Knoydart at last!.....

Finally made it to Knoydart, a dream, a lifetime in the waiting ❤️

Introduction - Knoydart

Wow! What a place. I've dreamed of climbing the three munros in Knoydart most of my life. The romanticism of climbing somewhere you can only get to by boat, or a couple of days hike through the wilderness, has always appealed to the adventurer in me. You can climb all 3 in one day catching the first ferry from Mallaig at 7.30am and the last ferry home at 6.30pm, an undertaking only for the ultra fit, and, in my honest opinion, ultra mad!

Inverie is a lovely little village, a collection of houses on the single track road heading to the smaller village of Kilchoan. There are approximately 120 people living on the peninsula and everything comes in by boat. There is a pub serving amazing local food, including venison, and locally brewed beers. Booking is recommended especially in the evening after the last ferry. There is a shop and a post office, a little tearoom, and a bunkhouse and campsite. If all you do is get on the ferry for the 30-45 minute trip to Inverie, have a wee walk and sample the local wares, it's a wonderful way to spend a morning or afternoon.

The Knoydart Foundation was established in 1997 to take ownership of the 17,500-acre Knoydart Estate which makes up much of the peninsula, including the village of Inverie. The Foundation bought the estate in 1999. They now provide low income housing, renewable energy, the post office and shop, local butchery and visitor accommodation. A full time Ranger provides guided walks. in 2022 the locals also purchased the only pub in the village (and the most remote on the British mainland), the Old Forge, which reopened after renovations and is the beating heart of the community, literally! There is live music most weekends.

Onto the main event then, below you'll find my stats, the route, and information you will hopefully enjoy and find useful.

Stats and stuff - munros; maps & timings

Munro number: 50 & 49

Munro name(s): Luinne Bheinn 939m (3030ft) & Meall Buidhe 946m (3103ft)

Area: Knoydart and Glen Quoich

Maps: Knoydart, Kintail & Glen Shiel Map (harveymaps.co.uk); OS Map of Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn | Landranger 33 Map | Ordnance Survey Shop

Distance: 19 miles

Ascent: 1588m (5211ft)

Moving time: 8 hours 20 mins

Total time: 11 hours

Ratings

Fun 😍😍😍

Bogginess ☹️☹️

Effort 😓😓😓😓😓

Navigation 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Local information

Eating: VISIT | The Old Forge Community Pub | Knoydart, Scotland; Knoydart Pottery & Tearoom (no website but can be found on Facebook)

Accommodation: Knoydart Bunkhouse - Knoydart Foundation; B&B Accommodation | Visit Knoydart

Facilities: Home | Knoydart Brewery | Inverie, Knoydart; Knoydart Foundation - the SHOP - Knoydart Foundation; Knoydart Foundation Ranger Service - Knoydart Foundation

Ferry: Knoydart Ferry Timetable | Western Isles Cruises

Please take cash with you if possible as the card machine charges for each payment and this is passed onto the vendor. There is no cash machine on the peninsular. There is a post office in the shop.

The route

As this was my first trip to Knoydart I wanted to have the time to explore in the afternoon before my walk. I booked the 2.15pm ferry and drove from Stirling to Mallaig, it took around 4 hours with a stop. The ferry is a passenger ferry as you can't take cars onto the peninsula.

The crossing is around 45 minutes and keep your eyes peeled as the boat is often accompanied by porpoises.

As the ferry carries supplies for the peninsula you need to book your bag on, as well as yourself, the cost is £17.00 return. The views both into Inverie and back towards Mallaig and the Inner Hebrides are wonderful.

There is accommodation on Knoydart but as you can imagine it is limited and therefore fills up quickly. I decided to stay in the bunkhouse run by the Knoydart Foundation and, as I was only able to book for one night, I needed to complete my walk and be back at the ferry for the last departure at 6.30pm.

The bunkhouse costs £29.00 per night and comprises 3 mixed dorms. There is a kitchen and dining room, and a common room with a wood burning stove. The toilets have showers and towels are provided for a small charge of £2.00. There is a drying room located next to Room 3. Room 1 is next to the dining room and Room 2 is off the kitchen. There is a shelf with food left by previous occupants that is free to take.

Bed linen is provided and the rooms are heated so no issues keeping warm. You make up your own bed and strip it when you leave placing the linen in a box at reception.

The bunkhouse is located around a 15 minute walk from Inverie. Of course there are no street lights so if eating at the Old Forge remember a head torch for your return. The route is clearly marked by sign posts.

As mentioned the rooms are not segregated so it is likely you will be sharing with the opposite sex. I had no problems with this but thought it worth mentioning. During this first stay I was in a room with a husband and wife and no-one else.

The bunkhouse is a wonderful asset for Knoydart and provides much needed income for the foundation and community. It also brings together like minded people. New friends are easily made, experiences shared and memories made.

You're likely to meet people who know people you know, and more incredibly people you know! It really is a very small world.

A 5.30am start meant head torch at dawn, I only needed it for the first few miles after which the sun was rising and as I was walking east, the brightening skies were welcoming me.

The walk up to Dubh-Lochan was easy going on a land rover track and after around 2 miles a track joining from the left is the road you will emerge from after your descent of Meall Buidhe.

The path from Dubh-Lochan to the col at Mam Barrisdale is the reason this walk get's a bog factor of 2. It is an old right of way over the pass to Barrisdale but in many places it is now a stream and there are a number of boggy sections. Not a big issue just careful navigation required to avoid soaked feet. Soon enough the col is reached. The sheer enormity of the day now dawned on me as I had already walked 6 miles and been walking for 3 hours. Onwards and upwards.

At this point I should have trusted my instincts to climb the ridge up to my left. However; there is an obvious path that leads to the right from the col and I followed that. At first it rises and heads towards Luinne Bheinn but before long I became aware I was simply skirting the mountain with no height gain. In retrospect, I should have ignored the path and headed straight up onto the ridge, but there's something about the comfort of a path and following boot prints that convinces you all will be well. That's the last time I'll be a sheep!

Once I realised that this path was going nowhere and I had simply ended up in a corrie under the summit, I doubled back up a steep ledge and gained the summit ridge. By now the cloud was well down and at the summit I retrieved my map and compass and took a bearing for the descent. The munros in Knoydart are remote and there are few paths, navigational skills are a must.

Once I descended and dropped out of the cloud it was easy to see the route ahead. Wow, it was clear to see why they call this place the "rough bounds" of Knoydart. The next 2 hours were spent climbing and descending, over and over again until eventually I reached the summit ridge. Some very interesting scrambling leads to the east top and then it's a gentle walk around the headwall to the summit.

The views back to Luinne Bheinn were magnificent. I hadn't met another soul all day.

The descent into Gleann Meadail from An t- Uiriollach was exhausting, especially after such a long day. The only way is to descend almost to the end of the ridge then leave the ridge on your left and find a route through a steep slope of bracken down into the glen. On reaching the river there was only one thing to do, strip off, jump in and cool down.

Having not met another soul all day, imagine my shock when emerging from my (naked) swim to a group walking in from Glendessary towards me on their way to Inverie. Thankfully, for them, I had time to cover up before greeting them cheerily, and confirming that they only had another hour to the village. That also meant I also still had 3 miles to go; however, by now the thought of a very cold locally brewed beverage was a suitable carrot and on re-joining the land rover track my speed picked up.

Bill texted me as he had been following me on Strava and questioned if I could taste the beer as I was moving so quickly!

Finally, I'd arrived at the Old Forge with an hour to spare before the ferry and a drouth in need of drenching.

A day I had dreamed of for so long was over. All that was left was to enjoy the beer and the view. The sun shone warmly and my feet relieved from my boots relaxed along with the rest of me.

On the journey back to Mallaig, true to form, a small pod of porpoises entertained us, the sun dropped towards the islands in the west and the breeze was warm. Sheer bliss and memories made for ever.

Claire's top tip....

Trust your instincts

When you've climbed as many mountains as I have you get a feeling, a gut instinct, when things just don't feel right. It's no different to the same instinct we all get when there is a wee niggle at the back of your head saying "are you sure this is right?".

I have an admission to make, I talk to myself when on the hill. To be fair, after 11 hours without seeing anyone else it's not surprising. I have a good cop bad cop thing going. Two little imps sit on my shoulders, not sure why but my sensible/calm/reasonable imp sits on my right shoulder and my devil imp on my left.

So I'm skirting round the mountain on a steady contour not rising and not falling and the conversation goes something like this....remember this is all said out loud 🙄

"Are you sure this is right? We're not gaining height and I'm sure the top is up to our left"

"Don't be stupid just get on with it!"

"But it just doesn't feel right"

"What's wrong with you are you a wimp, keep moving! The path will turn and head up soon"

"It's not turning, I think we should stop and check"

"OK, whatever, get the map out and check if you REALLY want to!"

"I will, yep, need to head up now or we'll miss the summit and have to climb back a long way"

"You just have to be right all of the time don't you. Well go on then, but don't moan when you get there and realise you're wrong and I was right all along!"

Needless to say my gut instinct and sensible imp wins every time, and devil imp never admits it!

Coming next......

A big day in the Fannaichs....

Thank you for reading ❤️ xx