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Journal: |
I took my time having breakfast and getting ready to leave the
hotel, knowing that I had a short day and that there was no point in
getting to the Crask Inn, my target for the day, too early. I
had finished my fourth book for the trip and the owner agreed to let
me swap my finished book for one of theirs from the lounge
bookshelf, provided that it wasn't one of their better ones.
They had some good ones that appealed to me, but I decided on a
non-controversial Dan Brown (Digital Fortress) which I suspected
they wouldn't miss, and I was right.
I started walking at 10am and, rather than follow the guide-book
suggestion for the first section, which required backtracking a
kilometre and then following a forestry road, I just walked down the
narrow main road for the first hour or so and saved myself a couple
of kilometres, only saw half a dozen cars and had great views over
Loch Shin. I was startled at one point when an RAF Tornado
flew up the Loch from behind me at a very low altitude. I was
suddenly aware of a rapidly approaching loud noise from behind and
jumped off the road.
After the initial road walk, I had short stretch on a gravel side
road and then seven or eight kilometres of cross-country work.
The guidebook described it as trackless peat bog and it was correct.
To avoid the worst of the bog the route zig-zagged across the
moorland by going via the summit of two low hills, both of which
provided great views on a very clear day in all directions. I
could see mountains in the near and far distance and the large Loch
Shin as well as a number of small lochs. For the first time in
a week, I had a reasonably strong mobile phone signal and spent
quite some time on the first summit eating my lunch and trying to
connect to the internet. Unfortunately, there was a problem
with my prepaid wireless and two calls to the help centre, both of
which were cut short when I lost the signal, couldn't resolve it.
Pretty much a wasted hour, but I had the time and it was worth a
try.
The very isolated Crask Inn was visible in the far distance from
the first summit and I could see it for most of the rest of the day
as I walked slowly towards it via the second summit. While
climbing the second hill, I disturbed a largish herd of deer, and
also saw what could have been a small snake. In Australia,
slogging cross-country across this kind of country, I would have
expected to have encountered many snakes.
I finally reached the Crask Inn at 3:45pm, feeling particularly
lazy after my low kilometre day. The manageress said my room
wasn't ready, but offered me a cup of coffee if I didn't mind
waiting in the lounge, which was no problem at all. She also
brought me today's Glasgow Herald and I enjoyed sitting back and
reading the paper for an hour or so, before being shown to my room.
The pub feels very historic and is owned by a farmer and his wife,
both of whom seem to work non-stop. Dinner was made from local
produce and I shared a table with a nice couple from south of
Edinburgh who were on holiday and day hiking from the Inn.
Rain is forecast for tomorrow. I suspected I would have to
pay for my run of relatively good weather through Scotland at some
time.
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