In search of Suilven

As we are eating breakfast John gets friendly with a BMW driving, tweed jacket fisherman who’s pulled up next to the camper. Tweed Jacket has paid a sum of money to some anonymous land owner to fish in his lochs – extra for the use of a boat, one of which is tied up next to where we’ve spent the night. While we are getting ready a Mercedes pulls up and deposits another elderly gentlemen, who tackles up before his *two* lady friends drive off.

We head to Lochinver to check the weather again (wind is not good canoeing weather) and eat more. The weather is to be mixed, but we head to loch Sionascaig and hop into the canoe, and set off towards Suilven. Stella very kindly agrees to walk the first leg of the trip, with Rowan, John’s dog (think of Santa’s Little Helper from the Simpsons).

Myself and John paddle about, trying to stay out of the wind. It’s good to be back in an open canoe. I get myself re-acquainted with J strokes, drawing, reverse draws, etc. It’s a great day, even when we have to pull the canoe across grass between lochs.

Tonight John has been fly fishing in the loch at the foot of the Southern slopes of Suilven, catching a few Brown Trout, while I mucked about in the canoe. The wind has died almost completely and the sky is moslty clear with some red to the West. Suilven looms over us like a huge upturned ship hulk. I have no tent so we’ve set up a cover of canoe and tarp, where I’ll sleep in my bivi bag.