It's going to be a long one today, so we have a makeshift breakfast in our room so we can leave early. The temperature is is in single figures first thing and the wind is coming from north north west, exactly the direction we're heading in. There will be a stiff headwind all day. Not long after we start, the rain comes and we find ourselves needing hats, gloves and full waterproofs. It's not a very auspicious beginning.
We soon find ourselves back at the junction and we continue along the A837 which is no longer a single track road. Quinag looks incredible in the distance. This inselberg has a more complex shape than the others and is topped with Cambrian quartzite. We continue through the murk until we reach Inchnadamph. At least there are a few villages today to break the journey. Richard comments that we will be crossing a pass in a bit. I see a high route past Quinag in the distance but assume that's a different road.
Shortly after, we briefly stop for an Eccles cake then keep walking. Yvonne has offered to meet us a bit later with some hot food to keep us going. This section should take six to nine days, but we only have four (hence the long days road walking), so we need all the help we can get.
We pass the ruins of Ardvreck Castle, which dates back to about 1490 and belonged to the Macleods of Assynt. We then arrive at Skiag Bridge junction, just as Yvonne passes us in her camper van. She says she will meet us at a parking spot about a mile away. We turn onto the A894 and start up the steep pass that I had seen and discounted in the distance.
When we arrive at Yvonne's camper van, she has made us a magnificent fry-up. We eat hungrily then warm up and dry out while drinking mugs of tea. We're very sorry to leave, but there's still a long way to go. We continue along the plateau with ever-changing views of the Quinag massif then eventually begin to descend, seeing the outline of Foinaven, which is twelve feet short of being a Munro.
We then take a short cut across the heather to miss a hairpin bend and gradually descend through Unapool to Kylescu. There used to be a ferry here but there is now a magnificent bridge. Amazingly, as we cross the bridge, we see two golden eagles fly over and then an otter in the sea loch below us. The land here is a jumble of deep sea inlets, complex geological strata (including younger Cambrian quartzite sandwiched between older Lewisian gneiss) and freshwater lochans.
We climb another hill after this and Yvonne passes us again offering tea. We refuse but she has two mugs of tea and some Mr Kipling slices ready when we reach the summit. She says that we looked like we needed it and we are very grateful. She then leaves to reach her campsite and we plod along the road again, now battered by occasional sharp squalls and still walking into the driving wind.
The route continues up and down repeatedly but does bring us ever closer to the coast and some spectacular views across several islands towards the Outer Hebrides. As we carry on, I can soon see condensation in the air as I exhale. This means that the temperature is around seven degrees Celsius.
We keep on walking and finally arrive in Scourie, where Yvonne greets us and we all walk together into the village. We reach the Scourie Hotel and arrange to meet Yvonne one final time tomorrow morning, then there's just time for a hot bath before dinner.
Total distance so far: 871 miles
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