Stac Pollaidh, 17th September 2025

 The forecast was really bad for the Wednesday of my trip due to high winds and it was looking like the rest of my trip was going to be a write-off in terms of more Munros because of the wind too.

I was a bit taken with Assynt so I wanted to pull on that thread a bit and explore, even if it was just in the van or a wander along a beach. I had a bit of a lazy morning. I needed to get some supplies at Tesco in Ullapool so I headed round there on my way and met this beautiful cat.

Tesco Ullapool Cat

I headed back up the road north but went along the wee single-track road out to Stac Pollaidh. I wasn't really intending to go up it, but I got to the car park and figured a wee leg stretch wouldn't do me any harm.

Stac Pollaidh

I put on my full waterproofs again and stepped out into the driving rain. It's a really stunning mountain, very rugged on the top so I couldn't really resist.

I saw a few folk coming down, and then the rain stopped and the air cleared. Round the back of the hill I got some amazing views of Suilven and Quinag. I was going to head back but it was just getting good!

Stac Pollaidh

Suilven

Assynt

What an incredible vista - the sea, the moorland and the wind forming clouds on the mountains. I thought a lot about MacCaig and how he would have been here many times in his summers in Assynt, and how he would have sat longing for this in winters in his Edinburgh flat.

I got to the top of the ridge, but the wind was brutal, so the scramble would have to wait for another day. I'd had enough wind-related incidents this week.

WIND!

The weather was very nice when I was back at the van, so I made some rolls and sat in the sun, before deciding to head to the beach at Achnahaird for a wander. By the time I got there it was chucking down again, so I read my book for a while, then went out for a 10 minute wander along the beach.

Achnahaird

That night in Ullapool, I met with Div again, this time with his girlfriend Chelsea from New Zealand, and Steg joined us in a hired campervan. We saw the quite incredible Ru Mac (also wow) at the Arch Inn, then ended up back at Steg's swish hired camper van for some cans. No summits today, but glad to have been out in Assynt for a day.