Log No 64. Tue 11th Jun 2013 - Sandwood Bay to Achlyness, 17 miles (1089 miles walked)

I never got the log finished last night, there was no rush since I didn't have a signal so I was up at 05.00, when the sun hit the tent, to complete it.

There was no wind this morning and the midges were massing outside the tent door.

It was too warm to wear anything other than t-shirt & shorts so I was expecting the worst when I went out.

They were all over me like a rash but after a while I realized they were just being annoyingly playful, not one of them bit me. I still got packed up and away as quick as I could, running down to the beach at 07.30.

I immediately had to come back inland as the tide was still up against part of the cliff.

I was soon back on the main beach, the outlet from the loch was low and easily crossed but there was no hard sand to walk on.

There was a good footpath up onto the clifftop but it wasn't long before it veered off alongside a stream so it was back to sheep tracks.

Instead of a defined clifftop the coastline was becoming rockier with sandy bays.

At Oldshoremore the tide was just out far enough for me to get right round.

The nearer to Kinlochbervie I came the more rocks there seemed to be and I relied on the sheep tracks to find the easiest way through.

The headland of Kinlochbervie looked to be a mass of rocks and it didn't take long to decide I would give it a miss.

There's not much at Kinlochbervie, I only saw one hotel and one shop and I went to them both. I arrived at 13.15 and left at 15.40 after trying to squeeze 3 days worth of food into my rucsac.

The morning's sun had gone now and it was much better walking conditions.

I stayed on the road going up Loch Inchard and after rounding the head took the short minor road on the other side.

This road was cut into the steep hillside and I luckily found a site for the tent at 17.30.

17 miles today and looking at the land ahead of me walking the coastline is not going to be easy.