Barrisdale Bay

I'm typing this as yet another amazing sunset over the Cuillins fills the frame of our bedroom window at Doune. Will it be as good as that of Tuesday, I wonder?

It's been another fun, if tiring, day. The whole complement of guests boarded The Gripper II at 09:15 this morning to travel to Barrisdale Bay (blipped). On the way there we saw seals, porpoises, otters, and a cute family of greylag geese. Then half of us - myself, Mr hazelh, Deborah and Adam - disembarked for the 10 mile hike in the sunshine over the hills back to Inverie. The rest of the guests returned along the coastline for a less challenging walk to the same destination, then Andrew took the boat back to Doune.

Since a very painful Lake District descent on 27th October 2018, and a more recent arthritis diagnosis in 2021,I have been rather wary about hillwalking. Yesterday I decided to be brave when I agreed to take part in today's longer trek. It turns out that I can still manage this distance (hurrah!) with no problems at all when climbing. However, the start of the steep descent from the summit was a little painful on the knees, and towards the end of the walk (by which time we were on the flat) my feet started to ache. That said, I was never in agony. On this basis, I will feel more confident about accepting invitations to go hillwalking, provided that the proposed distance is no more than about 10 miles.

In my extra I include a shot of one of the many meadow pipits that seemed to follow us along our route. We also saw a herd of deer, several frogs, toads and butterflies, and a group of Highland cattle on the sandy shore of Loch an Dubh-Lochain.

The three parties of walkers met with Andrew again at Inverie just after 17:00 for the ride back to Doune in the hotel minibus. Then followed another lovely dinner, this time with additional guests Linda and Joe, who are staying along the peninsula at the Knoydart Hide.

Everyone is planning a quieter day tomorrow. The weather forecast is fabulous (again) so we may take the kayaks out into the bay.

Exercise today: walking/hiking (26,875 steps).