Balgy

There are many fun things about the work that Tom and I are doing at the moment (which you’ll hear much more of in due course) but one of the most enjoyable is being able to spend a lot of time, on foot, in some of our favourite Scottish landscapes. One of these landscapes is Kintyre, a very special part of which is the focus of my brand new collection, and a small book we are planning to release in a few months time. Another is Wester Ross, about which a larger project’s planned for a 2024 release.

As I potter about such places, I am always on the look out for interesting low-level walks that I can recommend to those of you, like me, of limited physical ability. My stroke has left me with a dropped foot, a weak left side, low strength and poor stamina, but walking a few miles every day is an activity that I not only really enjoy, but find absolutely essential to health, both mental and bodily. My own experience of disability means that I’ve become very interested in broader issues of pedestrian accessibility to, and around, a range of Scottish rural and coastal landscapes (and I’m doing some research about wheelchair-accessible walking routes, which I’ll say more about another time).

The route I’ll mention today involves a few hours of straightforward walking in two loops around Loch Torridon, Loch Damh, and the river Balgy. Both loops are low level, on good paths, and are, with some pottering about, around 4km (2.5 miles) a piece. Depending on what you felt up to, you could walk one loop, or combine the two, into the circular walk described here. This route affords some wonderful vistas, of the kind that motorists are continually pausing to photograph from nearby viewpoints on the A896. Just a little pedestrian effort takes you away from the traffic, and to spots like this, to admire how the peaks and corries of Beinn Alligin arise straight out of the waters of Loch Torridon.

Starting from the main road (around NG 85775 54211), follow the track up and over rising ground, south towards loch Damh.

There’s a gate, near the jetty, where the loch feeds into the river, which will take you to this walk’s only potentially tricky section. This involves a bit of stepping up and down, and some areas of squashy and uneven ground along the river’s edge. If like me you use a stick, it will come in handy here.

Following the river’s course, you’ll be rewarded for your efforts by waterfalls of a kind to delight the eye of any poet, and a wee pool to cool the limbs of any hot dog (this was a warm day, and I was quite tempted to have a dip here myself)

This is a lovely spot to pause and listen to the joyous spring songs of cuckoos, pipits and willow warblers rising above the sound of rushing water.

When you are ready to move on, follow the springy grassy path south, towards the road. There’s an opportunity to end your walk here by looping back to the start. If you’d like to continue on, follow the track north and east, through the Damph estate, where you might see soays grazing around the inbye of this fabulous house (which seems to be available for short lets).

Clouds skitter above the Torridon hills, the path meanders east along the lochside. . . .

. . . and rises above the wooded slopes of two beautiful inlets, Òb Gorm Beag and Òb Gorm Mòr . . .

The big green bay, and the small, which really live up to their names.

Following a north-turning path between Òb Beag and Òb Mòr, you can then simply follow the lochside all around a tiny and very lovely peninsula – Àird Mhòr.

Small groups of Caledonian pines hang on beside the water

And there are plenty of lovely spots to pause and enjoy a spot of lunch, before heading south, to your starting point, and concluding your walk.