Date: Wednesday 31st May 2017
Participants: Us
Weather: Cloudy then clearing
Distance: 19.3km
Ascent: 1000m
Back on the mainland after our quick trip up from Lochboisdale to Stornoway we were keen to revisit some old favourites in the far NW.
Near the top of the list was Suilven – last visited in 2004.
Nothing too much to say about the route – parked at the end of the public road to Glencanisp Lodge at NC 107 219. From there we walked east along the track, past Suileag and on to the obvious path ascending Suilven from the north.
The gorse was in full bloom and the scent of coconut was strong – the scent of spring.
Suilven was a little cloud-capped at the start.
Suilven and Canisp:
The John Muir Trust has a 2 year project to upgrade the path from this side – their crew was hard at work on the lower parts. It will be nice when done I think – the ascent to Bealach Mor has eroded badly under thousands of feet.
Once up to Bealach Mor the views expand considerably.
From Bealach Mor we headed west to Caisteal Liath – the view back is a classic:
Once on the summit there are spectacular views of the Assynt inselbergs to the south:
The view west is open sea, with the Hebrides only just visible on the day.
Sat on the north side, in lee of the brisk and cool southerly, and had some lunch. The summit would make for an interesting camp spot sometime.
After an hour or so we reversed route back to the car.
East end of Suilven:
North to Quinag:
Once back down from the hill the day was pleasantly sunny. Canisp looks to be approachable from this side too:
With the sun out we admired Suilven from our return:
A cracking walk – one of the iconic Scottish Hills. Hopefully we’ll be back in laess than 13 years this time.
Busy Doing Nothing 