It was a very cold night and a very cold morning to wake up to. It wasn't raining though which makes all the difference. Looking at the sky it looked threatening though so I headed up some beans and chicken sausages and quickly packed my kit away. Getting my pack on was a real struggle but after the second attempt I was ready to head off.
Across the road from the woods I'd made homely was Eileen donnan castle. The castle was a perfect example of a classic fairytale castle. Used as a set in the film Highlander and more recently james bond it couldn't be passed without having a short stop and quick look round. Before 10am you're allowed to walk over the bridge to the castle and look round the grounds. I didn't have time to stop and go inside buti did have time to have a quick double espresso with a couple of Italian tourists I was chatting to.
From the castle I proceeded to hike the loch. The water was completely still and the castle reflected perfectly. Again I felt tempted to get in hoolley to cross the loch but again I felt uneasy. Maybe the recent events had knocked me hard, harder than I'd imagined. I decided again not to make the crossing which would have saved me a day. It was slow progress making my way along the side of the loch, again stopping every quarter of a mile to adjust how the pack sat on my shoulders and hips and to take a breather. Constantly looking across the loch and at the still waters I felt down. It had been a few hard days and with an incredibly long journey ahead I began to doubt my abilities, I'd began to doubt I'd actually be able to finish the challenge.
Seeing a small cafe at the end of the loch I decided to take a coffee break and enjoy the view. Feeling a little better I left the cafe and decided I'd attempt to at least try and get parallel with the castle by nightfall. It was a fair hike but thankfully the road would take me all the way. I could then tackle the muddy tracks of the forest the following day.
All in all the day had turned out quite lovely. A few clouds, no wind and the sun was shining. Wearing enough layers to start an Arctic challenge presented me with an unusual problem, I was sweating profusely. It may sound like I simply can't be pleased but I'd expected rain to fall and this weather was quite simply the last thing I'd expected.
Now around the bottom of the loch I began my journey back up it. As I hiked the road a silver taxi pulled up. Calum was a local, collecting a couple of students who were to be dropped off from school on the school bus. He would then take the kids from the bus stop to their homes. He kindly offered me a lift should I want it. I had to thank him but obviously refused. Calum was extremely helpful though and suggested a nice spot at the end of the road and offered to take my bag there so that I didn't need to carry it.
Now considerably lighter I was able to make extremely good progress passed a few small communities of houses and towards the place calum had suggested, a small clearing opposite the castle beside the shore. I arrived and began to get camp sorted. In tge fading light I found some wood, although it was damp I felt sure I'd be able to split it and get a fire going. I then unpacked my new tarp and bivibag, using the paddle shaft and some cord I got the tarp up and laid my bed out. I'd just finished getting camp ready when I heard a vehicle pull up near by. It was calum. He'd gone to his dads place and split some logs, grabbed some kindling for me. He'd also grabbed a couple of cans of lager. While I got the fire started he cracked open the cans. It was a really nice gesture.
Shortly after calum left I settled in taking water from a near by stream to make a coffee and reheat another of rotos rations. Chicken soup followed by chocolate pudding in chocolate mousse. As I lay under the tarp, the fire roaring I began to feel a bit happier, then my head torch died. I swapped the batteries, tapped it, banged and fiddled with it but nothing seemed to make a difference.
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