Rubha Aird Druimnich - 2

In our attempt to reach the headland called Rubha Aird Druimnich, (see map at bottom of this post), we finally crested a rise from which we could see our objective.  It looked as if there were only two further glens to cross and we'd be there but, as had happened so often that morning, we were wrong.

This is one of several steep-sided obstacles we encountered in the last stages, but we crossed the final one and, with some difficulty as the slopes were covered in bracken, made our way to the summit of the small hill which looks down on Rubha Aird Druimnich.

The summit is marked by a cairn, and it's perhaps indicative of how rarely the place is visited that it's formed of so few stones - and many of them looked as if they'd been there for some time.

Hot, bothered, annoyed that we'd used such a circuitous route - yes - but we were thrilled to have reached somewhere which had such wonderful views.  This looks down on the point itself, with Muck in the distance, while....

....this looks west, back along the coast of West Ardnamurchan to a distant Fascadale Point.

Out to sea to the northwest, as well as being able to see Eigg and Rum (above), the weather was clear enough for the Outer Hebrides to be visible.

This was the view slightly to the east of north, looking across to the mountains around Morar and, to the left, the low hills of southern Skye.  The rock a few hundred metres or so off the point is Sgeir Charrach; one wonders how many boats have hit it.

Looking almost east, we could see the hills of Moidart and the entrance to Loch Moidart.

We sat and ate lunch before turning for home.  We followed the coast more closely on the return journey, a shorter one since, this time, we returned to the Ockle track via the house at Eilagadale, but the going was just as rough as on the way out.  This is not a walk for the faint-hearted and, to be honest, had we known how hard it was going to be we might have thought twice, and would certainly have allowed more time for it.

Even though it was August Bank Holiday weekend, we saw no-one, not even on the Ockle-Gortenfern track.  But the wild landscape around Rubha Aird Druimnich showed plenty of signs of previous habitation.  These are peat banks, very close to the point, and where peat is cut the homes in which it was burnt can't have been far away.

The walk took us just over five hours, with few stops and only a short break for lunch.  An interactive version of this map is here.