MICHELE BIANCO CERAMICS

I left the village of Cannich at the bottom of Glen Affric on a bright morning in early September, heading westwards towards the wildest and most remote part of my route.  The terrain ahead of me was for the most part empty of civilisation and public roads but was an area I'd long looked forward to exploring.   I was walking through what recently became part of the Affric Highlands initiative – an ambitious scheme to rewild over half a million acres of land. As my path led westwards along the Affric river I was quickly surrounded by mature forestry and as the day progressed the plantations gave way to native forests with ancient Caledonian pines, luxuriant mosses and lichens with only the rushing of the river and the wind through the branches for my soundtrack as, for much of its length, Glen Affric is inaccessible to vehicles. 

As the day wore on, the clouds came down making for atmospheric views through the trees and swaying grasses to the river and loch below. By the time I found a camping spot next to a gushing stream above Loch Affric it had started to rain in earnest and we had a wet night.

The cloud was still low the following morning as I made my way west leaving the forests behind and crossing the river to follow the wide valley surrounded by dramatic mountains. I passed the most remote youth hostel in the UK at Alltbeithe, high up towards the head of Glen Affric before continuing towards the watershed. The landscape became ever wilder and more rugged but the cloud lifted so I was able to enjoy a spectacular descent towards the valley of the river Croe, past breathtaking waterfalls with the Five Sisters of Kintail as a backdrop. I found a perfect camping spot just as the valley leveled out at the head of Gleann Lichd and enjoyed an evening watching the sun descend behind the craggy peaks. 

Having fallen asleep to a still, warm and midgey night, I woke up to a wild and wet morning and my tent very nearly escaped from me into the river on a gust of wind as I was decamping!  However, half an hour later the storm had passed and the tent, Foxy and I were able to dry out in beautiful sunshine. We enjoyed an easy walk down the course of the beautiful river Croe to the shores of Loch Duich at Morvich. The sound of traffic on the busy A87 to Kyle of Lochalsh came as an unwelcome surprise after 3 days of quiet walking in the mountains. 

My route the following morning took me north eastwards with a very steep climb high up over Bealach na Sroine before dropping down into the spectacular hanging valley of Abhainn Gaorsaic. At the point my path met the river the ground dropped away to form the breathtaking 375 foot drop of the Falls of Glomach. At this point I discovered that I have developed a fear of heights and the descent along the precipitous rocky gorge of the river (with dog and hefty backpack) was even more challenging than the morning’s steep ascent. Finally arriving at Glen Elchaig, I followed the meandering river down to where it meets the sea at Killilan at the head of Loch Long, finding a camping spot by a rocky pool in Glen Ling.

I headed upstream the following morning before climbing northwards and then descending into Attadale on the southern shore of Loch Carron, enjoying lovely Autumn sunshine. From there I headed eastwards to Strathcarron, walking along the river as far as Coulags and then turning north again for my final night camping by the peaceful but exceptionally midgey Fionn Abhainn. The upside of a sleepless midge-infested night was that I saw a shooting star and was able to enjoy the inky black star lit sky.

After a very early start to escape the midges I arrived at Bealach na Lice – the final ascent of my long journey – just as the sun was climbing over the mountains. The views from the pass down over Loch an Eoin towards Beinn Damph were stunning and I enjoyed the familiar descent towards Loch Torridon. The summits of Liathach and Beinn Alligin were shrouded in wispy cloud as I made my way along the southern shore of the loch to arrive at my house. 

It was a strange feeling to finally reach my destination – happy to have achieved my goal but sad that the adventure was over. I’ve discovered so many wonderful places that I had no idea existed and feel so lucky to have been able to make the journey and to have memories of some really special times.