Driving West from Marybank we follow a single track, dead-end road for nearly twenty miles up Strathconan. At a fork in the valley after six or seven miles, the road forces us Westward and we're now driving along the River Meig. The metaled road eventually peters out at Scardroy at the head of Loch Beannacharain. To get this far we've driven through some of the most beautiful countryside imaginable - and that's just the bits we could see through the rain. At one point the Meig is joined by a gorge-like valley from the North, Gleann Meinich. Tales of violent, gruesome clearances ring true, evidence of abandoned homesteads and livelihoods are all around and the place is really quite sinister.
The chapel here hasn't seen company for a while. Torrents of water spilling off the tops give up their hold on the ravines and become spectacular waterfalls because of the sheer volume. This particular chap (shot from 1/2 mile away) is about half way down the 1500 foot sheer cliff face of Creag Dhubh.
From Scardroy the old East/West drovers road is very clearly evident. If you study a map you'll see it forging across the Glencarron Forest, faithfully following the Meig to its source. The pass/watershed is only about five or six miles east of the A890 at Achnashellach and from here a few miles to Loch Carron and the West coast. This great historic thoroughfare has been reclassified from byway to bridleway, rendering it unusable for the truck. Looks like we'll have to return another day and walk what has to be one of the most interesting coast to coast hikes. MORE DROVING !
