PEANMEANACH
An adventurous walk, but one with rich rewards
This is a walk for the adventurer, with several interesting habitats to explore and the potential of a bed for the night in a bothy! I found this walk in The Scottish Bothy Bible, with not a word regarding the wildlife, but I felt it was one that was worth exploring and I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed. I started off with Garden and Willow Warblers by the van and managed to walk the wrong way to start with, as the best path rises up the hill, not down it. Plenty of scrub kept me listening for warblers, as the view was at first restricted by the trees. Greylag Geese were using the first lochan and the views finally gave me Loch Beag and a lost deserted croft. On the moorland, Meadow Pipits were everywhere, with the odd Wheatear. The nearby hills were ideal Golden Eagle territory, and I had even seen White-tailed Eagle on a previous visit to the area. These upland lochs always look deserted at first, but Common Sandpiper and Pied Wagtail were easily found after a scan, as well as two species of diver. A distant Ring Ouzel was heard as I dropped down to the ‘Hanging oak’ wood and this gave me Redstart, Wood Warbler and Tree Pipit. The stretch to the old Viking township was through former hay fields, with the settlement only abandoned after the railway came to Mallaig, in 1901; leaving the community with competition for the sale of their fish. Around the old settlement were breeding Twite, Wheatear and Pied Wagtails, with Ringed Plover and Oystercatchers on the shingle. Waders on the beach included Sanderling, Dunlin, passage Ringed Plover and Turnstone with White Wagtails lingering. The bay had Great Northern Diver as well as Otter. What a location, with no road to bother it!