Once again, an awful forecast turned out to be wrong, we even
got sunshine. I expected a good crowd, but we broke all records:
twenty-three explorers - Adrian, Alasdair, Alexander Donaldson,
Alexander Macgregor, Alexandria, Allan, Amie, Benjamin, Carol
Anne, Charlie, Chloe, Edward, Isobel, Jamie, JD, John Donaldson,
Katie, Kathryn, Lucy, Peter William, Rebecca, Robin and Thomas;
ten helpers - Ann, Averil, Craig, Hamish, Jamie, John, Julia,
Lucia, Peter and Philippa, and Brucie and Muilleach wagging
the only tails.
Not everyone joined at Acharacle and it took a bit of time
to get organised at the causeway - only two cars braved the
bumpy descent. We eventually assembled and set off along the
shore. When we reached the mine, all of the explorers went
in, although it was rather wet, there was one complaint that
it was raining inside.
Then back out again and along the shore to Aultigil, stopping
to look at a strange little ruin on the rocks. Taking a rest
at Aultigil, most of the party listened to some local stories
about the house before we braved the narrow path to Egnaig.
Everyone got successfully along the steep bit and after lifting
the dogs over the stile, we stopped for a break at the house
of the MacDougal brothers. Most of the participants gathered
in the house to hear a story about the First World War while
the boys remained outside and re-enacted the war with the
aid of some handy sticks.
We got back onto the path and visited the little graveyard,
where the rhododendrons are rapidly claiming back the cleared
ground. We crossed the marshy bit and the old village dyke
and then spent a long time going westwards through the village
examining a whole succession of deserted buildings. At the
end of the village we found a very strange one with the east
half narrow and the west half much wider, could it have been
a church?
I hoped we would be able, at long last, to examine the strange
house at Bad an Dobhrain, but when we were almost there we
found the path blocked by a new deer fence and we had to turn
back.
It was a long, and rather divided column that wound its way
back to the first stile, and we did a quick count to check
that everyone had survived before re-crossing the cliff path
and the shore and eventually reaching the cars just as the
first few drops of rain started to fall.John Dye
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