Mike on Loch Shiel

Last night was freezing - even poor Pegs was shivering! Thank God the tent survived the storm. After some bacon butties we were ready to head out onto the loch again. But luck was not with us - we were paddling into a very strong head wind, putting all our effort into paddling and not really getting anywhere. Not much fun! We decided to pull into the next bay and have a cuppa. The beach there was lovely and there was an ideal camping spot under a tree. We had a chat and decided that this trip was about trying out the canoe, experiencing the wilderness and for me trying out wild camping for the first time - not about how far we could paddle. So we made a decision to stay put as it was such an amazing spot and do some hiking up the big hills surrounding the loch. In the end I think it was a good choice as a couple of other groups passed by the beach, stopping to say hello, and they were all headed to where we first intended so it wouldn't have been a very private camping spot.

We had a fantastic walk with amazing views across the Loch and as we climbed the sun came out. It was brilliant to climb hills without seeing another soul, with the only tracks being deer tracks, which were really handy helping us find our way back down! Very far removed from the queues you sometimes get in the Peaks or the lake district! I have totally fallen in love with Scotland. It has gone way beyond what I imagined it would be like and I actually really like wild camping too. Isn't it funny how you spend your whole life working to have a nice house and nice things and then you just want to get away from it all and get back to nature and the basics!