I left Glen Nevis and drove further north, first alongside Loch Lochy, and then through Glen Shiel, which is dominated by the tall, shapely peaks of The Five Sisters of Kintail. I pitched my tent in Shiel Bridge at the head of Loch Duich. The campsite was small, cheap (£5 a night) and uncrowded. I soon made myself at home...
Shiel Bridge is the gateway to the lonely and beautiful Glenelg peninsula. Just one road leads in - a narrow, single-track road which climbs via a series of hairpin bends high up to the Mam Ratagan pass and down through Glen More to Glenelg. A little further south of here lies Sandaig, once home to Gavin Maxwell and his otters. In his book Ring Of Bright Water Maxwell disguises Sandaig under the name of Camusfeàrna (Bay of Alders). But, when reading the book in my early 20s, I quickly worked out its real location from clues in the text. And I've wanted to make a pilgrimage there ever since...
