22 May - A saunter above Loch Tay

The weather forecast was for thundery showers and heavy rain later. The cloud was well down on the hills so parking in Kenmore we walked to Remony and up to Balmacnaughton where we were delighted to see swallows and swifts in large numbers. A short distance further on is the little bridge over the Allt Mhucaidh, built in 1996 by 78 Regiment Engineers, where we diverted to make the short ascent to the Acharn stone circle. We  never tire of these simple walks though as the hills cleared there were the usual pangs of regret at not being on our way to a summit. It would certainly have been a lot less humid higher up. 

Retracing our steps, we took the track towards Acharn (of waterfall fame) and spent 20 minutes watching two  brown hares chasing each other and generally frolicking around. Descending to Acharn would have meant additional road walking back to Kenmore, so returning to Balmacnaughton we followed the RRW to join the steep twisting road down to Kenmore. The heavy rain didn’t arrive until later which meant I couldn’t test my 7 year old Rab Kinetic’s waterproofness. Fellow blogger alanrayneroutdoors.blogspot.com had reported some folks finding the jacket leaked like a sieve while others, including me, found it was fine for summer days on the hills in wet weather. 

Back in Kenmore we were struck by how quiet it was - except for the noise of heavy construction vehicles everywhere.The £300 million plus redevelopment of Taymouth Castle by its new US owners, a ‘playground for millionaires’,  is in full swing but otherwise Kenmore is ‘closed’, a ghost village. The beach and holiday properties have been bought by the developers. The lovely Paper Boat cafe sadly closed a few years ago. Houses in the village have been sold to the developers. Kenmore Hotel is closed for refurbishment as part of the redevelopment. The locals for the most part support the development, but why they think those coming to this luxury resort with clubhouse etc will spend money in the village is beyond me. Time will tell, but those staying at the luxury Fife Arms, Braemar, really don’t have breakfast or coffee at The Bothy! The Courtyard is, thankfully, still open for coffee etc and has a good deli, gift shop etc.

At the lovely Paper Boat in 2019

20 May - Dunan Bothy

Claggan and Loch Tay

 A misty start to the morning so we drove to Kenmore then along the south side of Loch Tay to Ardtalnaig and up to near Claggan. We’ve been on the hills both sides of the glen so had no incentive to go high and wander in the mist - we’ve had plenty of that recently. The tops did clear around mid-day but we were happy enough to stay low on what is now the Ardtalnaig to Aberfeldy section of the Rob Roy Way. 

Shee of Ardtalnaig (Summit Ciste Buide a’ Claidheimh)

Oyster catchers, a roe deer racing up the slopes of the Shee of Ardtalnaig, a brown and a mountain hare (spotted by Lynne) added interest and pleasure. A gin trap on a log bridging the Allt a’ Chilleine, not so much.

It’s an understatement to describe Dunan as a ‘locked bothy’ so no shelter here in an emergency. That said, when a few feet away you see the remains of an open fire  perhaps you can’t blame the estate. I’ve never seen this before out here but it seems to be becoming common, together with the curse of disposable barbecues.

We found shelter from the cool breeze in the sheepfold near the bothy, had rolls, hot cross buns and tea. An oyster catcher flitted about on a wall. From here the track continues into Glen Almond, a glen well known to us starting from Newton Bridge in the Sma’ Glen.

Distant hills above Glen Almond

Lynne took some better pics but I haven’t transferred them to the phone yet so these will have to do. (Mobile blogging seems much harder than I remember!) 

Sunday 19 May - Loch Tay

A lovely drive with the early light cloud lifting to bring welcome sunshine. We’re not sure what we’ll do tomorrow but we’ll be among the hills somewhere.

Test

Just checking that I can remember how to post to blogger.

Apollo 11 Command and Service Module; Apollo 11 Lunar Module

 This is for Sir Hugh at conradwalks.blogspot.com

These two models were built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. 

Command and Service Module

I was a bit disappointed with the Command and Service Module because the clear panels had small manufacturing imperfections and getting a good finish on the Command Module's clear panel seams  risked damaging the panel. I did enjoyed building this model but could have made a better job. 

The Command Module instrument panel with decals applied.

Lunar Module

The real Lunar Module was pretty rough-looking affair so the painting was easy - it's meant to look  imperfect. Jim McDivitt said that when he first saw the LM he thought it looked like a 'piece of junk' but it was in fact a brilliant piece of engineering (which he knew of course). In March 1969 McDivitt and Rusty Schweickart took the LM on its maiden flight in Earth orbit as part of the Apollo 9 mission and, following the explosion on board Apollo 13, the LM became a lifeboat for the crew.

 Some photographs I've posted previously:

USS Voyager

Space Transport System (STS), commonly referred to as 'the Shuttle'

The Saturn V - one of two I've built so far.

Building the first Stage

The final result

The stages shown separately

29 July - a third and special visit to Ben-y-Hone

On a very misty February morning in the late 1970s we arrived at Invergeldie after a a snowy drive up the narrow twisty hill-road. Only one other car was parked, a yellow Saab which we were sure belonged to my brother and his wife - Saabs were not common in the UK at the time, let alone yellow ones! The snow was at road level so we donned skis and set off into the mist, following the Invergeldie Burn to Coire Riabhach and so to the large summit cairn. The mist never lifted but we did see other ski tracks which we assumed belonged to brother and wife, although we never stumbled across them and their car was still at Invergeldie when got back. That was Ben-y-Hone but it could have been anywhere. 

It was many years after finishing the Munros when we returned to enjoy a perfect spring day, crossing the Turret Burn before Lochan Uaine then through the moraines to reach the snow patches shown in the photo below. These are the sort of days we all dream about.

Snow patches and Carn Chois distant

Sadly nowhere to be seen on our latest ascent

Biorach a' Mheannain from the slopes of Ben-y-Hone. 

Some rough going through deep heather and the moraines 

When we first did Ben-y-Hone we weren't actually 'doing' the Munros in any serious way. It was just a convenient and easy hill to ski. Later, that was all to change and on the morning of 29th June 1991, 100 years after the publication of Munro's Tables, we stood on the summit of Sgurr Dubh Mor having come up by Coire a' Ghrunnda from our camp in Glen Brittle. In November of that year the SMC (Scottish Mountaineering Club) held a dinner in Edinburgh to mark the 100th anniversary of publication of The Tables - we used the 1974 and revised 1981 editions, which kept the spirit of exploration and adventure alive (they are not guidebooks). We were fortunate enough to get two tickets and had a grand evening of celebration with talks and slides, speeches from SMC stalwarts and enjoyable swopping of experiences with fellow Munroists, particularly when the wine began to flow. 

Since then we've always tried to be on a hill to mark the occasion, sometimes a Munro, sometimes not, and in 2019 we chose Meall Bhuidhe in Glen Lyon since we were on holiday in the area. However, given the invasion of people in 2020 and with some pretty unsavoury behaviour on display, we gave the Highlands a miss. This year though, we were determined to be on a Munro on the 29th no matter the obstacles. It was, after all, the 30th anniversary of our 'compleation'.

Invergeldie in Glen Lednock is a popular start for the hill so we were there early to guarantee a parking spot and avoid the anticipated crowds. Surprisingly though, it was relatively quiet with plenty of parking available and we were soon away crossing the bridge beyond Coishavachan, making swift progress to get high before the mist burned off and temperatures soared. 

Gloomy conditions and the unsightly track which thankfully stops before the broad ridge is gained (below)

The broad ridge to the shooting butt (just visible) gives lovely walking

Looking towards the summit

Lower down we'd overhauled a few walkers who were clearly feeling the heat and seemed very unfit, so we were soon on our own enjoying the gentle stroll across the sort of terrain which, I'd guess, every walker loves. We expected to find the summit environs quite busy but only one couple were at the large cairn and they didn't stay long after our arrival. 

Approaching the large cairn. I love these old fence posts in the hills

Lunch spot

We lazed about a short distance from the cairn, reflecting on how enjoyable all our recent days had been on these hills around Loch Turret and Glen Almond. Sadly, where mountain  hares in abundance were once a delightful sight there were none, slaughtered along with those in Glen Shee and many other areas in the name of grouse shooting. I detest every one of you involved in this.

Our first ascent of this Munro on skis followed the glen (above) and Invergeldie Burn before breaking off right. The path, (faintly visible) continues to Dunan Bothy in Glen Almond and ultimately to Artalnaig on Loch Tay.

The forecasted high temperatures didn't materialise until late in the afternoon and the last of our tea was gratefully enjoyed in fairly intense heat. Our only other pause was to take a photograph of these lovely orchids, then it was home for a celebratory meal with a bottle of Chablis going down rather nicely.

A few hills in 2021

It's a long time since I sat down to write a post so here's a brief update.

The year started well with an easy local hill on 1 January. There was reasonably good snow-cover and in the New Year sunshine lots of families were out sledging and generally having fun on the hills and in roadside fields. 

Click photos to enlarge.

Several good days in snowy conditions followed throughout January and February although it was often the case of doing the same walk with slight variations. We didn't complain for we considered ourselves fortunate to still be fit and healthy and able to get in to the hills as and when we chose.

As winter gave way to spring we weren't inclined to travel further afield but, on a sunny, breezy day in May we drove to Glen Artney for Uamh Beag (Graham and Donald) via the steep slopes of An Beannan. 

Delightful path by the Water of Ruchill

Allt Ollach

Bridge over the Allt Ollach

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Am Beannan

7 June - Auchnafree Hill

Having first done this Corbett from the Loch Turret side we set off for a second ascent from Newton Bridge, just beyond the Sma' Glen, to follow the unsightly track through Glen Almond. A small group of cyclists passed but otherwise all was quiet. We stopped to have a look at Clach na Tiompan stone circle, once four stones now only one, and the chambered cairn on the opposite side of the track. The creation of this broad highway through Glen Almond caused considerable damage to the cairn.

At Larichfraskhan we crossed the River Almond and wended our way up the old track which zig-zags over  Crom Chreag before gently rising to the top of Auchnafree Hill. In the glen we'd seen curlew, oyster catchers and deer. Now a red kite, hen harrier (possibly) and a buzzard joined the list. We were suspicious about the cause of death of a mountain hare.

Should we cross the easy ground and descend to the glen by the Allt Coire Chultrain and Thiefs (sic) Cave? We decided against it because we could come back and enjoy an ascent by this route and generally explore the area. There is always something new to see, some hidden nook or cranny to visit.

River Almond

The old track over Crom Chreag

Near Larichfraskhan

Larigfraskhan

On our way back to Newton Bridge a young dog from Auchnafree followed us despite our best efforts to turn him back. He gamely struggled over cattle grids determined to keep us company all the way to the car. We love dogs and hated trying to chase him away, but were worried that he'd come to grief on the main road at Newton Bridge so we were relieved to meet a local farmer who was gathering his escaped pigs and said he'd return the pooch to the farm. We obviously weren't the only ones making a bid for freedom that day.

17 June

Choinneachain Hill is an easy walk from Auchnafree Hill but we wanted to save it for an ascent from Loch Turret. Though we didn't know of its existence, a small track heads up the hill part-way along the loch but since details of the route are now online, the estate has decided it doesn't want it used by walkers any more. According to a small notice, the track is unsuitable for walkers and has become badly eroded; there are nesting birds which might be disturbed (grouse for shooting, that is) and there's a good hill track, ie bulldozed track. In my view this is simply an attempt by the estate (they are not alone) to dictate where we should walk on the hills: 'we have to give access, so here is the access point' seems to be the message. 

The beautiful track we followed is not eroded, is perfectly suitable for walkers, unlikely to get heavy use and sheer delight all the way to the first small cairn. The 'established hill track', ie bulldozed road, is fine for mountain bikes. 

Summit - Lawers hills in distance

Lunch cairn (a chambered cairn in fact)

Loch Turret and Ben-y-Hone

22 June - Biorach a' Mheannain

This lovely hill rises at the head of Loch Turret and I suspect it's rarely climbed from the Moine Bheag, but here we were and looking forward to the short steep ascent up the heather and blaeberry-covered slopes.  Ben-y-Hone can be readily climbed from Biorach, but we had plans for a third ascent of this Munro at the end of June (more later) to celebrate the 30th anniversary of our 'compleation', so didn't feel guilty about staying put and enjoying the sun while having tea and rolls. It was like a burning cauldron in the glen, and back at the car the large flask of water was very welcome. 

 Biorach a’ Mheannain

Craggy east face of Ben-y-Hone

Steeper than it looks - our route up should be obvious

Reeds cover Lochan Uaine below the Moine Beag. It's been very dry.