The weather forecast for the weekend was not looking good, however, that didn’t deter our members from getting out and about on Skye.

An early start by Heavy, leaving home at 4:30, meant that he met up with Andy at 8:00 at Glen Brittle. Friday looked like being the best of the weather – so they headed up Sgurr na Bannachdich. However, even with the early start the rain came down by the time they reached the summit and that meant no views. However, there were a few photo opportunities on the approach to the summit.

Another Friday walker was Evelyne. Having driven up on the Thursday evening, Evelyne set out early on Friday to tackle the Corbett Sgurr an Airgid. There was a good path from the cemetery car park at Morvich to the summit. On the ascent, there was some company courtesy of a large herd of deer with some roaring stags. The early start was rewarded with great views of the surrounding hills and the Skye Bridge, with the bonus of no rain! On the descent, watched an eagle circling above Morvich before driving round to Glen Brittle.

Saturday and the weather was true to the forecast – low cloud and rain. Heavy again set off early to tackle Bruach na Frithe from the Glen Brittle side. No one on the hill, but hundreds at the Fairy pools. A quick descent and back to the hut before heading off to Sligachan to take part in the Norman Collie and John McKenzie meeting.

Another group, Malcolm, Tony, Mark and Alex, set off a little bit later to tackle Bruach na Frithe. They drove up to the car park at the Fairy Pols and pondered whether to abandon the hill due to the poor weather. Anyway, despite zero visibility, the group strode up the scree slope. There was fairly persistent rain and strong wind which made the walk a bit of a slog! However, their attention was kept in check by the wet, slippy rocks. However, quite quickly they arrived at the narrow ridge and soon summited (in under 3 hours). They returned via the obligatory Fairy pools.

Gordon and Evelyne set off down Glen Brittle towards the headland, Rubh’ a Dunain. The ground was quite boggy and the fords were in spate, which required a little detour now and then to find a safe crossing. Arriving at the headland, we had a lunch break and enjoyed a brief glimpse of a sea eagle. The main task of the walk was to investigate the remnants of village life in this area. Some googling when back home revealed that the ruin of a large house was once the home of the Chief of Clan MacAskill until the nineteenth century. The exit stream from the loch at the headland, Loch na h-Airde, has at some point been dug as a canal, obviously to enable boats to be dragged up to the safety of the loch. Theories as to the origin of this vary from it being dug by the Vikings to being a Victorian construction by the MacAskills. Other notable ruins included a chambered cairn. On the return journey, we met up with Dan and Sheena and close to Glen Brittle. we meet up with Jan and Andy undertaking the same walk. Just a shame that the low cloud hid some great views of the Cuillins. There was a slight problem with notices at the Glen Brittle Camp site – stating that walkers had to use the beach to access the hills? This needs some further investigation, since this should be a right of way. It was also mentioned to watch out for helicopters –although the only helicopter we came across was a small radio controlled one being used by the owner of the campsite. Anyway, more on the helicopters later!

Jake, Colin and Maureen set off, in their vans, to the Fairy Glen at the north of the island. They left their vans in Uig and walked into the strange, other-worldly landscape of the Fairy Glen. They then drove round to the Quirang. The car park was busy [these days, if you want peace and quiet try Sauchiehall Street], and the underfoot conditions slightly moist, which led to the major incident of the day when Jake skint his knee! Unfortunately, the First Aid kit was in the hut!

Andy and Dianne headed up Sgurr na Bannachdich and despite the zero visibility, Dianne “bagged” her first Skye munro without a rope and harness!

Andy and Deb headed up to Coire Lagan. However, the poor weather and lack of photo opportunities put them off venturing onto the ridge. A wise decision – the hills will still be there next year, when we are guaranteed sunshine and dry, windless conditions.

Sunday arrived, and the weather was much the same. Some of the younger/fitter members made a quick dash up to Coire Lagan just to stretch their legs before heading home. However, there was a group of hardy members (Malcolm, Tony and Mark) who wanted to make the most of the weekend and “bag” some more Munros.

So with the mist down to about 100m and a forecast of rain, Malcolm, Tony and Mark set off at 9:00 to climb Sgurr nan Eag. At the campsite, they passed a party waiting for a guide to take them up to the ridge – and, unusually, a luxury coach. A few minutes later, they heard 3 helicopters land at the campsite, presumably to disgorge some lucky passengers onto the coach – though why anyone would want to fly in those conditions is a mystery! Anyway, the three pressed on through the mist and rain into Coir’ a’ Ghrunnda, then onto the ridge. A few backtracks then ensued as it became difficult to find the safest route to the ridge. Eventually, they arrived at the summit, pleased that they had navigated the route in poor visibility. The descent proved to be just as problematic as the ascent with it difficult to keep on the track. They finally emerged from the mist just before 18:00 and were soon back at the hut. (Postscript: Apparently, the party with the guide had descended some 2 hours earlier having climbed the 3 most southerly Munros – while we had struggled to complete 1 Munro! Is there a lesson to be learnt here? It would also explain the “beware of helicopters sign – looks like guiding in Skye pays very well!)

The Quiraing

Tony and Malcolm stayed over on Sunday night for an extra day in the hills. Following a leisurely breakfast, they headed round to tackle Bla Bheinn – setting off from the car park at 11:30. The weather proved to be better than forecast and the summit was visible for most of the ascent. Unfortunately, about 200m form the summit the cloud descended and the views disappeared. However, a good path meant that there was no difficulty in route finding. They we back at the car in just under 5 hours – a good day on the hills.

Words by Gordon Eccleston, Photos by Colin Cowie