A long projected tour in Sutherlandshire, on which a friend well acquainted with the country had undertaken to guide me, was finally arranged to take place immediately after the Easter Meet of 1898. Alas for well-laid schemes! A telegram summoned me to Forfarshire before our trip had well begun.
I bicycled out from Inverness to Beauly, and took train to Tain – the farthest I could get. Next morning my friend, who had come through by the night train from Edinburgh, joined me, and together we travelled to Lairg. At the hotel, which is at the foot of Loch Shin, and nearly two miles from the station, we had a great rearrangement of luggage.
The morning was dull and grey, and about 1 P.M., when we finally got away from Lairg, the rain commenced, very slight at first, and never very heavy. Still it was enough to wet us, and spoil the views. We had a strong head wind too; so that with very soft roads, and a heavy weight to carry, it was hard work even on the level. Loch Shin, at this end at least, is an uninteresting sheet of water. The road soon bears away from it, and ascending Strath Tirry, crosses a dreary moorland.
The scenery of Sutherland differs widely from that of other parts of the Highlands. Mountains, as well as houses, are few and far between. The country is a wide stretch of peat and heather, undulating rather than mountainous, and the few landmarks are many miles apart. Every hundred yards or so along the road the County Council has placed an iron post with a red painted iron flag to show the road when the ground is covered with snow, for, be it remembered, this is the mail route, not dependent on tourists and summer visitors, and three days a week, fair or foul, sunshine or snow, summer and winter, the mails travel this way to Tongue; on the other three days they come along the coast from Thurso.
In clear weather the distant views of the isolated, fantastic-shaped Sutherlandshire peaks must be fine. On the two occasions, though, when I bicycled or walked the weary thirty-seven miles from Lairg Inn to Tongue, it was not clear weather. Dimly we could see to the west the great mass of the Assynt Ben More, still heavily snow-clad, and the faint outlines of what must have been Ben Leoid and Ben Hee.
For fourteen miles from Lairg the road climbs steadily until it crosses the watershed at an elevation of 850 feet, about a mile beyond the Crask. Here is a small inn, clean, but not to be counted on for much in the way of food.
Ben Clibrig can be easily ascended from here, so that with a bicycle, or even taking the morning mail and walking back, there should be no difficulty in doing it in the day from Lairg. In this latter case, I should recommend going on to Altnaharra,
From the summit of the road a long descent of 600 feet in seven miles leads to the little village of Altnaharra, at the head of Loch Naver. Nowhere in Scotland have I seen such extensive moraine heaps as in this seven-mile ride. There is a comfortable inn here much affected by fishermen. The original plan had been to sleep here, climbing Ben Clibrig in the afternoon; but the bad weather, combined with a rumour of a dance at Tongue that night, which had attractions apparently for my bachelor friend, induced us to push on. A long four-mile rise takes one to another watershed, and then a descent to Loch Laoghal, on the slopes of Ben Laoghal (Loyal).
On Monday, the 18th April, the morning began with a sharp shower; but as it had been solemnly decided that Ben Hope was to be the main object of our tour, and to be climbed at all costs, we made a start as soon as it cleared up. From Tongue to Kinloch the distance is four miles. We left Kinloch at 11 A.M., and one and three-quarter hours’ walk over the moor brought us to the base of the mountain between two little lochs. Fifty-five minutes more placed us on the summit. Therefore, though the distance looks considerable on the map, Ben Hope can very easily be done from Tongue, where there is a good inn.
I do not know any mountain of the height (3,040 feet) which can be climbed with less exertion. Short grass and rounded blocks of schist lying at an easy angle lead one rapidly to the summit. The mountain is a long ridge stretching north and south. The western face descends very steeply in the direction of Loch Hope. This face might be easily ascended almost anywhere, though some long and narrow rock ribs should give climbing with magnificent, though perhaps somewhat rotten, holds.
Next day came the unwelcome summons which cut short my tour, and after a morning spent in sending and receiving telegrams, I bicycled over, again with a strong wind, to Altnaharra, determined to do Clibrig before returning home.
Wednesday, 20th April, was very hazy, with mist on the tops; however, the day was fine. The ascent of Ben Clibrig (Cleith Bric), 3,154 feet, should be easily done in two and a quarter hours from Altnaharra. I took a little longer, for not having the Ordnance map, and the top being in mist, I purposely struck the ridge somewhat too far to the north-east for fear of missing the true summit. The mountain consists of a long ridge, with several small round summits running from north-east to south-west. The highest point, Meall an Eoin, is about the centre. Three-quarters of an hour's walk over a boggy moor should place one at the base of the mountain, which can be easily ascended straight up. From the coach road the north-western flank of Klibreck looks steep, but I believe one could almost lead a pony up any part of it.
I would gladly have descended to the Crask, and so avoided the long grind up the road from Altnaharra, but I had of course to return for my bicycle, and reached the inn after four and a quarter hours’ absence. In the afternoon I reached Lairg, and so ended a tour which was to have included all the mountains of Sutherlandshire. It should be mentioned that both Ben Hope and Ben Clibrig are in deer forests.