The Knoydart Peninsula and surrounding area has some of the most spectacular mountain landscapes in the Scottish Highlands. Notoriously it also has some of the most rugged terrain, hence the old name “the Rough Bounds of Knoydart”. This two-week walk through this tough country began at the head of Loch Arkaig with a short evening walk up Glen Pean in the company of Tony Hobbs, who was with me for the first five days. The next day we continued through the dramatic heart of this magnificent glen, clambering through the boulder field at its head, and down to Loch Morar and a good camp site. The weather was wet, the clouds low over the hills, but it did clear up briefly during the evening.

A steep climb on very rough ground led to the long ridge of Carn Mor, a Corbett, which we followed back towards Loch Arkaig with one high camp along the way, sheltered from the strong winds in a slight hollow. Careful navigation in the mist – there’s no path and the terrain is rocky and complex – took us over the summit and onto easier ground that led down to Glen Dessary and our last camp together, which was in welcome sunshine.

The good weather didn’t last as I set off alone up Glen Dessary for a nine-day circular walk that took me over six passes and back to Loch Arkaig, visiting Inverie and Barrisdale en route. The weather was mostly wet, except for the day I spent at Inverie, with the clouds down on the tops and the highest passes. After Carn Mor I had no desire for more navigation in the mist over rocky hills. I preferred to see something. I did climb one hill, an out and back from a camp, on a day when the clouds were above the summits. This was Ben Aden, another Corbett. It’s a superb rocky hill and I was really glad to have a view as my only previous ascent, many decades ago, had been in mist and rain.

Despite the weather this was a superb trip, with dramatic scenery every day and some fine camp sites. The going was pretty tough most of the time. There’s little easy walking in Knoydart. The rain turned many of the paths into quagmires too. This is one of the wettest places in Britain.

This was a late spring trip, and the forecast was for cool, wet, and windy weather so I wanted a tent that would stand up to storms, and a warmer sleeping bag and more substantial clothing. Of course, it can be warm and sunny at this time of year, but I prefer to err on the side of caution with gear. I’d rather carry a little more than needed than be cold or wet. As it was, I needed the storm gear, but a lighter sleeping bag and less warm clothing would have been fine as it wasn’t very cold.

Realising I could swap them over after the first five days when I returned to the start with Tony Hobbs this was a good opportunity to compare items, so I took two tents, two sleeping bags, and two mats.

I only made a sketchy outline route as I planned on adapting our route to the weather. If it was clear and not too windy, we’d go over the summits. If not, which was how it turned out, I’d stick to the glens and passes. I wanted to visit Inverie and Barrisdale. How I got to them was open to decisions at the time.

I did think about camp sites as I knew that the rugged terrain meant they were not always easy to find. This would especially be the case if I went over the summits.

For the first five days with Tony, who hadn’t experienced the roughness and steepness of Knoydart before, I planned a route that could easily be cut short or reversed.