These daffodils brighten up our daily walk but obviously they've had a close encounter with a tractor, probably delivering hay for the sheep. I like to think they were spared on purpose. Positive thoughts are needed at present.
We met not a soul before turning onto the now familiar single track road to Powmill. In the distance is King's Seat Hill, the snow patches on its steep north east slopes slowly shrinking.
At one of the few houses along our route the friendly dog barks his regular welcome; the cat observes us briefly then turns away, disinterested. It's a cat after all. I like cats. I like dogs for the opposite reason.
At home I'm falling into an enjoyable routine, if jumping from one thing to another counts as routine.
I've been uploading photos to Flickr, browsing climbing books and generally living vicariously on the tops and ridges of the Munros and others. I searched the bookshelves for Irvine Butterfield's High Mountains of Britain and Ireland, a book I bought over thirty years ago but never used preferring the SMC's Tables to identify the Munros and Tops using Grid References, then working out routes for ourselves.(Edit: We bought Butterfield’s book in 1988, three years before ‘compleation’ so I assume we thought it simply a book worth having for its own sake. Which it is.)
However, Butterfield's book is an excellent one and his photographs capture the landscape well. I remember a friend pouring over its pages at Ardmair the evening before we set off for Achintee, bound for a day on Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhor. I teased him about using a guide book, and a non-SMC one at that, but he would have none of it!
There are other books to read of course;
Everest - The First Ascent, the untold story of Griffith Pugh, recommended by Sir Hugh and Gimmer.
James Naughtie's On The Road - American Adventures from Nixon to Trump.
The Haldanes of Gleneagles, a Scottish History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day, which Lynne has read but which I might find a bit dry.
Unfortunately, all this is a poor substitute for being on the hills. But never mind. Following the Sunday Times report into the UK Government's handling of the virus outbreak in its early stages, Cameron McNeish has the answer to Scotland's coronavirus problem: "I think it's very clear now that being shackled to England is seriously bad for our health@DissolvetheUnion". Really? Cringeworthy to say the least.
To cheer you up (well it cheers me up) I leave you with these:
We met not a soul before turning onto the now familiar single track road to Powmill. In the distance is King's Seat Hill, the snow patches on its steep north east slopes slowly shrinking.
At one of the few houses along our route the friendly dog barks his regular welcome; the cat observes us briefly then turns away, disinterested. It's a cat after all. I like cats. I like dogs for the opposite reason.
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| A lovely spot with dog, cats and hens. |
At home I'm falling into an enjoyable routine, if jumping from one thing to another counts as routine.
I've been uploading photos to Flickr, browsing climbing books and generally living vicariously on the tops and ridges of the Munros and others. I searched the bookshelves for Irvine Butterfield's High Mountains of Britain and Ireland, a book I bought over thirty years ago but never used preferring the SMC's Tables to identify the Munros and Tops using Grid References, then working out routes for ourselves.(Edit: We bought Butterfield’s book in 1988, three years before ‘compleation’ so I assume we thought it simply a book worth having for its own sake. Which it is.)
However, Butterfield's book is an excellent one and his photographs capture the landscape well. I remember a friend pouring over its pages at Ardmair the evening before we set off for Achintee, bound for a day on Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich and Lurg Mhor. I teased him about using a guide book, and a non-SMC one at that, but he would have none of it!
There are other books to read of course;
Everest - The First Ascent, the untold story of Griffith Pugh, recommended by Sir Hugh and Gimmer.
James Naughtie's On The Road - American Adventures from Nixon to Trump.
The Haldanes of Gleneagles, a Scottish History from the Twelfth Century to the Present Day, which Lynne has read but which I might find a bit dry.
Unfortunately, all this is a poor substitute for being on the hills. But never mind. Following the Sunday Times report into the UK Government's handling of the virus outbreak in its early stages, Cameron McNeish has the answer to Scotland's coronavirus problem: "I think it's very clear now that being shackled to England is seriously bad for our health@DissolvetheUnion". Really? Cringeworthy to say the least.
To cheer you up (well it cheers me up) I leave you with these:
 |
| Cuillin Main Ridge Traverse - approaching the Thearlaich-Dubh Gap (hidden) with Sgurr Thearlaich (right) and Sgurr Alasdair (left). Top of Great Stone Shoot between them. |
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| Cuillin Ridge from near Gars-bheinn |
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| Scanned 35mm slide. Am Basteir, April 1991 two months before we finished our round |
Sgurr Mor was my final Munro. I have a piece of rock from the summit on my mantlepiece. The Thearlaich-Dubh looks fiercer than I remember but I was only about twenty last time I saw it. I also keep busy, but like you there are certain "to-dos" that I seem to keep putting off.
ReplyDeleteSir Hugh - do you mean Sgurr Dubh Mor? If so we finished on the same peak via Sgurr Dubh an Da Bheinn. As for the TD Gap looking fiercer, everything on the Cuillin looks steeper and fiercer nowadays! I notice three photos have
ReplyDeletevanished from my post so will upload again maybe.
Sir Hugh - I’ve corrected the apostrophe blunder also. My proofreading is getting worse and worse.
ReplyDeleteI was completely mixed up mistaking your Lurg Mhor for my final Munro Sgurr Mor (NM 966 980) overlooking Loch Quoich.
ReplyDeleteLurg Mhor was an epic for me - a very long day starting and finishing at Achnashellach on the A890 - a long story.
Excellent, Gibson. I've just gained some pleasure from finding the Inn Pin photos I took on that 'landmark' day.
ReplyDeleteI've used Irvine's book for many years, and it's my first port of call when vetting high level routes for the TGO Challenge. He covers the hills from more (and sometimes more interesting) angles than some of the other guides, though I'm also a fan of Ralph Storer's books.
Strange isn't it - trapped at home in this lovely weather, but still not enough hours to get through that list of aspirations for the day...
Hi Martin. My aspirations for the day disappear quickly, thankfully. Lots of stuff in the garage needs throwing out and some order brought to the place, but fortunately the recycling centre in Kinross is closed!
ReplyDeleteAll my photos of the Munros and most Corbetts are slides which for the most part remain unscanned. We went through a period of using a camcorder to record the day and might buy a new one when the hills are accessible again. A new rope is also going to be needed for future plans I think.