Loch Scalpaidh.

Start. Kyle of Lochalsh.

Route. Kyle of Lochalsh - Longlands Terrace - Seaview - Creag Loisgte - Carn na Snaobhiag - Loch Scalpaidh - Carn na Snaobhiag - Creag Loisgte - Seaview - Longlands Terrace - Kyle of Lochalsh .

Notes. Sitting in a hollow surrounded by a landscape of heathered hummocks and hollows, young birch woods and mature oaks, silent and lonely Loch Scalpaidh, a haven for dragonflies and damselflies, home to a myriad of water fowl including heron. Walking Highlands describes this walk thus, “A short walk to a little visited and extremely peaceful loch, a quiet haven just a stones throw from the busy A87 road”. we encountered something completely different.

From Kyle of Lochalsh we walked along the main road to access Longlands Terrace, after turning into the terrace the next right was Seaview a cul-de-sac, we turned into said cul-de-sac, when the road terminated a path climbed through gorse soon leveling off as it followed the route of an old pipe line, plenty of evidence protruded through the ground. Further on the path undulated through birch and oak woods, this was stunning walking akin to wandering through a fairytale forest. Under broken cliffs we walked, soon swinging up hill, as we rounded a corner an unbelievable site tilted into view, the whole hillside was ablaze, flames sweeping along the north shore of the loch, Loch Scalpaidh this beautiful body of water had vanished under a blanket of thick smoke.

Earlier that day we visited Applecross, you could see the hillside to the south was burning, controlled we presumed, not realising it was our route for later in the day. We had intended to circle the loch, well that wasn’t going to happen, disappointed we re-traced our steps. It wasn’t until the following day we found out how serious this fire had been, crews from Skye, Lochalsh, Wester Ross and Lochaber had all been involved in fighting the inferno.

view route map.

home.

The Skye Bridge seen over the Kyle of Lochalsh.

The Cuillin of Skye viewed over the Inner Sound.

Views over Loch Alsh, Glas Bheinn guards the entrance to Kyle Rhea the narrow channel separating Skye from the mainland.

Enchanting rambling, this was once the route to Balmacara....

....it guided us to this and this is not what we expected.

Loch Scalpaidh.

Looking to the north shore of the loch, it's noisy and smelly, our intended route is out of the question.

The path on the south side with views to the east.

It's fascinating watching something like this until you realise it's heading in your direction.

A quick look back as we leave.

Walking back, just a stunning as the walk in.

The Skye Bridge as seen from Kyle of Lochalsh.

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