Saturday 7 May 2011

Day 4 - Shiel Bridge to Shiel Bridge

Thursday 21 April

Getting from Glenfinnan to Shiel Bridge had taken a day less than anticipated so we felt okay having a slow start - the start got slower and slower till eventually we only made it from one side of Shiel Bridge to the other. At least it was movement in the right direction.

We got up to another lovely day despite the night of rain. Mist was streaming in from the mountains and birds were singing in the trees.

After much needed showers we went to the Shiel Bridge shop where we had sent our first parcel and, joy of joys, it had arrived. We paid there for the camping and bought a tick twister remover - time to deal with the lowpoint of the discovery of the little blighters.

Sitting on the picnic bench nearest our tent we laid everything out to air in the growing warmth of the sun. I called home to reassure my parents I was still alive and, just as my mum answered, one of the horses in the nearby field ran past bucking and farting at the same time.

Then we settled down for a grooming session and removed the ticks, noting their positions as we went. Dave seemed to have been the most attractive of us - gaining about 20 to my 5 or 6. They're tiny things some of them - tricky to get at in some areas. I'm not as good at removing them as Dave is which is unfortunate seeing as he had most. We're not sure why he has so many more, whether it's because he always goes first or whether he is intrinsically more tasty than me.

After that we did set off and we did try. But then we were waylaid in the garden at the Kintail Lodge Hotel again (just for a few) and eventually it became clear that we were not actually going to get very far that day. It didn't matter. We were still on schedule and it was a nice place to hang out - watching the boats and the sunlight on the water and noting the various biker-wedding related going ons. So we settled in for a few pints and ate there again when we got hungry.

Finally, somewhat reluctantly, we left and walked on towards the other Shiel Bridge campsite in Morvich. Passing mountain goats and letting the wedding party pass us as we went, watching the cars zoom across the road built out into the loch and admiring the tumbledown buildings. I managed to drop the camera on the road which was one heart breaking moment but luckily the only damage it suffered was a slight scratch on the case - I was a lot more careful for the rest of the walk!!

The Morvich campsite looked like a grim caravan site from a distance but up close was a lovely site with teletubbie style grass and good clean facilities. Any campsite with picnic tables for the campers gets extra marks in my book anyway.

Time on our feet: very little
Distance: about 3km

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