Day 21 – To Applecross

Sunday 16th May

Though the walk up to the telephone mast seems uninspiring what lies beyond absolutely isn’t. The kilometre or so up the track takes you to 770 metres and then you’re away from the road into wild mountain scenery with the distant view of the Cuillin, and two Corbetts easily accessible. It’s good walking as well on the rock plateau which narrows in places to add a degree of thrill.

Within a half hour you’re at the summit of Sgur’ a’ Chaorachain, view down to Loch Carron to the south, the Cuillin and Harris to the east, and the Highlands to the north and west.

It was a great stopover place, just one other overnighter, then a couple of climbers and walkers early in the morning. Mind you, the weather was almost perfect, and my suspicion is that for the majority of days up here, that won’t be the case.

Then down from the Bealach into Applecross for a Sunday afternoon beer at the Inn. It’s busy, but not anything like it will get in a month or so.

Onwards on what is now the North Coast 500 route, round the corner from Applecross Bay to a beach just before Lonbain. It’s a Ministry of Defence place also, with submarines stationed in the relatively sheltered sound between here and Skye. Great fun on the beach as there were several lively dogs all keen to run and play in the surf. Good chatting also to a couple of similar age to myself settled in with a champagne afternoon tea, from Crosby originally but now locals, and, with a red fox Labrador also, female as well, so Roja particularly friendly. Hard times for them, as they run a business as Tour Guides for Americans and Canadians.

I’ll stop over night here, though I don’t expect to be the only one, it may well get busy.

There’s an insight into the history of Applecross in Graham Macrae Burnett’s 2015 novel, His Bloody Project. It is set in 1869, and concerns a triple murder in the remote community, leading to the arrest of a boy called Roderick Macrae. It takes the form of a memoir written by the accused, accepting that he is guilty, but it takes the assistance of Scotland’s finest legal and psychiatric minds to discover what drove him to commit such merciless acts of violence.