11 - 17 September 2024 - Braemar

The 70 mile drive took longer than usual, mainly because of heavy traffic in Perth, but it was a pleasant journey all the same with me in the motorcaravan and Lynne driving the car.  The village was quiet, most of those up for the Braemar Gathering having departed. 

It was a stormy, wet night and the bitter wind did not entice us onto the hills. In any case, we were tired. We’d had good holidays in May and June but our first experience of Covid in July did much to reverse any benefits of said June holiday. Then, out of the blue, my older brother died at the end of July. I’ve happy teenage memories of climbing with him and his wife. Perhaps I’ll post about this later.

Back to now. After three days of low level walks we needed a summit and since Morrone is an old favourite and the winds had eased by Friday, we were soon on our way up the familiar track. Then, two glorious days, the first to Carn Aosda via Baddoch and the second out to Carn a’ Gheoidh. I’ve posted about these hills more than once so I’ll stick to photos. 

Five days left and the weather seems settled.

25 July 2024 - Scarborough Fair

Earlier in the year we bought two bare root David Austin roses called Scarborough Fair. They were planted at different times (February and late April) and both have now produced flowers. They’ve taken a bit of a battering what with rain, wind and very little sun, but are coming along fine with lots of buds ready to bloom. 

23 June 2024 - Creagan a’ Beinne

The weather forecast was for a warm sunny day but being  a Sunday, we guessed the popular hills would be busy and best left until Monday. Creagan a’ Beinne from the track to Dunan Bothy seemed like a good choice even though it had been an early Corbett for us in October 1989. I remember approaching Claggan Farm to the cacophony of sheep being gathered and since our Border collie Morag was still with us (see Schiehallion post) Lynne stayed with her while I walked up to the farm. I explained where we were going, that we had a collie with us and didn’t want to cause him any problems. I got a friendly response and off we went. 

Today there was little activity around the farm and we were looking forward to a lovely day on the hills. Then, as we passed through a gate Lynne felt a twinge in her right foot. We thought nothing more about it and soon we left the track for the hill, finding our way through heather and blaeberry covered slopes. The views were superb. 

Ciste Buide a’ Claidheimh

The summit came into view and we strolled over short heather and grasses to the cairn, arriving together as usual.

It was a perfect day to be on a top, sitting by a cairn with tea, rolls and cake.

Ben Chonzie

Looking over Shee of Ardtalnaig to Meall Mor

All too soon it was time to go. We were looking forward to a leisurely descent but it was to be an excruciatingly painful one for Lynne. The ‘twinge’ had obviously been serious though she’d had no pain on the way up. Down we went, ever so slowly, with no stops in case Lynne was unable to start again. Reaching the track was welcome although, if anything, it made the pain worse. With boots off at the car we could see the foot was badly swollen and it seemed clear that there was tendon injury, though of course we had no idea the extent of the injury. Back at the motorcaravan I spoke with the site owner who was extremely helpful, announcing that his son was a paramedic! Soon he was examining Lynne’s foot, confirmed it was tendon injury and was fairly sure there was no structural damage to bones. And so it proved to be. The site owner had told us that we could leave the motorvan parked beside his for as long as we wanted, free of charge so we could drive home if necessary and come back for it when we could. Such kindness.

In the event we decided to stay and Lynne was able to get around quite quickly, though obviously not on hills! 

Fortunately, it only took a week for Lynne to recover - quick healer! Less fortunately, we are both now recovering from our first ever Covid infection!

20 June 2024 - Carn Gorm : a Summer Solstice Munro.

It was with more than a tinge of sadness that a friend reflecting on two rounds of the Munros, plus Tops on his first round, observed, ‘Time flips by.’ Indeed it does as a quick check of the date of our first ascent of Carn Gorm, Glen Lyon brought home. It was the 3rd of October 1982 and although we saw no sign of stalking in progress, I’m  surprised we weren’t challenged in this notoriously unfriendly place. Today, even with the Land Reform Act 2003, the hostility towards walkers still exists. Perhaps even more so.

The group comprising the Munros Carn Gorm, Meall Garbh, Carn Mairg and Meall na Aighean lie on the Chesthill Estate and this notice greets you at the start.

 

I’ll leave you draw your own conclusions but obviously it’s not a privilege to be here, at least not in the way they mean. It’s a right under the Land Reform Act. Also, it’s absurd to require that the circuit be done clockwise. Do it any way you like. Not on the notice but on the estate website is the instruction to be off the hill by 7pm, a blatant attempt to stop wild camping. Again a contravention of the LRA. The carpark at Invervar is permanently closed. 

The path through woodland gave a pleasant start and lead to a rough track which we followed to a bouncy bridge by a small dam, then up by the forest edge to the open hillside. Once on the grassy ridge the path makes the going easy to the summit cairn. The toppled trig point to the north-west is not the summit but gives views to Loch Rannoch. We had lunch there.

The route is waymarked, surely a new low for the Munros, but it’s just a cynical attempt to keep walkers out of the corries which during stalking is fine, but at other times not. Waymarked or not, it’s the most natural way up Carn Gorm but lacks any interest.

It wasn’t a great day for photography:

The old trig point is not the summit

Down to Glen Lyon

Loch Rannoch from old trig point

 We only met four other walkers as we descended this popular Munro. A girl with two collies was setting off late for the full round of the four Munros not expecting to finish until 8 or 9 pm. Now, that’s what I like to see.

Looking west to Glen Coe

Wednesday 12 June - 2024 Schiehallion

On 27 August 1977 we stood on Schiehallion's summit with our one year old rescued Border collie, Morag. It was one of our earliest Munros and her first. On Wednesday we again climbed Schiehallion, had the summit to ourselves and remembered the wonderful 13 years we had with her, on and off the hill.

It was a cold morning so we didn’t hang around and made quick progress over the moor to gain the stony ridge.

At a large cairn we met the two people ahead of us, the male of the duo announcing that fifty years of smoking wasn’t helping his second ascent. His wife was carrying a full pack while he had cleverly lightened his load by not carrying anything. We left them resting at the cairn and were soon crossing the quartzite boulder field leading to the summit. 

It was hard to believe that it was 47 years since we last stood here.

We didn’t linger long on the top and descended in improving weather. Late starters were met lower down most saying ‘hello’, some passing by grim-faced or head down. Some appeared to think I was their ‘pal’… 

We eventually found a decent spot away from the busy track, had tea and rolls in the sun then dropped off the ridge and so back to the car. An enjoyable day with happy memories of times past.

Note: Our 1977 ascent was by Gleann Mor starting from Glengoulandie Farm on a reasonable path, followed by some heather bashing to reach the start of the east ridge. These days, most will start from the attractively located carpark at Braes of Foss as we did today. £3 a day with free, clean toilets. The awful Beauly to Denny transmission line has industrialised and degraded the landscape here. 

Monday June 10th - A wet start

Off on our travels again but the weather isn’t settled enough to entice us very far north, so we’ve stopped off at our usual spot near Loch Tay for the time being. Apparently, snow has fallen on the hills on seven consecutive days but not here as far as I can tell. Not yet!

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!)