Day 13 – Inchnadamph to Achfary

The stop off at the lovely Inchnadamph Explorers Lodge left us totally charged up, with full bellies, clean bodies and clothes, and having had a proper night’s sleep on an actual bed. Despite not leaving the hostel until 9:30am we made light work of the day and made it to Glendhu Bothy by 3pm despite some gnarly wet and windy conditions. Glendhu was supposed to be our stop for the day but with so much daylight remaining and the legs feeling good we kept on keeping on.

We’ve both admitted to being people who can slip into the ‘productivity mindset’ especially where exercise is concerned, and we put a solid effort into putting this to one side and embracing the steadier side of life, stopping to swim in every loch and river we fancied, and taking plentiful tea breaks. We didn’t want to spend this walk marching on thinking of the next end point, but strolling comfortably and soaking up the journey.

This late into the trip though, we decided we were going to lean into productivity itch and try and wack out a few big days in a row to get to The Cape in 15 rather than 16. Today we ended up carrying on all the way to Achfary, and actually had good feelings in the legs the whole way. It’s amazing what a night in a hostel will do for you!

Right now I’m sat in the tent trying to weave a piece of washed up fishing rope into something pretty around my hiking pole as some kind of little souvenir. I’ve succeeded in filling the tent with plastic fumes from melting the ends, and not made anything very pretty. This might be one for a YouTube tutorial on the return to Bristol.

Day 14 – Achfary to Sandwood Bay

Wow. Just wow. I feel like I’ve lived about three days in one today, with each of them being as good as the last.

After yesterdays big day we set of at 5:30am on a mega mission to reach Sandwood Bay before sunset. Starting this early meant we could do this without feeling pressed for time and being able to take our usual tea breaks and chill time throughout the day. We ended up linking up with Stuart who we’d met on day two, and a woman called Katie from Bristol(Ish). Katie had been writing entires in the bothy books and had been a day ahead of us for some time. We’d speculated about what Bristol(ish) meant and so it was great to catch up and find out a bit about her! Ayoob, Simon, Katie, and Myself joined forces for a lot of the day, and it was a real pleasure to have a few new faces to chat with on the trail. They were also aiming to reach the bay before nightfall and we’d agreed on a picnic feast and a sea swim.

The miles ticked by easily today despite having to do a long road section from Riconich all the way along to Kinlochbervie, and we reached Sandwood in good time. It was here that I caught my first glimpse of the lighthouse that had been in my mind for the last two weeks, poking out onto the headland in the distance. It was an insane feeling to be this close to our final goal.

The bay itself is a gorgeous place, with the huge sea stack of Am Buachaille pointing up to the sky like a massive accusing finger. Seeing the beach gave me a huge boost of energy and we quicked pitched the tents up before running flat out into the sea. It was surprisingly warm, and I spent a good few minutes diving under waves and floating about with the biggest grin on my face. In a way, this felt like the end of the trip, and I couldn’t contain my joy. Sandwood also has the unique feature of a freshwater loch being right next to the sea, so you can get salty and then wash yourself off in fresh water. Perfect.

Swimming done, we cracked open a selection of cheeses, crackers, and other goodies bought at the famous London Stores just outside Kinlochbervie. I’ve now eaten a huge amount of cheese and expect to have some wild dreams. In a way, I feel sad that this journey is so near to it’s end, with just the small matter of crossing the boggy and pathless MOD firing range tomorrow to get to the lighthouse itself.

Day 15 – Sandwood Bay to Cape Wrath

Every day so far on this trip we have gone for a tactic of waking early and packing down quickly, doing an hour or so’s walking, and then settling down in a nice spot for some breakfast and a cup of tea. Today was the first and only day that we woke really late, and lingered at the beach for some time. I snuck out of my tent before Ayoob for perhaps the first time ever and wandered up and down the beach a few times in solitude. It really is a beautiful place, I’d go as far as to call it one of the best beaches in the UK, if not the world. I’ve not actually visited enough of the beaches of the world to make such a claim, but it’s a bloody nice beach.

We sat on a log eating breakfast and soaking up the sea air before setting off on this final stretch of our journey, and I almost found myself stalling, taking frequent looks back at the beach and walking at an intensely leisurely pace. I just didn’t want this journey to end. The beauty of the landscape, the solitude, the vastness of it all. Going back to the city and getting on with ‘real life’ just felt so low on my priorities list.

There isn’t much to say about this last stretch to the lighthouse. It’s bleak, baron land used by the military as a firing range, and crossing it is a means to an end of reaching the lighthouse itself. The time went by slowly before we eventually reached the gravel track and rounded the final bend to the lighthouse that had been on our minds for two weeks.

It’s a fitting end to a remote journey, not some tourist circus like John o’Groats or Lands End, just a sleepy lighthouse on a quiet, rugged corner of the British Isles. We walked ever closer and popped into the tiny Ozone Cafe, run by a family who has made the lighthouse their home, and set up to entertain the tiny numbers of tourists who arrive by ferry from Durness. Today it was just us, Stuart, and Katie, and we sat in the sun recalling stories of our adventures and watching eagles soar overhead. I enjoyed Mac and cheese on toast and shared a can of Scrumpy Jack with Ayoob. He said he liked it but i think he was being polite. You can take the boy out of Bristol, but you can’t take Bristol out of the boy.

The Return Journey

Getting to Cape Wrath is not where the adventure ends. Being so remote It’s not like you can hop right on a bus or a train to get away from here. In summary, our journey home to Bristol required a 24km walk out to the A road towards Durness, (which we underestimated and ended up hiking through a deep bog in the dark!) Three separate hitched rides, a short taxi, a train, a coach, and then a 9-hour drive back down south. Even getting home was an adventure.

I’m sitting at the desk back at home now, and am full of all sorts of feelings which are going to take me a while to digest. The ending of this trip is significant, as it also marks the end of my four-month work break. As the currently unemployed vaguely freelancing guy sat at a laptop typing about his holidays and occasionally refreshing BikeBiz I’m not in a position to be dishing out life advice, but If you feel like you need a break and can afford to take one, then just do it. I turn 30 in just over a month, and the best present I could have possibly given myself was the last summer of my 20’s absolutely rammed full of good times that I will never forget. ✌️