Log No 63. Mon 10th Jun 2013 - North of Daill Farm to Sandwood Bay, 17 miles (1072 miles walked)

Another wonderful day although the lack of wind has persuaded a few midges to come out. They were no bother, I think they were just marking my card for later.

Cape Wrath is MOD land and has and is possibly still used for target practice. There are signs all over warning not to touch suspicious objects.

I was expecting a tough today as it is all cliff walking and with no sheep I will have to rely on the deer to provide the tracks but they can create vertical ones too.

It wasn't long before I started coming across objects, I was obviously in the main target area.

The going was pretty tough as the ground was all pockmarked from explosions.

I wasn't sure if I could get up the cliffs at the headland Cleit Dhubh so I came inland and climbed over the hill, quite high at 350m.

The sight of Kearvaig Bothy tempted me to walk straight to it instead of heading back to the cliffs.

When I got there a couple, John & Janis, were just settling in for 4 days walking and the first thing they did was offer me a drink of tea.

They were regular visitors to the Bothy having been coming here for 20+ years.

After an extended break I continued along the cliffs to reach the lighthouse at Cape Wrath for 13.25.

I had read that there was a cafe of sorts here but it was nothing like I expected. Inside the building there is a hatch to order drinks and sandwiches then you can stand inside or sit outside.

A minibus full of visitors had just arrived and I didn't feel like spending £1.80 on a mug of tea so I carried on walking.

It was clifftop all the way now and although I didn't see anyone else there were footprints.

It had been up and down all day and in the constant sunshine the uphills were becoming very slow. At least it was short grass and not heather and far better to have sunshine than rain.

At the Bay of Keisgaig a fence marked the end of the MOD area and I was back in sheep territory.

It was 4 o' clock and I was ready to stop but i decided to push on to Sandwood Bay.

I saw a stoat dash into the rocks on the path just ahead of me.

Coming off the final hill I could see the bay, the tide wasn't out far enough to clear some of the cliff so I stayed inland a bit, crossed the first stream then found somewhere to pitch the tent at 17.45.

It was a long day for 17 miles but I'd had plenty of short breaks and enjoyed it.

I had a late night and watched the sun set at 10.24.