Camping in Glen Shiel
For this year’s annual trip to the Scottish Highlands we decided to pitch our tents in the Glen Shiel campsite located on the Road to The Isles (A87). We’d passed this site on numerous occasions as we sped towards Skye, Torridon and the Applecross Peninsular but never gave it a thought as a place to stay. This year we thought camping in the shadow of the Five Sisters of Kintail would be an impressive location for our three night pitch.
Is just so happened that we were to camp over the Easter Holiday, arriving at Fort William on Good Friday; unbeknownst to us it would turn out to be the coldest Easter on record. Fort William was a little disappointing on Good Friday as we were expecting a raucous evening in the Grog and Gruel, it must have been the impending cold snap that had kept visitors away as the town was very quiet. It didn’t stop us becoming rather drunk, however.
After a breakfast (full Scottish for me, a bowl of wall paper paste porridge for my mate) we headed off towards Glen Shiel travelling along the A87 which eventually takes you to Kyle of Lochalsh and the bridge over to Skye. After a brief stop at the Commando Memorial to take some shots of Ben Nevis we continued on to the Glen Shiel campsite which is around an hour’s drive.
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| Commando Memorial |
The campsite commands a fantastic location and even though you are close to the main road it still feels quite isolated. There is a camp shop selling the usual fare and the owner was very friendly and welcoming. The site itself is quite compact but has a shower block with hot showers and electricity points for caravans and campervans. You will not fail to notice the impressive peaks of the Five Sisters of Kintail rising behind the campsite, its peaks still dusted with snow and looking very majestic.
We pitched our tents, myself bringing a brand new and untested tent; the Vango Mirage 200. This is a two man tent which would give plenty of room as I was sleeping in it solo. I’d previously had an MSR tent which resembled a coffin and didn’t give much room for comfort. It turned out to be the easiest tent to pitch that I’ve ever owned and within 10 minutes it was up and ready for the mat, sleeping bag and, fortuitously, a duvet. I can thoroughly recommend this tent if you are in the market for a first tent or a replacement for an older one.
After a jaunt along the edge of Loch Duich to take some photographs of the Sisters and the lake we headed back for a pre evening meal snack of noodles, hot chocolate and a Tunnocks. The Sun was pleasantly warm at this point but we could see it rapidly sinking behind the mountains to the west. As the last rays disappeared we had an inkling of just how cold the next few days would be and we hadn’t yet reached the early hours of the morning. My fingers were so cold, even with thermal gloves on, that I was convinced I was getting frostbitten; it was then I realised that putting gloves on when your hands are already cold is pointless! Once I’d held my mug of hot chocolate for ten minutes I’d managed to get some blood flow back. After being unable to endure the cold any longer we retired to sit in the Land Rover and try to discern Everton’s result against Q.P.R through a wall of static and wavering signal. A one-nil win for the Blues made us happy as we headed off to the Kintail Lodge Hotel for a meal and a pint or two. Or three. Or Four.
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| Loch Duich and the Five Sisters of Kintail |
The Lodge is further along the A87 towards Kyle of Lochalsh and takes around fifteen minutes to walk to. If you are in the campsite you can cut off part of the long walk by heading through the gate at the top of the campsite and following the path until it turns right to join the main road. After a belly filling meal and six pints of Red Cuillin ale we staggered back to the campsite in some of the coldest temperatures I’ve encountered in the UK. We subsequently were to find that the thermometer had dropped to -10 which is as cold as it’s ever been over Easter. The skies were clear, however, and we were presented with an awesome night time panorama of stars. It’s not until you get to somewhere dark and unpolluted by street lights that you realise just how many stars are invisible from populated areas.
The Lodge is further along the A87 towards Kyle of Lochalsh and takes around fifteen minutes to walk to. If you are in the campsite you can cut off part of the long walk by heading through the gate at the top of the campsite and following the path until it turns right to join the main road. After a belly filling meal and six pints of Red Cuillin ale we staggered back to the campsite in some of the coldest temperatures I’ve encountered in the UK. We subsequently were to find that the thermometer had dropped to -10 which is as cold as it’s ever been over Easter. The skies were clear, however, and we were presented with an awesome night time panorama of stars. It’s not until you get to somewhere dark and unpolluted by street lights that you realise just how many stars are invisible from populated areas.
It was now time to retreat to the tent for the night and this is when I realised bringing a duvet was the right idea. The cold was bone numbing but I quickly warmed up in my lined down sleeping bag and extra insulation. It was a cold night but I have had worse and apart from my sleep apnoea I slept fairly soundly. The following morning we awoke to bright blue skies and wall to wall sunshine. It was a perfect day to head to Skye to photograph the Cuillin Ridge from Elgol.
Continued at http://skyefromelgol.blogspot.co.uk/
For all your camping needs visit http://essentialcampingguide.com
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| A Chilly Campsite at Glen Shiel |
Continued at http://skyefromelgol.blogspot.co.uk/
For all your camping needs visit http://essentialcampingguide.com
