The Black Cuillin of Skye
Few more legendary names for British hillwalkers than these and now I`ve discovered why. This circuit of ancient volcanic rock with its forbidding towers, its trackless tumble of rock and scree, its wild weather and wide views is a landscape of myth. It felt like a scene from The Lord of the Rings with the mist swirling across dark stone keeps and enchanted pools and I almost expected to be ambushed by orcs in the high passes or to meet Gollum, hissing from one of the howffs. Instead, of course, our party of four resembled hobbits only in our love of five meals a day and cozy beds at night. And between us, there was a disappointing lack of magical powers in a place where even compasses don`t work.
Still, what an adventure! The Skye Ridge is bristling with 11 Munros (hills over 3000 feet) and another 16 tops, many of which are steep and hard to reach if you don`t know the way. There`s quite a lot of scrambling and roping up, too, so we took our friend and expert British Mountain Guide, John Lyall. Quite apart from leading us safely, he also pointed out mountain sorrell for snacking, the rock types, and birds, including ravens, ptarmigan and a golden eagle.
And, as Scottish Munroists will know, the One Peak to Bind them All is the Innaccessible Pinnacle. I had NO IDEA how exposed or overhung it is! I`m a cheerful hillwalker, not a climber, and I was frankly terrified. Suffice to say, I felt every bit the little Frodo climbing Mount Doom, though admittedly lacking such worthy motivation. Heck, I`m not even bagging the Munros! But my respect for all you Munro Compleatists has gone up exponentially. You all got over that thing? Oh my, oh my, oh my. I`m still recovering – but so pleased to have done it.
It was a brilliant few days, full of gifts. Glen Brittle is beautiful and the campsite staff were so kind. I swam in the rolling sea and the clear waters of Allt a` Choire Ghreadaidh. Our last day was bright sunshine, but with winds gusting 80 mph on the tops, we couldn`t climb! Glorious, difficult, beguiling Cuillin, I`ll be back!
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