Saturday 23/04/05

Sunny day to start with. Went south on the Harris bus at 10.20. Just before the Grimshader turn, 3 dead sheep lay in the verge of the road. Somebody is guilty of mass slaughter. Met Sally at Balallan; she is going down to Seilebost to walk the dog on the beach there. I got off at Vigadale Glen, and it felt stifling. Walked as far as the cairn, then a little way on the southwestern branch. From there, I traversed along the higher reaches of Glen Langadale, until I gained the pass at the head of Glen Scaladale. There is no wind today, and it’s quite warm in the sun. Reach the pass at 12.30, and commence the ascent of Mullach an Langa, a hill of 614 m (2,014 ft). This proves to be a slightly tricky proposition. It’s steep and littered with rocks and bogs. Have to zigzag my way up, but that’s no problem. Problems start on the higher slopes. Mullach an Langa has a rockstrewn crown, and I have to do some scrambling over rocks and boulders. The ascent is done from the northeast; the northfacing slope is precipitous; the western slope plunges down into the valley between Mullach and Teileasbhal. Reach the summit cairn at 1.15. Views are hazy but still good. Loch Langabhat, Rapaire and Stuabhal to the west. Teileasbhal and Uisgneabhal to the southwest. To the south, the beaches at Losgaintir, Seilebost and Northton; Ceapabhal and Pabbay beside the latter. Further on south and east: Mullach fo-Thuath and Dheas, An t-Isean and of course piece de resistance: An Clisham. Toddum is visible through a gap in the hills. The ridge to Clisham is beyond me. I could conceivably gain Mulla fo-Thuath, but I’d have considerable trouble with rocks and a sense of exposure. Climbing Clisham this way is a major expedition, requiring (a) an early start (b) stamina (c) scrambling skills (d) head for heights (e) settled weather. The oppressive feel to the weather is born out by a very weak weatherfront obscuring the sun after 2pm. I teeter my way down that hill again, reaching the valley at 3 o’clock. See a herd of deer below Mo Bhigadale, and I am to encounter all 14 of them a few times on my way east. I keep an altitude of 1,000 feet to enjoy the mountain scenery. A coastguard helicopter circles the Clisham. The frontal clouds touch the summit not long after. This mountain is ‘only’ 799 m high, but deserves the respect of a major Munro. I go sharply downhill just before Mo Creag, in order NOT to fall down this 500 ft escarpment. The lochan of Loch Misteach is the warning marker across the valley. Once at the very bottom of the valley, a path will materialize to sort of take you back to the main road. “Sort of” because the path is boggy and ill-defined. At any rate, I return to the A859 at the Scaladale bridge and walk the 1½ miles to Bogha Glas. It’s not good road walking, because this is the section with the road works on it. No work is being carried out today though. Pass Scaladale Outdoor Centre and Aird a’Mhulain castle. Mo Creag rears up in the west. Return to Bogha Glas, past some Highland cattle, at 4.55. While I wait for the 5.05 bus, a few drops of rain fall out of a grey sky. A woman is on there with her kids. They’ve been on the go since 6.30 a.m., probably out of Glasgow. From Balallan, the South Lochs service takes over. The driver kicks his kids unceremoniously off in the village. The woman nearly falls through the window on the Co-op roundabout in Stornoway, only my knee against her thigh prevents a disaster. Return to town at 5.50.