Stepping Out

The Bad Step, the last hurdle before reaching the end of one of the country's best half-day walks (from Elgol to Loch Coruisk), has a reputation that precedes it, but is something of a misnomer. It's a bit more than a minor inconvenience, but certainly less than troublesome worry.

Maybe I'm just blasé having passed over this geological crack before, as a group of five youngsters (relatively speaking, uni student age) that were following us were sufficiently deterred to turn back to trudge from whence they had come, two of them not even stepping onto the rock. We watched as we paddled in a bay a few hundred yards further on, wondering how they would get on all the way back to Elgol with three lightly packed bags between the five, and two of them wearing jeans.

Spoiler, as the house is on the path at its Elgol end we kept an eye out, and at 6.20pm they passed by safely.

The walk itself is stunning. Last year we got to Camasunary Bay, but the river beyond was simply too high to cross, as hail fell horizontally at us, and so had to do the walk back as well. This year there was but one short shower, and so we could safely take up our reserved berth on the Bella Jane boat back out. After spending a few hours with the landscape for company, it was something of a shock to be squidged in with loads of tourists (including some loud Americans, and one particularly knowledgeable (in his head) and showy English tour guide, who proceeded to slag off the Scandinavians, not knowing if there were any on board (we both pondered if we could pull of a Danish accent) and once on dry land parked his tour van halfway up the hill straddling the last two available spaces so he could go to the toilet).

Worth it though for the ever-changing views of the Cuillin on the way in.

But now, tis off out for dinner in Broadford, letting someone else take the strain.