Colin Prior

Anyone interested in a walk on the wild side should consider spending a day or two at Sandwood Bay in Sutherland. Bordered by dramatically eroded cliffs and backed by dynamic sand dunes the coastline curves away gracefully to the most north-westerly point on mainland Britain

Jack London’s Call of the Wild left an indelible impression on my young mind. In the desolate landscapes of Alaska and the Yukon - the Northland, he portrays the harshness of the environment and just how unforgiving it was in these early days of prospectors. The thin line that separated life from death was ever present and in the absence of many of life’s other distractions the struggle for survival was laid bare.

Many years ago, I remember reading about An Teallach in a Munro handbook that its name in Gaelic means 'the forge'. Ancient people in the area apparently likened its colour at sunrise to that of a blacksmith forge. My assumption was that this information was largely anecdotal and that it was the author's attempt to introduce a little romanticism to an otherwise factual account, however I was mistaken.