Day 1 - Friday 6th May
Acharacle to Ceann a Chreagain
(20km / 450m ascent)
photo © Alan Sloman
I woke to find myself on top of the covers, still in my 'hotel trousers', but in pretty good shape, so after a sheep-dip bath to revive myself, headed down to breakfast to meet Phil for a pretty good 'Full English' - sorry - 'Highland' breakfast.
He was still hobbling and slightly concerned about his training injuries, but I quietly thought to myself that his ailment would probably heal more quickly than my haircut, so promptly put his concerns from my mind, like a true friend. He had shared his concerns, and so by now must be 50% of the way to a full recovery.
After taking start-point photos, we ambled along with Barbara Sanders, Becky (who was walking with Barbara for a few days) and Maggie Hems.
We had a boat to catch from Dalelia to Polloch. This boat had been the subject of much discussion on the Challenge Website over the preceding months and its route had been carefully selected to cross Loch Shiel rather than travel along its length. This boat had meant that we had avoided a lengthy road walk to Strontian or a wet clamber over Beinn Resipol (which, it had to be said, had avoided the cloud for most of the morning.)
Barbara & Becky had organised it so that as soon as we arrived at the pier the boat whooshed up to meet us. We piled onboard and were soon skimming along the waves across loch Shiel to Polloch. The boatman - a friend of Becky's - would only take ten pounds for the trip 'to cover the cost of the fuel' and also carried our packs off the boat in his wellies as we teetered across the rocks to the beach.
I never cease to be won over by the generosity of the people that I meet on the Challenge.
We parted company with Maggie after leaving the boat, as she was heading up to Glenfinnan. We strolled round the headland and down to the village of Polloch to have a brew and a spot of lunch at a picnic table and popped inside a crafts hut / visitor centre as a hefty shower bubbled up from nowhere. Then we ambled off down the road until we parted company with the girls, who were headed up Glen Hurich.
It was a lovely warm & sunny day and the views back were delightful.
We left the road at the top, tightened up the boots and were soon contouring beneath the crags of Druim Glas.
A bit of a struggle down the very wet hillside and our first night's campsite was in view - Ceann a Chreagain.
It was a beautiful sunny evening and we soon had our little plastic Wendy-houses up, the socks drying, a brew on and the Ardbeg was being passed tent to tent. Phil thought that his leg had done jolly well that day, and was certainly no more painful than at the start of the day. So we toasted his leg, my haircut, the boatman, the Glasgow barber, the Great Coordinator... well into the dusk until the flask was finished.
