Suilven by Canoe

Three Day Camping and Canoeing Trip to Suilven, May 2014

Having joined the Youth Hostel Association in 2012 to get reduced prices at the mountain huts in Sweden; we have rediscovered the joys of youth hostelling in the UK. (We have had private, en-suite rooms, from £35 per night. You can even have all your meals and drink at the bar!). Anyway, we split the long journey from the Peak District to Sutherland with a comfortable night’s stay at Pitlochry Youth Hostel.

On the good track to the start of our trip on Loch Veyatie

It was just over 3 hours from Pitlochry to Elphin, the tiny hamlet where we would launch our canoe for the trip down Loch Veyatie to find a camping spot close to the slopes of Suilven. There is a good quality track that leads down to a hatchery on Loch Veyatie; we arrived at the same time as one of the workers and thought it helpful to offer to close the gate after him. (We hoped this would endear us to him; useful when we asked if we could drive down to the loch on our return). We loaded the canoe and asked a friendly farmer about parking. There is parking, by the village hall, about 100m from the track to the loch.

The sandy entrance to Loch a'Mhadail

The portage to the loch was straightforward, all downhill. It means the short but awkward portage from Loch Cam can be avoided. We set off into the mist and gloom; we knew Suilven was there but unfortunately, today, the views eluded us. It was roughly 7km to paddle to the river joining Loch Veyatie and Fionn Loch and took us about an hour and a half. Just as the loch shallowed and narrowed into the river, was a lovely, flat camping spot; at the bottom of a small stream and only a couple of metres from the shore. We decided to camp here rather than see what the river had to offer. We spent three nights at this fabulous spot, each night we were treated to something different - glorious colours on the hills as the sun set, beautiful reflections on the water and a good variety of wildlife, albeit mainly birds.



The setting sun casting beautiful colours on our campsite

The next day the weather forecast was not so good, but on the day following it was due to be a bright, sunny and warm day. We would wait for the fine weather to climb Suilven. So we had a day to explore Fionn Loch. We paddled down the river and got out of the boat prematurely as we dragged it down the shallows; only to find out later, on the way back up that it could be poled quite easily. A quick look at the ‘rapids’ showed that there was nothing to worry about and we paddled down into Fionn Loch, avoiding the shingle where necessary. At the start of the Loch was another pleasant camping spot; luckily we had decided not to come this far as there was a group of about 5 tents already there.  Fionn Loch was not particularly exciting but it filled the day whilst waiting to climb Suilven. There was a group of fishermen, with a powerboat on the water. I’m not sure what their route onto the loch would have been.




A beautiful camping spot under the slopes of Suilven

We returned up the river, only having to drag the boat up the grass to portage the first rapid. From here we poled up the river with little effort. We settled into our camp for the night watching a pair of Teal ducks going about their mating rituals, listening to the constant tweet of the Sandpiper and watching deer swim across the loch upstream of us. Our camp is a comfortable affair, with a tent for sleeping and a cheap basher from Decathlon for living under. With the canoe as a windbreak it gives us and our kit plenty of shelter. When it is wet, both canoeing & camping; the capes that we bought are a godsend. We usually eat a pasta or rice meal with added sausage and shallots, washed down with red wine from a box, following it with a shot or two of whisky. The radio only comes on whilst we have the noise of the gas stove. We relax in our camping chairs and enjoy the scenery. We try to make the most of our campsite, enjoying the views and the wildlife; occasionally we will light a fire later on in the evening, this can be a necessity if the midges are bad. This time the midges were still larvae and were not ready to bother us at all.

Collecting water on the lower slopes of Suilven



Just approaching the bealach; you can see the path is not so bad

We awoke the following day to heavy rain but were confident in the forecast we had received, and true to its word, the cloud lifted and the rain ceased. We set off following the river downstream for a couple of kilometres before cutting across the marshy ground to end up beneath the steep slopes of Suilven. The ground was not too bad at all and the walk to the foot of the climb took us to a height of about 350 metres, in about an hour.

A Ptarmigan on Suilven's ridge

It was less than another hour and we were standing at the narrow bealach, at about 650 metres high, ready for the final climb to the summit. The path up looked ridiculously steep, right until you were upon it.  However it was quite manageable with a slow, zig-zagging route. My main concern was not dislodging any of the loose rocks onto Andy below me.  The route is a mixture of scree and loose soil; due to the nature of the sandstone it is easily eroded. Parallel paths are already forming and the last few steps on to the bealach feel quite intimidating.


Suilven's Ridge

Looking north-west from Suilven

Once on the ridge itself the walk is much more pleasurable. The views open up in all directions, the hill widens and there is a winding climb, with a couple of rocky steps to the summit, which, surprisingly, is on  a broad, rounded top.  We enjoyed the summit ridge and sauntered off to the eastern end, taking in the easy scrambles as they came. However, just before the eastern summit is a 12 metre band of vertical rock. Although it was obvious that the moves were not difficult, the exposure is considerable and with no technical kit we decided that the full traverse of Suilven was a trip for another day. We stopped on the way back for lunch and to watch a lonesome Ptarmigan, before descending the way we had come. Despite, (perhaps because of) its remoteness, Suilven is a busy mountain. We met a group of young Glaswegians who had split in two. One group walked in from the west whilst the others paddled in from the east, (save the couple in the powerboat with the dog). They climbed Suilven in a day and then swapped modes of transport for the return journey. What a great idea.




Sun setting on our camp

We enjoyed the last night at our camping spot, ready to pack up in the morning and head on to our next trip. Suilven is an iconic and busy mountain, yet we only saw one group of 6 pass our campsite in three days. We were surprised at what a relaxing trip it was, taking 3 days and nights over it. The climb is easy and short, if you choose to camp close by. Having got permission from the guy at the hatchery at the start of our trip, we collected the car and drove down to the loch side to load up and thankfully miss out the steep portage back to the car park. Still feeling fresh, but not necessarily smelling so; we decided to go straight into our next paddling adventure, Loch Laxford.