Day 7 - Wind, sun and flies

Another scorcher today, although we didn't feel it at first. We set off east from Torridon into a strong headwind and uphill. Our progress was very slow for the first 10 miles as we battled the wind and gravity all the way inland.

Reaching Kinlochewe was an enormous relief, because here we turned north and the wind would now be behind us. We stopped to buy sandwhiches for lunch, and then stormed onward. The road was level as it followed the banks of a loch and with a tailwind we easily covered the next 10 miles in about 40 minutes.

Realising we'd be arriving in Gairloch very early if we kept going, we pulled off the road and down a track to a signed picnic spot by the loch. It was a beautiful spot to have lunch, and we then killed an hour throwing stones and discovering the remains of enormous crayfish by the waterside.

When we finally rejoined the road it was the hottest part of the day and we soon discovered that a tailwind can also be a curse, as it meant that the air around us was completely stagnant as we laboured our way up out of the valley. As we started to drown in our own sweat we were joined by swarms of flies, eager to keep us company. Half the contents of one of my water bottles ended up on Rosie's back, at her insistence.

The steady roll down to the sea afterward felt really good, as the breeze cooled us down and we rested our tired legs. Showers, dinner and an early bed time awaited us in Gairloch.