A picnic in the company of Suilven

If Lochinver Larder is open, you can pretty much guarantee that we will have bought pies. There are picnic benches along the foreshore where we can enjoy them, but my favourite spot involves eating from the tailgate of the Land Rover with Suilven dominating the view. I am not going to disclose how to get there, so you will have to come on a tour, but the company is rather special. The mountain’s great rounded peak almost resembles a giant sitting at the edge of our picnic blanket, quietly watching us eat.

As we glance at one another and talk over our pies, that mysterious additional guest remains over our shoulders. From here, its shape hardly feels mountainous, although approaching from the east along the road through from Oykel Bridge gives quite a different impression. A narrow, pointed peak rises above the peatland, while views from the north or south reveal a long, jagged ridge. The rounded giant belongs to the western end, which also explains the name “pillar mountain”, combining Norse and Gaelic. Earlier visitors called it the Sugarloaf, another description that becomes easier to understand from Lochinver than from the side.

My favourite view of Suilven is from the water, where that grey pillar stands clear above the lower country. I have recognised it from the northern tip of Lewis, and its usefulness to people navigating this coast is easy to appreciate. Walkers seeking a closer acquaintance face a substantial day, despite its height of 731 metres. The usual return walk from near Lochinver covers around 20 kilometres and takes seven to nine hours, with a long approach, a very steep ascent to the saddle and some exposed ground and straightforward scrambling towards the summit. Suitable conditions, equipment and navigation are essential.

The reward is a view back across the country through which we travel, with lochs scattered between the mountains and the western sea beyond Lochinver. It is an extraordinary prospect to consider while eating a pie beneath that apparently watchful dome. In the audio blogcast, we venture beyond its familiar outline to discover the sudden revelation at the saddle, the outlook from the Grey Castle and why Sheila Hancock needed months of preparation to climb Suilven for Edie.

To learn more, listen to the blogcast or book one of our North Coast Explorer private tours.