St Duthac's Way
Start location: Road at Tomich (NH 304 270)
End location: Road end at Morvich (NG 964 210)
Geographical area: Skye and Lochalsh, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Path Type: Pilgrimage Route
Path distance: 40km
Accessibility info: Suitable for pedestrians
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Route DescriptionCross the bridge at the south-west end of Tomich village and follow the track south-west along the west bank of the Abhainn Deabhag for 2km to a junction (NH285256). From there the original route continued SW by Loch an Eang, but the way from there to Loch Pollan Buidhe and beyond is now said to be impassable (but see note below). Instead from the junction take the track W over the hill to join the forestry road along the south side of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, and follow it to the bridge across the short section of river between lochs Affric and Beinn a' Mheadhoin.
Head along the forest road on the south side of Loch Affric to Athnamulloch, then continue along a path on the north side of the River Affric to the SYHA hostel at Alltbeithe.
From the hostel, head west along a path on the north side of Gleann Gniomhaidh to the south end of Loch a' Bhealaich, and then climb to the narrow pass, the Bealach an Sgairne (515m), between Beinn Fhada and A' Ghlas-bheinn. Descend steeply along a good path down Gleann Choinneachain to the head of Strath Croe and continue along the south side of the Abhainn Chonaig to the bridge over the River Croe, 1km from Morvich.
The original route on the south side of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin is now very difficult to pass due to forestry. Some intrepid surveyors have managed to hack their way through and poles were placed along the route some years ago, but these are unlikely to be easy to find. However it is a great shame that the whole of this path is ignored for the difficulty in passing a relatively short stretch. The views are apparently far better than those of the shoreside path.
OS Landranger 33 (Loch Alsh, Glen Shiel & Loch Hourn), 25 (Glen Carron & surrounding area) & 26 (Inverness & Strathglass area)
Heritage Information
This is the original route through Glen Affric which fell into disuse when the present public road on the north side of the River Affric through Chisholm's Pass was made in the 19th century. It is shown on Roy's map of 1755 as Road from Kintail to Inverness. The route over the Bealach an Sgairne is shown on Moll's map of 1725, which marked it to Bealach Pass.
St Duthac was a beloved saint of Scotland previous to the Reformation. Duthac was born at Tain, later becoming Bishop of Rosshire, and then buried at Tain upon his death in 1065. A great missionary walker, Duthac covered a lot of ground in his efforts at conversion and many local place names bear his name. Duthac was educated in Ireland and it may be that St Duthac's Way follows the path he took when travelling back and forth from Ireland. It appears more likely, however, that St Duthac's Way is the route Duthac took between his parishes while he was a bishop, connecting Easter Ross with Kintail.
According to A E Robertson's "Old Tracks" (1941) the Bealach an Sgairne is also locally known as Cadha Dhuich, which translates from the Gaelic as St Duthac's Pass. He also points out that a well near the top on the east side is called Topar Dhuich, St Duthac's Well. Loch Duich is St Duthac's Loch.
The former parish church at Kintail is dedicated to St Duthac. The ruins and burying ground can be seen at Clachan Duich on the shore of Loch Duich. The church, also known as Kilduich, is late medieval although the date of its erection is uncertain. It is an ancient religious site dating back to at least 1050.
The musician Duncan Chisholm released in 2012 an album, Affric. One track, the flooded meadow, is inspired by his great grandmother's tale of living at Athnamullach at the west end of Glen Affric during the hard winter of 1900/1901. She and her husband had prepared for the bad weather - to live in the glen necessitated such self-reliance. However that year they were cut off for many weeks and no passers by meant no news from the outside world; Queen Victoria died and her funeral came and went before the thaw came. When the snow melted, the River Affric burst its banks, the waters flooded the meadow and surrounded the cottage; although a beautiful sight this was a far more frightening prospect than the previous weeks of snow-bound isolation.
The Forestry Commission bought Glen Affric in 1951 and fortunately the value of the glen's remnants of ancient forest was realised - a programme of planting native trees began to re-establish the Caledonian Forest. The charity Trees for Life used Athnamullach as a bothy for its volunteer work parties for many years until the cottage was declared unsafe in 2008. However, their recent Build the Bothy fundraising appeal has been successful, so Athnamullach will hopefully soon become home to a new generation of tree-planting volunteers.
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