Again, we had to alter our plans today, due to weather. Since we missed the two Brochs yesterday, we decided to drive to them this morning, as they are somewhat remote, but nearby Kintail Lodge. After a 30 min drive over some very tiny, winding single track roads, we arrived at the first, Broch Telve, which is the taller of the two but had less of a structure inside.
A broch is dated from the Iron Age and is considered to be approximately 2300 years old. It is a circular stone tower that housed people and their lives on many different “floors.” The second broch, named Duntroddan, had a stone staircase left in it that we could climb up. These towers are remarkable feats of engineering as they are circular inside and out. Here is a link for you to read up on this remarkable piece of history.
We ventured onto the small villages of Arnisdale and Corran, where we picked up a Costal Trail walk along Loch Hourn (Loch of Hell). This path followed a path along the shore and led up into the hills and forest above. There were many boggy areas along the path filled with overgrown ferns -4-5’ tall at times. Fortuantely, our GPS included a dotted line indicating the route, so we kept on track.
The views across the Loch (despite the clouds) were beautiful … so much untouched land covered in a unmeasurable shades of green. According to the trail guide, areas of the path date back to the hey days of Herring fishery; sadly there is no remnants of this other than the carefully laid out path of rocks in places.
We had a short snack at a pebbly cove, before heading back to the trail head – darker weather was looming in the distance. As usual, our journey back seemed to go by faster.
Back at the start of our hike, we stopped into a small tea house in Corran for a hot drink and relaxed with some locals. The house was more of a shack, probably an old fishing cottage, smaller than a one bay garage, with very low ceilings.
Back to the lodge for dinner from our very friendly hosts.
Km hiked ~ 8 km
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