We've really been enjoying getting to know this area. Moidart and it's surrounds are full of hidden gems. Castle Tioram is one of them. I apologise for the many castle photos but we were blown away at the grandeur of the place even it its ruinous state. When the weather started looking a bit iffy we decided to drive out to Ardnamurchan Point in the hope it would clear over and we'd get a nice sunset. It was not to be but still a nice place to sit.
I've had these on a few times now and so far they are just what I've been after to get me through the winter for most of my days out. Salomon describe them as being perfect for "light hiking" - take that whatever way you want ;-) They come in at 1210g for the pair and feel fairly easy on the feet. They've handled saturated grassy stuff without me applying the famous arse plant (so far!!). They even seemed to be OK on rocky stuff too. Where I have been really impressed with them is how they handled the snow on Na Gruagaichan. It was hard enough that we were kicking steps. This was easy enough for Steve in his Scarpa SL's and Iain in his La Sportiva Nepals. Initially I followed their steps then decided to give it a go myself. I occasionally had to kick a couple of times on some of the really hard stuff, probably more down to my poor technique than the boot, but they managed well on the cover we had for the ascent. As my balance is rubbish I decided to apply...
Nice pics!
ReplyDeleteWe went there last year with my mum, lovely ruins and stunning location.
ReplyDeleteOtters! Amazed you didn't see any from the hide. They play on the roadside grass at Poolewe, Skye is good and the closest I've seen them were three playing together in shoreline weed lees than 10 metres from my sea kayak on Harris. Loverly critters! Castle Tioram looks well worth a visit, nice pix!
ReplyDeleteyour blog has been quiet for a long while - are you OK?
ReplyDeleteI'm doing fine thanks Chris. Just life and laziness preventing me from updating the blog. I really should get the finger out and get some stuff written up as we have had some cracking trips recently.
ReplyDeleteI've even been so lazy as to not even look at others blogs so apologies to all you other bloggers for that
Hope all is well with you Chris and you're making the most of this poor excuse of a summer
Hi there !
ReplyDeleteI was there a few years ago and it wasn't possible to get inside the castle...but as I see your pics, th entrence is now open ?
Please let me know as if we're going to Scotland again this year in september...
Many regards,
Roy from the netherlands
roygo@kpnmail.nl
Hi Roy,
ReplyDeleteSorry for the late reply. I hope you see this before you head to Scotland. Officially Castle Tioram is closed off. We chose to ignore the warning signs and go explore but kept away from anything that looked loose. There have been a few storms since we were there so who knows what damage has happened to it since then.
It is a gorgeous location and would love to see it restored to its former glory but suspect that will never happen.
Hope you enjoy your visit.
Stunning photos! Thanks for sharing all of them. The remains of the castle is a piece of history left between the covers of the book. You are so lucky to have seen this place and walked all over the area before it marries the earth from which it has come from.
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