Wedding anniversary

Wedding anniversary celebrations then a quick turnaround and off to the Lake District.

Unfortunately, the MRI scan of my knee showed a small tear in the posterior horn of the medial meniscus so it looks like the knife later in the year. I had hoped I wouldn't need surgery but the cartilage injury is causing hamstring tendon issues so no such luck. Hopefully I'll manage to enjoy the forthcoming holiday and then September in the Braemar area before I get fixed.

Blogging has taken a back seat of late - to be honest I've lost the habit with all this knee trouble.

Do hope you are all enjoying the 'summer'.



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Oh Joy!!

'Sleat Lady', a Beneteau Oceanis 393 belonging to Isle of Skye Yachts has just moored in Loch Dunvegan. What a sight. Gorgeous. I look forward to seeing her every year.

You can't see her in this miserable photo, but she is out there!
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Sunday 16 June - Red Cuillin

An atmospheric morning. Clouds breaking over the hills, the smell of the western sea. Midges out in full force.

We parked at Sligachan, Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and The Tooth peeping at us through the mist. Memories of days on the Cuillin. Incomparable days; gabbro-worn finger tips; worrying times in mist trying to ensure our descent was not of the airborne variety; a storm on the In Pinn with non-climbing friends on their second round of the Munros and one of them filming it; balmy days just watching the world go by; camps at Glenbrittle imagining the scene in the days of Steeple, Barlow and other early pioneers. We will be back. But I digress, as the say.

Today we were heading for the granite of the Red Cuillin. Specifically for Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach, one of three tops forming the two and a half mile ridge of Beinn Dearg Mhor.
'Hang on', shouted Lynne. Not for the first time, I'd missed the path and was heading down Glen Sligachan. Path junctions are my nemesis.

Across the myrtle-scented moor we went, avoiding the boggy bits, losing the path and finding another, into some boggy bits, back onto the path. Cuckoos were about somewhere.

The ascent to Druim na Ruaige is steep, but a steady rhythm brought us to the cairn quite quickly it seemed. Little or no wind meant midges began to feast when we stopped for tea and cake so the halt was brief.

The dark clouds engulfing the Cuillin and Marsco began to lift but it was not to last and, by the time we had crossed the pleasant, grassy, Druim na Ruaige and started up the final slopes, light mist was skimming even our lowly hill. A few feet away a ptarmigan and chicks hurried away over the granite scree.

Having previously traversed the ridge in fine weather we opted for a descent to 'break out the food and the drink' as a friend said after the epic on the In Pinn mentioned earlier.
Then back to Sligachan.

Alan S - yes Gleann an Fhiodh was pretty dry. The area had ten days of great weather just before our arrival! I imagine you had it at its worst. Trying to get connected to Highland Wi-Fi here on Skye is hopeless which is ironic since the guy who founded it is local! If you substitute the words 'Highland Wi-Fi' in your review of the Rab pull-on, you'll get an accurate description of my opinion of it.
Take care.



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Friday 14 June - Gleann an Fhiodh

The weather this morning was a bit iffy so we listened to Conrad Anker on Desert Island Discs (and very interesting he was too) before making up our minds what to do. We have no specific hill objectives in mind which makes for a relaxing feel to the holiday but I do need some longish days out to get hill toughness back. Fitness, on the other hand, seems little affected by the enforced layoff. Fortunately I see no reason why 'the knee' can't be challenged after success on Am Bodach on Thursday.

Anyway,eventually we decided to walk from the site to Ballachulish and take the ROW up Gleann an Fhiodh although we'd left it too late to seriously consider climbing Sgorr a' Choise, the steep Marilyn which towers above the glen. It would have been climbed today (Saturday) had we not decided to come further north, and tonight we are on a site only three miles from the Skye Bridge so I suspect we'll be on the Island tomorrow.

The site has Highland Wi-Fi but it's £3 an hour, £6 a day, £20 a week. This appears to be the price everywhere for Highland Wi-Fi but once logged in you can use it anywhere there is a HWF hotspot. That said I could buy two hours Wi-Fi at Invercoe for £2.

Now, what will we do tomorrow on Skye?

Thanks to D+D for looking after the house.









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Am Bodach

We are now at the cairn on Am Bodach and the Mamores are deserted. It only remains to be seen if my dodgy knee (which has been fine on the way up) will get me down again!

Lynne beside me and a summit cairn. What more could I ask?

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Tuesday 11 June - Loch Eilde Mor

I hardly noticed the steep ascent from the small car park in Kinlochleven such was my focus on where I was putting my feet. My nine month old knee injury has made me hyper-vigilant! However, the beauty of the woodland scene didn't escape
me: bird song, the scent and colour of wild hyacinths, honeysuckle and rhododendron, the freshness of new birch leaves, the sound of running water.

As we left the woods it started to rain, heavily enough to need waterpoofs, but not even a Scottish blizzard could have suppressed my delight at being back among the hills. Tea and cake in the rain never tasted so good.

The path skirts Meall an Doire Dharaich while to the north Na Gruagaichain's steep slopes fall to meet the LRT from Mamore Lodge. At the cairn where our path and the LRT meet, a large group had gathered.

They were a Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award party on their way back from a three day backpacking trip in the Loch Treig area. They'd been lucky with the weather and the midges had not been too bad apparently. Most looked happy and each gave us a cheery greeting as they filed past.

We continued to the boat house at the loch which, I felt, might be far enough to test the knee so, after a brief stop, we returned by our outward route.

The knee survived the admittedly short walk over easy ground so now it needs a real day out on a big hill. Hope the weather improves!
































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Away at last

After an abortive attempt to book in at the CCC site in Glencoe (fully booked the Site Manager said in an unfriendly manner). She was standing at the barrier when we arrived but waited until Lynne went into the office before telling us. A letter to the Club I think.

Anyway we are now at Invercoe and, with the motorcaravan facing down lovely Loch Leven, we have a wonderful view of Garbh Bheinn (photo). We were last on this site in 1991 when we left the caravan here and went off backpacking into Knoydart with our young Border Collie, Mist.. Another life.

What we'll do on this holiday will depend on how my knee holds up, but I won't bore you with the details.




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Sallachy Windfarm

I've just received this communication.

Please ask for: Ken McCorquodale
Direct Dial: 01463 702256
Our Ref: 11/04718/S36
Your Ref:
Date: 25 April 2013



Dear Sir / Madam

PLANNING REFERENCE: 11/04718/S36
DEVELOPMENT: SALLACHY WIND FARM
LOCATION: AT SALLACHY ESTATE LAIRG SUTHERLAND.

SITE VISITS 13 MAY 2013 to GLENCASSLEY AND SALLACHY
I write in connection with the submission that you have made in respect of the above development as made within an application under Section 36 of the Electricity Act.

This letter principally seeks to advise you that the Council will be undertaking a site visit to the area and provide you with some additional information which may be of interest.

The Council, before the determination of its response to the Scottish Government on this application, has decided that members of the North Planning Applications Committee will undertake a site visit to the area. The site visit will be conducted on Monday 13 May 2013. Members attending the site visit will then make their decision on the application during the Planning Committee meeting schedule for 21 May 2013, which will meet at Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road Inverness, commencing at 10.30. An agenda for this committee will be published on the Council Web-site at least 3 days before the Committee meeting. The proceedings will be web cast live via the Highland Council website.

With regard to the site visit, this will be undertaken in a small bus, with Members of the committee being advised by the Planning Officer of key features pertaining to the development site. The day for Members will start from the Council Buildings, Drummuie Golspie at 10.00am and then travel to Lairg Community Hall for 10.30 when the site visit to Glencassley will formally commence. The bus will travel to Glencassley Estate and then some of the surrounding area, before returning to Lairg for lunch and then a second site visit to Sallachy Estate where a second wind farm development will be examined. This is expected to commence at 1.30 from Lairg.

The agreed stopping points will be determined on the day and will have to take account of weather and road conditions. The applicant and representatives of objectors to the application will be offered two seats (each) on the bus to accompany Members throughout the site visit – (from Lairg and returning to Lairg). Parties can also attend, using their own vehicle, or await the committee at various specific stopping points which the Committee will make during the site visit.

Please note neither the applicant nor objectors will be able to enter into discussion with Members on the merits of the case whilst on site. At the invitation of the Chairman of the Committee parties in attendance at each stopping point will be invited to point out features in the locality which are important for members to note. This invitation will follow on from a shorting briefing of Members by the planning case officer.

A route plan- with approximate times of arrival will be made available with the committee papers. These papers will be available on the Council’s web site sometime on Thursday 9 May 2013.

Yours faithfully




Ken McCorquodale
Principal Planner (Development Management)


Unless related to the business of the Highland Council, the views or opinions expressed within this e-mail are those of the sender and do not necessarily reflect those of The Highland Council, or associated bodies, nor does this e-mail form part of any contract unless so stated.
Mura h-eil na beachdan a tha air an cur an cèill sa phost-d seo a' buntainn ri gnothachas Chomhairle na Gàidhealtachd, 's ann leis an neach fhèin a chuir air falbh e a tha iad, is chan eil iad an-còmhnaidh a' riochdachadh beachdan na Comhairle, no buidhnean buntainneach, agus chan eil am post-d seo na phàirt de chunnradh sam bith mura h-eil sin air innse.

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Appointment

Well, I now have an appointment with an orthopaedic surgeon in little over a week's time and, hopefully, will get a proper diagnosis of my knee problem and appropriate treatment as quickly as possible. In a rare bout of optimism during February, I entertained the belief that whatever the injury had been, it was now well on the way to recovery.  Alas, after a day in the snow last Tuesday things quickly deteriorated. Pessimism. Normal service resumed.

Wether Hill top came and went and a descent to West Mains farm brought us some attention from the local sheep. We too enjoyed some lunch.

They kept approaching us as if expecting we had brought some SUPAlyx

Sheep sticks its tongue out at another.... 'I got the last of that tub of SUPAlyx, so there!'

Some interesting snow formations were encountered, but the photography doesn't do them justice

I doubt I'll have much to post about in the coming weeks/months given the knee situation but I hope you, dear readers, do.

31 March - a British Summer Time walk

British Summer Time, but wintry conditions still prevail even on these relatively low hills.