Sunderland hinterland, Islay
At last the sun was out again and after several ramblings with other very patient people, I decided the time had come to venture out on my own again. There's only so many times that the words 'OK folks we're in a new square', can remain exciting to anyone other than a dedicated Geographer!
I worked out a route from Burnside, Bruichladdich, northwards to Gleann na h-Uamha and hopefully reaching the intriguing Dun na h-Uamha, north-eastwards to Loch Treunaidh and south again to join a track to Conisby - which I'd learnt from past experience, may or may not have been still in existence (many a marked track on the Islay map has proved to be no longer extant).
Starting in suburban Burnside estate it wasn't long before I had left civilisation far behind as I walked towards Gartacharra farm and . The sky was cloudless and I rued the fact I'd forgotten my sunhat and wondered if it had been worth bringing my polariser after all. From behind the farm a wonderful view is afforded of Loch Indaal and Islay's eastern hills. Then there is the impressive standing stone - the first time I'd seen it (I'm not sure if it is visible from the road; I like to think not!) .
The track gradually comes to a halt. I was glad of the severe frost as it meant the ground was hard enough to walk across; it would have been terribly muddy normally. So I departed from the track and had to make my own paths, which turned out to be quite circuitous as there are no distinguishing features over the next few gridsquares. I ended up going further west than I needed to (my initial destination being Dun na h-Uamha). After watching some deer negotiate a fence I wisely decided to follow them and limboed underneath my first fence of the day into tussocky, heather-clad moorland . I glanced behind me at a sun soaked Conisby and Loch Indaal and then I looked despondently across to Cnoc na h-Uamha , took a deep breath and went for it, looking anxiously at the many black lines on the map which indicated boundaries of some sort. Fortunately some of these turned out to be old boundary lines, for which I have rather a fondness and . Unfortunately, not all of them are old and I had to clamber over two barbed wire fences on this walk - my first one here at Cnoc na h-Uamha afforded uninterrupted views north-eastwards towards the Paps of Jura across an autumnal scene of rich browns .
I told myself I would only stop once I'd reached Dun na h-Uamha but I just couldn't get my bearings here. It was difficult reading the landscape whilst labouring through thick heather and bog and reading the map and GPS. Hence my ascending a gratuitous hill, getting rather despondent that I couldn't find my dun and then, lo and behold the most glorious vista met my eyes quite unexpectedly. Who would have thought there'd be a house out here on top of a hill and one that for the life of me I hadn't seen marked on the map which I'd been scrutinising for the past couple of hours? Joy of joys! This would be my coffee stop. Forget stupid old duns! I sat blissfully for some time, soaking up sunshine, singing away and recovering from my gruelling walk so far - and, of course, looking at the map to see what further treasures lay before me. Whoever used to live here had a fantastic view .
Leaving the ruin behind I descended into Gleann na h-Uamha, still half looking for the dun, but the steep sides of the valley are covered in scrubby woodland,, making the descent even more difficult and I could hear running water in the bottom of the valley so knew there was some body of water to cross. I disturbed some deer as I finally reached the soggy valley bottom. I was closer than I thought to the dun but didn't realise it at the time.
From here I headed north as directly as I could, having to retrace my steps several times in order to find the line of least resistance across the water strewn valley bottom. I crossed one barbed wire fence and one old boundary line and walked through large areas of burnt heather , sadly the result of a deliberate or negligent fire last year. Then I had to jump across a narrow burn - Allt Ban (Pale Burn) and . Here was my second surprise of the day - another unlikely ruin. Yes, it was marked on the map and again I had failed to spot it, but these surprises really make the day more memorable. and .
Sunderland Hill is now clearly visible, interrupted only by a vast expanse of marshland . A slight climb across more burnt heather revealed a beautiful dry stone wall and which remained in view throughout the rest of the walk. I was heading now to Loch Treunaidh across bog and marsh, interrupted by the occasional elevated (and welcome) knoll of rock and heather , , and . A rocky knoll with a view of what remains of Loch Treunaidh was my lunch spot . I admit to being a little disappointed by the loch. It consisted largely of a medium-sized reedbed.
After lunch I crossed the wall and obtained glorious views towards both Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart . I was now hoping to join the track which led towards Conisby and lo and behold it was there, by some moorland pools , faint at first, , but becoming more distinct until I reached the first of two gates , then the final stretch of track , a second gate into Conisby itself and thus to the end of my walk.
- When
- Thu, 28 Feb 2013 at 07:54
- Grid Square
- NR2362
- Chosen Photo
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