Dornie Weekend
5-7 November 2005
By Sarah Montgomery
It was the start of November and we had booked two cottages in Dornie, just south of Kyle of Lochalsh. It was lovely location... fabulous modern houses with cosy underfloor heating and huge picture windows over the loch, rather a lot of rain and wind but good fun all the same. There was a number of different walks Saturday and Sunday resulting in uniformally wet but ultimately (at the end of the walk) happy hikers.
Saturday for me was a trek up an interesting wee Corbett with Jim (no view from the top, and you should have heard him seething when it cleared on our way down!) but I think he's writing about that one separately. I also suspect someone from the crowd who did the low level walk from Dornie on the Sunday will report back on that one and so I'll just tell you more about my Monday trip.
The Monday trip.....
After two days of getting drenched to the skin I couldn't quite match Jim's enthusiasm to join him for yet another Corbett on the way home, but luckily I found an ally in Susan, who we were giving a lift to. We dropped Jim off at the foot of Meall Bhuidhe, and drove on down to Loch , which is on the way to Kinloch Hourn. He had suggested we cycle the 6 miles or so to the Tomdoun Hotel, which including lunch would give him time to do his hill.
It was great to be on the bikes and not trudging through bogs and running water, so we cycled very cheerily along the loch, the sunshine finally came out and the autumn colours began to come alive. However, all this joy was rather short-lived as we had got half way to the hotel when I realised to my horror that I'd left the car keys in the car, in the ignition! So quick hurtle back along the loch, car fortunately still there. It started to pour again at this point too, but I grabbed the keys and sped on back wondering how far Susan had got. After a few miles the road started to climb quite steeply, and I was just beginning to get quite wet and thinking 'PLEASE don't let the hotel be back down at the lochside again', when suddenly it appeared invitingly at the top of the hill, with a familiar-looking bike parked outside. I hung my dripping waterproofs up on a pair of antlers, stepped in and found Susan sitting very comfortably with a half pint.
What a fantastic place! Genial host, dogs dozing by the fire, cosy seats and cushions, stuffed fish and all that stuff. We'd gone there with the thought of having a bowl of soup, but when the owner came and told us what was on the menu we just couldn't resist. Some freshly-made venison and butter bean casserole and a fine piece of halibut – 'a sparkler' as the fisherman had apparently described it to the owner – soon sat in front of us along with some really nicely cooked vegetables. Very happy cyclists!
It was difficult to leave the fire and the labrador resting its heavy muzzle on my knee, but we put on our soggy waterproofs and got back on the bikes. Strangely, the cycle back seemed incredibly quick and easy. Jim was waiting on cue, also pleased with his day, but I think just a teeny bit envious of our not-very-earned lunch! The journey home went well, got a text from Clare saying there was snow at Aonach Mor, and anyone on for skiing next weekend? Wow, time to get excited about the new season already!
Thanks to Clare Campbell for organising a great weekend.
Sarah Montgomery