Torridon Mountain Trail

The only Alpine-style waymarked mountain trail in the UK, and as it started a mile or so from our front door we thought it might make a good family outing. M agreed to try it with a 'positive mental attitude' as I came over all Californian: so we set off from the shores of Loch Maree through the Caledonian pine woods, with E reading about the points of interest as we passed. I was a little tired after Beinn Dearg this morning, so it made a nice though quite vigorous warm-down: quite challenging for the children with 560m vertical ascent (6-7km). The weather remained stunning, the visibility and clarity razor sharp, which was a considerable help. At first, it all went very well and the children seemed to be enjoying it as we emerged from the trees to take a steep but beautifully constructed path above a little gorge to a fine viewpoint overlooking Slioch and Loch Maree. Morale began to slip after Trumpeter Rock, with a long gap between points of interest. Neither wanted to carry on, but gentle persuasion and some lunch improved spirits and after a while we passed the 400m contour. This was a major boost, and shortly afterwards we arrived at the 'summit' cairn, with wonderful views over the whole Beinn Eighe ridge that I'd done on Tuesday. It was great to be able to share the views I'd been getting all week with the whole family, just a perfect family walking circuit with spectacular views and a genuine mountain feel. We had some peanuts to mark the occasion. The downwards route was just a delight, past 'Lunar Loch' to a winding route along a little ridge above a gorge, then back into the pine woods and a meal at the Whistlestop cafe to celebrate.