Loch Arienas

A very successful evening yesterday culminating in an otter sighting at the bridge in Kinlochaline, a very poor proof of sighting photo. Even more exciting was a short road trip to what remains of Ardtornish Castle. Staying on the estate gives you vehicle access to most of the road and track network and I didn’t fancy an 8 mile evening walk. It worked up to a point but the combination of a farm dog and a woodcutting operation meant I had a tricky reverse manoeuvre with some potential exposure. All in all I decided to look at the ruins from a distance.
Today the incredible weather continued and thus far I have walked alongside Loch Arienas through the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Rahoy Hills Reserve which is jointly managed with the Ardtornish Estate. The main blip is the Black Water meandering along the alluvial plane towards the Loch. A fine short walk through the Celtic rain forest and meadowland scattered with larks. The end point is another abandoned village. I retraced my steps, watched a golden eagle until it disappeared over the hill, chatted to a couple of young chaps mending the deer fence and had a picnic lunch at the Acharn Bridge, the confluence of the Abhainn a’ Ghlinne Gail and the Black Water.
After lunch I returned to base, made a flask of tea and set off from the bunkhouse to walk to Loch Tearnit, extra, with its beautifully maintained and situated bothy, Leacraithnaich. Another glorious walk on a good track with fine views to Glas Bheinn and in the distance the massive Glensanda quarry. The loch was fringed with golden sand, soft in places, I paddled and was almost tempted to dip. Right in the middle there was a crannog.