A wedding anniversary adventure

We started at the famous Viaduct in Glenfinnan.

...and we finished at the famous pub in Inverie.

In between, we ran, bog snorkled and power-crawled our way round the Knoydart peninsula; an epic two day trip, covering 30 wild miles and taking in 4 Munros.

When you stopped to take a breath, it was perfectly silent.

Just a few ruined sheilings here and there to hint at the fact that this was once a land with nearly 1000 inhabitants, before famine and The Clearances forced mass emigration.   

I've wanted to do this trip for such a long time, it was fantastic to finally get there.  Five years ago, we came into Knoydart by boat. Although it was magical, it still felt a wee bit like cheating.  This time we ran and hiked a long way to find some real wilderness.  

And the sun shone on us.  We got snowed on too, make no mistake, it was still proper Scotland and, being proper Scots, we managed to come back a wee bit crispy, despite me wearing gloves a whole lot of the time.

We carried tent and sleeping bags to be self-sufficient but, trailing in through the bog at 8.30pm, barely able to still stand up, we were hugely relieved to push open the door to Sourlies bothy and find we had it entirely to ourselves.  Neil even managed to rustle up some candles for a romantic anniversary dinner of couscous and chorizo.  I don't think it touched the sides on the way down.

Stiff shoulders and backs in the morning made for a tough day 2 but, with only one Munro, it wasn't too long and it was amply rewarded by our arrival at Inverie and the Old Forge.  Two dinners in the space of about 4hr (including a spectacular seafood platter), catching up with friends (Westies get everywhere you know) and a camp spot overlooking the bay.  Definitely a trip to be remembered.