funny it’s just a tiny bird!

shifter – the Astra estate was a hire car given to me by my last employer – I really liked it tbh, a MASSIVE improvement on the last model, did 2000 miles in it in the past 2 weeks and it’s been really comfortable, easy to drive and spacious. It was the 1.7 turbo diesel, plenty of power for my needs. I could fit my 18″ Orange 5 in the boot with the handlebars/stem off which is good because the load cover hid it. Would I buy one? Maybe, not convinced about their reliability given the 2 Insignia’s I had both had faults.

Hmmm, thanks for that : )

iamnotamused, i dont suppose you found a satmap case and spare battery at Suileag on your visit? My mate lost his.

cheers.

Astra estate or Drumrunie estate? ;O)

Good write up and nice pics. I have only taken the motorbike around that neck of the woods but would love to climb it sometime.

Supremebean – no sorry, didn’t see anything like that there