PHOTOBLOG 12: The stag and the road to Inverie
- Rory Dinwoodie
- May 5
- 2 min read
Updated: May 6
Welcome back to the photoblog. It is hard to believe that it is over a year since I have last written one of these but I am keen to start doing them again and a recent trip to Scotland to celebrate my elder brother's stag seemed like the perfect excuse.
Our adventure started with the Caledonian Sleeper up from Euston to Fort William. After waiting our turn to get into the buffet car we enjoyed some neeps and tatties, a spot of whisky and a very bumpy sleep. We then woke up to stunning views of the highlands, already feeling a world away from the London we left the night before.
After spending a bit too long in the Fort William Morrisons car park we drove north to the start of our hike at Kinloch Hourn. The stag was ready to go and our group of 10 merry travellers set off on our 2 day trek to the famous Old Forge pub in Inverie.
Renowned for heavy rain, bogs and its barren nature, the Knoydart peninsula treated us to a rare spell of clear skies and sunshine to see us through our pilgrimage. The scale and remoteness of the place was hard to ignore and it felt magical to be amongst the hills and lochs of Scotland's most remote highlands only 24 hours after being sat behind a desk in Canary Wharf. As the first day of our hike came to a close we were treated with a beautiful beach sunset swim. We cooked up our dinner on the sea-front and headed to our first stop - the bothy at Barrisdale bay.
Our night in the bothy was filled with games, chocolate, wine and unwaveringly firm wooden sleeping platforms but we were pleased to have a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs for our second day of walking towards our final destination. We were greated with another clear day and beautiful views, as well as a very fitting guest outside our front door.
After two days we finally made it to The Old Forge where we treated ourselves to a pub cooked meal and many pints of their finest beers - enough to end the night with some tunes on the piano from the stag.
The morning after we woke after a slightly wild night in our very exposed camping spot and packed up ready to get the ferry to Mallaig, leaving the remote wild of knoydart behind.
Thanks for reading, see you in the next one... hopefully sooner than a year.
Lovely lovely lovely