It was Scourie Gala weekend, which meant that the town folk, including the campsite staff, were mostly occupied with tractors, drinking and more tractors. Dan and Sheena were greeted at the campsite entrance with a rather gruff “you were supposed to be here before six o’clock… park wherever you want.” The rest of team MMC (Maurice, Iain, Jake, Sam, Andy and Becky) dissipated to the four corners of the campsite (or in Andy and Becky’s case, the local cemetery). Rumours of a lone cyclist on the Tour de France prologue turned out to be Malcolm, who had battled Scotrail all the way to Lairg, followed by 70km into a headwind, before finally arriving at Scourie.

Andy and Becky were the first of three MMC parties to set foot on Handa Island. They were ready and waiting for the 9am ferry, which departed at a reassuringly west-coast 09:30. Once on the island, they did a spot of bird watching (Puffins, Arctic Skuas, Great Skuas, Razor Bills etc) and also ticked off the HUMP known as Sithean Mor (Altitude 123m).

This was Iain’s first official hillwalking outing with the MMC, “…and it was indeed a good one! I got picked up by Maurice from work and enjoyed the feeling of leaving my troubles behind and proceeding directly to the Northwest coast. Getting in mid evening there was only really enough time to pitch tents, prepare some simple dinner and introduce ourselves to Dan and Sheena. The highlight was definitely a tipple of choice on the edge overlooking Scourie Bay.

After waking the next morning, we [Iain and Maurice] set off first heading north through the gorse and peat towards the ferry to Handa Island. Waiting for the ferry was made more pleasant by bringing out a sketchbook which would become a common theme throughout the day. Handa Island was a very nice walk round, broken up by attacks by Skuas, sketches and talking to tourists from all over.

After a slight navigational blunder on the return trek we returned relatively late and I immediately set to cooking a delicious bean, chorizo and pepper stew! Ultimately I cooked far more than we could eat, so the leftovers were saved for later! The day finished with a few drinks in the Scourie Hotel telling tall tales of the past (and more recent tales of my own).”

Dan, Sheena and Malcolm followed in the footsteps of Maurice and Iain across the overland path from Scourie to Tarbert. The path is only about 5km on the map, but the reality proved much twistier and hillier. The eastern aspect of Handa Island is somewhat benign, but this all ends abruptly at the great cliffs that endure the full force of westerly gales. The cliffs, and especially the three legged “Great Stack”, are home to thousands of Razor Bills, Guillemots and Puffins and are patrolled overhead by Great Skuas (Bonxies). In 1876 three crofters from the Isle of Lewis reached the summit of the Great Stack using a Tyrolean traverse, which is sometimes cited as the first example of climbing for pleasure. A reconstruction in 2011, using period equipment, showed that it was feasible. There’s not much in the way of facilities on the island, so after a few hours we were looking forward to tea and cake at Tarbert (fuel for the return journey to Scourie). It was with no small amount of despair that we read the small handwritten sign informed us that the café was shut for the day.

On Sunday, Malcolm was up at Sparrow’s fart (we don’t know quite how early because he had left whilst the rest of us were still tucked up in bed). He set off south back towards Forres, this time with a tail wind. Rather like Forrest Gump, he just cycled on and on, eventually running out of water, food and legs at Nairn in time to catch a late train home. He might not have climbed any mountains, but he “scaled” Ben Nevis and more, climbing over 1800m and riding for 188km. Malcolm’s forthcoming Tour de Rhine will be a walk in the park after that!

Others had a more leisurely start. Dan and Sheena cycled long the rough track from Kylesku to Glendhu bothy. It’s a fine bothy in a fine location. The glen is surrounded on all sides by steep slopes and even steeper cliffs. The river cascades down the head of the valley in a series of waterfalls. A Golden Eagle soared overhead and various other birds chirped away in the occasionally warm sunshine. Coffee and (overpriced) cake was had at the Kylesku Hotel.

Iain went for a trail run, which turned into well over 16km by lunchtime. Meanwhile, Maurice completed his North coast tick-list, hiking Ben Stack in the same time.
Jake and Sam had the most leisurely of leisurely starts… but what happened after the start remains a mystery.

Words by Dan Moysey. Photos by Andy Lawson and Dan Moysey