The rain poured and the wind howled all last night. We were very glad not to be in a tent: the bothy was wonderfully watertight. We get up, have breakfast then sweep and tidy round to leave the place in good shape for its next occupants. It's then a very steep pull up the hill. The rock is running with water from the overnight rain, but it's very inviting to the touch, rough but not sharp.
As we reach the top, we meet the inevitable bog. There is a pattern in this section of the walk: steep up, flounder around in a bog at the top, steep down. The compensation are the stupendous new vistas around that appear as we surmount obstacle. At least there are no peat hags here. We start to descend to the A832, but these first four miles have taken a long time. It is also now raining heavily, although at least the rain is vertical. There has been a stiff wind and the weather today feels distinctly autumnal.
We traipse along the road, avoiding the surface water from passing cars, and turn off towards Dundonnell and stop for a break. We eat an oat bar and I feel almost instantly revived. Just as well as there is another steep hill to climb. The path is running with water and mud, but at least it isn't a marsh. It soon levels out and we follow a path for miles over bogs and past lochans. It seems like a different planet here in the clouds.
It's too cold and wet to stop for lunch, so we have another oat bar on the go and start our steep descent. The oat bars from Kinlochewe Stores have certainly kept us going. The descent becomes almost like a Lake District fellside and we soon find ourselves in Inverlael. From there, it's a half mile walk to Clachan, where we are greeted with tea, soup, homemade bread and wine. It feels like we're in heaven. While we're eating, the owner comes to no ask us if we saw any cows up near Shenaval. It transpires that the cows belong to them and are driven up to the high pasture s at the beginning of summer. Once the driving starts, the old cows run along keen to get into the hills and the youngsters follow. When it gets too cold, the cows bring themselves down from the mountain and home to the farm.
Total distance so far: 816 miles
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