Knoydart Bothy trip

Jago suggested a bothy trip to Scotland and I readily agreed with the intention of adding to my Corbett list. Unfortunately his target Munros were in Knoydart, the wettest part of Scotland and his days off were booked for October.
Sure enough when we rolled up at the roadhead at Strathan it was raining steadily. We set off up Glen Dessary bound for Sourlies, a bothy on the shore of Loch Nevis. All went well until we came to the stream flowing from Coire nan Uth. The waters were crashing over the boulders with such a force the stream proved impassable. We dumped the sacks and wandered upstream to find a better crossing place but to no avail.


Looking for a crossing place



There was nothing for it but to shoulder the sacks again and walk up into the corrie, after 200 metres of height gain we found a crossing place and dropped back down to the path. The terrain then took on the wild Knoydart character with the path twisting over or around rocky knobbles, bogs and lochans.      

 





Darkness fell as we descended from the pass at 300 metres to the sea shore and eventually the bothy. Two lads from London had arrived before us and were already in their sleeping bags so after a short conversation we made our dinner and turned in.

Next morning Jago made an early start for Meall Buidhe and Luinne Bheinn while I lay in my bag deciding whether to bother going out in the rain. The two boys from London stirred and began talking to each other. I was hidden away behind a partition and listened on as their coversation turned to disparaging remarks about me and Jago and Barnsley people in general. When one of them suggested taking our sleeping bags I announced my presence with a firm 'good morning' and they fell silent. They arose so I quickly got dressed and sat where I could see all our gear and watched their every move as they quietly packed and left without breakfast or a word of farewell.

Sourlies is in a magnificent setting on the shores of a sea loch and  surrounded by rugged mountains. I spent a pleasant day beachcombing and watching the wild life and trying, without success, to kill the bothy mouse until Jago returned having bagged his two hills.

 

Sourlies Bothy

Next day the water levels had fallen and we walked out without incident two and a half hours faster than the walk in. 

Looking back to Loch Nevis. Sourlies is on the little grass strip on the right.