A canter round Kernsary
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I STEPPED gingerly across the stones over the burn, got to the far side then saw the bridge, hidden behind some foliage. At least I managed to stop a couple who were about to follow us making the same mistake and we all had a laugh about it.
We’d just reached the halfway point of our walk around Loch Kernsary, near Poolewe. It’s an easy circuit with a rough and slightly boggy path on the north side of the loch and a good track and tarmac to return to the start.
Approaching Poolewe from the south there’s a car park in the village, reached by a right turn off the A832 just after the bridge over the River Ewe.
Nearby is the National Trust for Scotland’s renowned Inverewe Garden, described as "a lush, tropical oasis perched on a peninsula at the edge of Loch Ewe, amid the rugged landscape of Wester Ross".
The garden was created out of bare rock and a few scrub willows in 1862 by Osgood Mackenzie and is full of colourful, exotic plants from around the world.
It’s a brilliant place to visit and could easily be combined with this walk to make a day of it. From the car park in Poolewe, walk back to the main road and turn right.
A sign saying Loch Kernsary circuit points the other way, but for me a clockwise round provides the best views. Walk on past the campsite to a white building. At its far end is another sign for the Loch Kernsary round.
Follow the well constructed path through a couple of gates and on to open ground. Loch Kernsary comes into view in less than a kilometre, and there’s a superb view across the loch to the south-east.
The prominent and wonderfully named Corbett of Beinn Airigh Charr dominates as a foreground to the Fisherfield Munros beyond. The Torridon hills can be picked out too.
We continued on the stony path which rises above the loch and traverses a boggy section before crossing a field to that well concealed bridge over the burn. It then rises to a track and a gate.
This spot brought back memories of when John and I ventured this way into Fisherfield for two of my last three Munros – A’ Mhaighdean and Ruadh Stac Mor.
However, there were no thoughts of going that far today so we turned right past Kernsary farm and over the – this time very obvious – bridge across the Allt na Creige. Round a bend we stopped for a break, overlooking the south end of Loch Kernsary.
A couple of stonechats entertained us darting about along the top strand of a fence and making their distinctive call, which really does sound like two stones being knocked together.
Meanwhile, cuckcoos competed with one another in nearby woodland – reminiscent of an Austrian clock shop: heard but not seen.
The track back passes by the extensive private grounds of Inveran, where the happy sounds of a child playing could be heard through the trees. The return stretch to the car park is alongside the rushing River Ewe, a pleasant finish to a very scenic walk.
A wonderful fish platter at The Steading bistro in Gairloch on the return home ended the day perfectly.
