Log No 93. Sat 27th Jul 2013 - Shiel Bridge to south of Glenelg, 21 miles (1465 miles walked)

With no wind this morning the midges were thick, I was forced out of the tent early to give Mick his share of the milk for his breakfast.

It looked like an alien invasion at the campsite, it was very warm with the sun nearly out through the mist but everyone was completely fully clothed including gloves and wearing midge hoods over their heads and no one seemed to be speaking as they were taking down their tents or cooking.

We got walking by 07.30, Mick's knee had been really painful yesterday and he wasn't sure if he would be able to continue, the last public transport would be at Glenelg so he would make a decision when we got there.

It was another fine lochside walk and on the minor road it was very calm and peaceful.

There were good scenic reflections in the loch and it was easy to see otters swimming about, I haven't seen one close to the shore yet.

It was a 6 mile walk to the end of the road at Totaig and in spite of Mick's knee we made reasonable progress taking just over 2 hours.

Eilean Donan Castle did not look so impressive seen from this side against a hilly backdrop.

The next section to the Glenelg ferry was by a footpath through the forest to Ardintoul Point which then continued nearer the shore.

It started off okay but then we came to a diversion sign and the going got tough.

There was no path as such now, it was a case of trying to follow small orange sticks or bits of tape tied to branches as it seemed to meander aimlessly between the trees up and down the slopes.

Mick had his first serious slip here, I just heard a shout of agony and turned round to see Mick on the ground holding his knee saying .. it, .. it, .. it.

We eventually came out of the trees but the going was even worse, the area had been felled and it was overgrown with ferns and briars. It was very uneven ground and you didn't know what you were putting your foot onto. Additionally, the ground was littered with felled trees which were rotten and easily collapsed when stood on.

We had Ardintoul in our sights but for Mick it was an extremely painful half mile as he could find no firm footing. On one nasty fall he seriously thought he had broken his leg.

Once we reached the safety of Ardintoul it was a reasonably good path to the car park at the ferry slipway.

It's an interesting ferry across to Skye, it only takes 4 cars and it berths alongside the slipway and has a turntable like ramp which swings out onto the slip.

Back on the road now, thankfully for Mick who perversely said he thought the falls and twists on his knee had actually done a bit of good.

We cut off some of the road with a footpath by Berneta Barracks, the ruins of fortifications built in the 1700's to defend the sea channel, and into Glenelg where we topped up from the small shop before stopping at the Glenelg Inn for a pot of tea and a strategy meeting.

I had been expecting Mick to say he didn't think his knee would see him through the rough sections still to come but he was going to carry on.

We left the Inn at 16.25, it was still sunny and hot, the road went a further 10 miles to Corran so aimed to walk on for another hour and find somewhere shady for a campsite.

It wasn't a level road and the rucsacs were getting heavier with each climb, we were glad to find a pitch by 16.15.

The pitch wasn't level either, squeezed in between the trees but importantly we had the shade and there were hardly any midges.

I had planned to do the log but after spending an hour removing ticks I ran out of light and time.

21 miles, tough at times, no phone signal.