I am miles behind when it
comes to trip reports (20 plus days already) and there is no way I am going to get caught
up. Rather than miss yet another I will
just put up a few recently processed images from my last trip up to Scotland. This wasn't a photography trip so we simply
walked, camped and enjoyed the hills without any constraints.
Gairloch Area
As you will probably have
noticed on the blog recently I have been recording a number of air crash sites
in the North Pennines as they are disappearing fast due to the actions of
collectors. While doing some research on these I also found out about several others in Scotland. One of these was the crash site on Sidhean
Mor of a B-24H Liberator Bomber serial no 42-95095 of the USAAF which crashed
on 13th June 1945 killing all on board.
This incident took place
right at the end of the war in Europe as American personnel and resources were
either being redeployed for the war in the Pacific, or returned to
America. Details are sketchy, but it
would appear the aircraft had developed engine problems and may have actually
clipped the top of Slioch as some parts of it were found on the summit. If that is the case it would certainly have been too low for the
crew to abandon the aircraft and they may have been looking to ditch in the
sea. Sadly they did not make it and
instead hit the high ground surrounding the Fairy Lochs.
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| Propeller with one of the engines behind. |
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| There is also a memorial to the crew lower down next to the loch |
Assynt
A few days later we headed
up to the Assynt area and on the way visited the Inchnadamph bone caves. If you are ever passing the short walk up is
well worth it and it's a place I intend to revisit for some more photography.
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| One of the entrances to the Inchnadamph bone caves |
We did several mountains as
well as valley walks in the area, but the best mountain day by far was bagging
the three Corbetts of Spidean Coinich, Sail Gorm and Sail Gharbh which make up
the Quinag hills. Despite having a rather brief visit to the last summit when
the rain came in we had a great time.
The light was rubbish most of the day, but photography took a backseat
anyway and we simply enjoyed the hills for the sake of it.
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| The approach to the final summit of the day Sail Gharbh. |
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| The view towards Glas Bheinn from the summit of Sail Gharbh. |
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| The summit of Sail Gharbh with bad weather on the way. |
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| Spidean Coinich, with Suilivan in the distance. It would have been great to spend more time on the summit but with a thunderstorm looking imminent we abandoned our break on the top and lost height as quickly as possible. Fortunately the weather broke after we reached the valley. |
Coast wise it was wonderful
wandering around the machair looking at the wildlife, or simply passing the time
watching the waves roll in while beachcombing.
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| The flowers were just starting to appear on the Machair |
A couple of my favourite seascapes from the trip.
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| Sango Bay |
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| Sango Bay |
That photograph of the propeller blade sticking out of the water is both eerie and tragic. What a sight to come across on a day in the hills. I had no idea there was anything like that anywhere in Britain. And the bone caves! Blimey, I’ve done a lot of walking in that area but I’ve never heard of them. I shall have to look into them soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I walked the Cape Wrath Trail a few years ago I camped near Kylestrome and watched the sun go down behind Quinag. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. I’ve always meant to go back and climb it, but like a lot of things it was shuffled onto the back-burner and then forgotten about.
Like the seascapes, by the way. Excellent photographs. The great thing about Britain is that wherever you go you’re near the sea, and it is always different.
Cheers, Alen
Despite knowing what to expect it really was a moving sight to see the propeller sticking out of the water like that. Sadly there are many stories like this right across the UK hills.
DeleteI bet the Cape Wrath Trail was wonderful - mountain and coastline what could be better than that for a walking experience. (Just noticed you have written an account of your adventures and look forward to reading it later)
As for the Quinag, you will not be disappointed when you finally head up there.
Cheers, David
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