Diabaig to Craig Bothy

Travelling by car the relative short but dramatic journey from Annat to Lower Diabaig which sits on the Northern shore of Loch Torridon  NG797602

Our journey by car took us over Bellach na Gaothie, which has stunning views, but unsuitable for caravans, for obvious reasons, extremely steep gradients in places.

There is free parking along by the pier, which will also show the hills for our outward journey.

From the shoreline heading due north backup the road, which had just been driven down, you walk as the road bends keep heading north west, where the track replaces the road NG790605
by a farmhouse there are signs for the footpath through a gate.

Soon you are in open and flat ground with views of Loch Torridon to your left and open land as far as the eye can see to your right.

The three of us move on crossing the occasional footbridge over the numerous burns, this walk suits us, flat open and solitude. Blue our German Shepherd always remains alert, and on an extending lead, just in case deer or sheep should make an appearance.

We were hoping to see seals or otters in the waters below, but the path was too far inland, and the waters below were quite a way down.

After a couple of hours walking due North, we reached a body of water Lochan Dubh  NG775635
The weather had began to change, showers and winds were now coming off the sea, but onward we went, shortly after passing the Lochan the terrain began to drop, and below us we could see our goal the Bothy at Craig NG775638

The Bothy was built in the 1900's and was the home of a Shepherd and his family, in 1935 it was acquired by the Youth Hostel Association until 2003, in 2006 the Mountain Bothy Association restored to its current condition.

For us "Townies" it was a bit eerie walking around inside, but a welcome break from the rain, the loo is set at the back of the property, outside entrance only, where flushing is done by utilising the bucket provided and the amply filled water butt, used to collect the rain water, in times of drought there is always waters of the nearby Eas na Gaibhre.

Looking out to sea, the weather was closing in some more, we decided that it may be best to return back to Diabaig, after a last look back at the Bothy

Down came the rain, and up picked the winds and the rain was no longer falling it was horizontal, very unpleasant indeed, but as quick as it would arrive it would equally quickly disappear, but not without a good drenching first.

Blue becomes very alert, there is nothing there we assure him, a few minutes later a herd of deer raise their heads above a mound, and speedily move off, quickly out of sight.

Then it rained again, not sure if we have ever been exposed to such rain, Blue is doing his best to shelter underneath us, until it finally abates.

Finally we arrive back on the shore of Loch Diabaig, strangely dry considering all the rain we had travelled through, either our gear is very good or we just dried out quickly in the sea breeze.

There are no facilities to speak of in this little bay, famously filmed as the hostelry resided in by Ted Danson in the film Loch Ness, actually about 80 miles from this spot.

It has a small pier with a stone built building at the end, with some cages for a fish farm in the bay.

The most iconic view for us was the Shipwreck only a stones throw from the shoreline.

Our walk was 3hour and 50 minutes covering a round trip of about 5 1/2 miles 

Best described as a coastal hill walk that began and ended dry, with a damp patch in the middle (sarcasm)

Blue returned with us to Annat where he was comforted by his wee friend "Kong Cozie"

Annat to Loch Domhain

Date and time have no meaning while you are on holiday in the Highlands of Scotland, the only thing to do is live for the moment and have no regrets.

This walk will chart progress, memorable moments and scenery captured on our camera.

When I say we, that is my wife Suzanne and our German Shepherd; Blue

Our starting point today is from our holiday cottage set on the Shore of Upper Loch Torridon in a small village called Annat (NG895545)

Dressed for the worst, we set off from our holiday let, which is set on the road from Torridon to Shieldaig A896 for about 100 yards where there is one of the strangest properties I have ever seen, a home built into the rocks.

As you pass the rocky house there is an opening on the left, which has the appearance of a grass drive heading up to a house above, follow this route to the top and on the left just before you arrive is an opening in the wall to your left where the path goes back on itself.
Crossing a timber bridge over the burn, you arrive at a metal gate, which begins your walk.

The path is easy to follow, but as always a compass and a 1:25 000 scale map should be part of your equipment.

The path heads East parallel to the road, above the village of Annat, soon the sights of Upper Loch Torridon open up to your left, with the surrounding Torridon mountains of Beinn Alligin & Liathach opening up to your left and in front of you.

Beinn Alligin looms above Upper Loch Torridon

The walk continues to wind around "Bat na Cisteachen" on a path that mixes between a gravel earth and rocks, but good sturdy walking boots are essential. As you come to point where there are two paths on the map, you will follow the path to the right, head away from the view of the road the path swings south and south east in parts steeper, but never a scramble.

You will descend into a crevice where there is another bridge to cross a burn  NG906541which then climbs comfortably around "Bach an Airigh Riabchaich"

As stated before there is the three of us, and the one who sets the pace and mood of the walks is primarily Blue, at the time of this walk he was heading towards his fifth birthday, but is a seasoned walker in the Highlands. Blue is a German Shepherd who needs to be on a lead most times. We never forget that we are only visitors, and these mountains are the home of Scotland's wildlife, so to ensure that Blue doesn't encounter or upset the residents of these hills/mountains he always walks on a lead, which is absolutely fine with. We are trying out a harness for the first time, to give him a wee bit more freedom to sniff and explore the many smells and scents.

So onwards we head, our goal of the day being to reach "Loch en Eion" NG921512

The weather remained favourable and our walk took us to an obstacle, stepping stones across the gentle burn. Well sadly the gentle burn is not the true description, the burn was in spate due to all the rain that had been falling the weeks before, and still coming of the mountains even without fresh rainfall today.

I have no issues with crossing, but Sue has a fear of falling/slipping into the water, and Blue well it really gets his juices going and is difficult to control a fully grown GSD weighing in at 47kg.

Upon closer inspection it was evident that it would not be favourable to cross using the stones, and the depth elsewhere was inhibitive. Consulting the map and looking at the surrounding area, I came up with a plan which would mean moving to higher ground and joining the footpath further south.

As we made our way across towards higher ground, away from the path, the ground beneath us was getting more and more moist underfoot, then without warning, my left foot began to submerge into the boggy ground. Trying to regain my balance, moving my right leg round for stability, wrong move. I was sinking fast, as i submerged down to knee depth, my only choice was to remain calm and shift my weight forward, in doing so Blue placed one paw on my shoulder the other on my head and began to climb onto me !  Grabbing his lead Sue pulled Blue away so that I could remove myself out of the bog. Looking around, we were equal distance between the path and higher ground, we went for he higher ground, which was reached safely.

While taking a moment to reflect the danger of what had just occurred, the stench of the bog was wafting off my boots and gaiters, which were cleaned in a nearby pool of water.

We decided, that it would be unwise to continue to our destination and would return to the cottage, but there was no path to follow, the path was the other side of the boggy area.

Making our way north, we safely navigated a route over the rocks and solid ground until we rejoined the path we had come out on.

Strange how the paths look so natural, but it does make you realise their value, and the work put in to maintain them.

As Upper Loch Torridon came back into view we took a few pictures, to remember the walk.

We arrived back at the cottage almost 5 hours after we had set out, walking almost six miles.

Today was a very memorable adventure, but also a reminder that there are dangers on the mountains, and where possible remain within your own limitations and expertise.

my thanks to Sue and Blue for sharing a great day out.

Data recorded on a Suunto watch is shown on the link below

rod1871's 4:51 h Trekking Move


OS Explorer Maps 428 & 429 References points shown in pink italics

Walks and pictures of holidays in Scotland

Looking forward to sharing walks and images captured of holidays past and new.