Scotland

Two glorious weeks in Scotland are complete. I walked about 150 miles, mountain biked a further 45 miles and climbed about 32000 feet. Nothing particularly exceptional in these statistics, just enjoyment. I was hill walking every day for 14 days often on very rough and pathless terrain.

The Cairngorms from Geal Charn-Mor

It had all started with a simple comment from Philippa. We are suffering major building works at home and she said, quite correctly, I would be a pain while it was going on so why not go away walking to Scotland for 2 weeks?  The train was booked almost before she finished speaking.

I am currently working towards  an entry in the Marilyn Hall of Fame which is achieved when 600 of the 1556 Marilyns are climbed.  A Marilyn is a hill with a drop of 150 meters on all sides.  Two weeks ago I had climbed 498 and now I have increased the figure to 526 leaving 74 to go.

Lochnagar from Conachcraig

In total I visited 43 summits. Some easy while others were pathless and very hard work. The picture above is taken from Conachcraig and looks towards mighty Lochnagar. The picture below is of the summit of Creag Ghiubhais which just over half the height of Conachcraig yet is many times harder for I found no paths, just heather covered rocks to wade through and to trap or sprain an ankle.

Creag Ghiubhais near Ballater

I started on North Berwick Law, pictured below, overlooking the Firth of Forth. A very easy hill to walk, even for a non driver such as me, for it is very conveniently placed at the end of the railway line from Edinburgh.  I finished in Aberdeenshire. Pure hillbagging!

Whalebone, North Berwick Law

I included some remote and seldom visited hills such as Meall nan Eagan, a 2159ft/658m hill to the west of Dalwhinnie. The wind rain and sleet made it feel an even wilder place. MN was with me and after summiting the hills we visited the impressive Dirc Mhor Gorge which is pictured below.

Dirc Mhor Gorge

A few days into the trip and the sun came out and stayed out. I used a bike on three days including a long day with GN when we visited 6 tops including the wonderfully named Brown Cow Hill.

The Cairngorms were my constant companion as I moved around from western side to the north and then to the eastern edges of the national park.

Loch an Eilein 

I saw all kinds of wildlife including red and roe deer, red squirrels, mountain hares (both adults and young leverets), ptarmigan, a cuckoo, a couple of golden eagles, kestrel, buzzard, merlin and a hen harrier.  Sadly I also saw a lot of small animal traps, particularly around the extensive grouse moors.

And it is the last point that remains with me.  The grouse moors are very extensive. There are a lot of grouse and just like I have also seen in the Northern Pennines, the grouse have upset the natural balance as other species are few and far between. Surprisingly the traps are legal yet to me they were  very unpleasant.

I witnessed a gamekeeper shooting several mountain hares.  In some quarters mountain nares are blamed for spreading ticks to the precious grouse. This is an argument I cannot accept.

Also upsetting the natural balance are wind farms and there seem to be many positioned just outside the national park.  It is claimed they are also lethal to large birds.  They are certainly an eyesore and yet we need to find more sustainable ways of creating energy. It is a difficult call.

Wind farm summit of Ben Algan

With all this going on, it is amazing I saw any wild life but one of  travelling alone is you see more of the natural world.

Loch an Eilein

There have been many trips to the hills over the years.  The vast majority being memorable and somehow these two weeks were as good as anything I have done.  I made full use of busses and trains to reach the hills and on one occasion used the Dufftown to Keith Heritage Railway whose Drummuir Station is one of the more unusual ones I have alighted at.

Hurtling south of the East Coast Mainline, my thoughts turned to future trips and the question of where next?

5 weeks to go!

I am building up to 14 consecutive days of walking in the Scottish Highlands.  During the build up I have included a few days in the hills such as a day with Fiona on the tough hills to the west of Thirlmere.  It snowed most of the day but only settled on the very top of Ullscarf and nearby higher peaks.

So far this year there have been some enjoyable days winter walking  in the Northern Pennines.  There was a lot of snow lying and at times underfoot conditions were tough as I crossed peat bog or heather moors.  In Wharfedale I saw almost no-one apart from some very cold sheep and a lot of grouse.

A couple of weeks later and I was in nearby Swaledale and Arkengarthdale.  The moors here also hold a lot of grouse. The balance seems wrong with the moor being maintained for the benefit of  a few wealthy shooting clients and not for a more natural mix of wildlife.  The shooting fraternity are not making enough effort to allow the British public to enjoy beautiful moorland.  At times they make it obvious walkers are not welcome.

High above Arkengarthdale there were large patches of snow yet at the Dale floor spring seemed just around the corner.  The above picture is of the Arkengarthdale River which flows into the River Swale. 

I loved walking the Dales but my enjoyment was tempered by the grouse moors where I found a few cruel animal traps and where on one occasion I was shadowed by a gamekeeper which I found unpleasant.  Looking at the internet later I saw that these particular estate owners have a very questionable reputation for wildlife management.

Most of my fitness work is done in London.  Sometimes with Fiona and often on Primrose Hill where the picture below was taken.

 I walk and bike a lot on my own but I also walk a lot with Philippa in the streets around our London home where this winter we have experienced above average snowfall.

Before the Scottish trip I have a day trip planned to the Lake District and after that it is Scotland. Hopefully with spring in full swing.  Bring it on!

There are no sea eagles in Sussex

The excitement of the Outer Hebrides trip is becoming just a memory, admittedly a good memory.

I have had a few days relaxing since I got back but now that period is over and I am back in the routine of maintaining a high level of fitness. I focus on getting distance and height into my legs on a daily basis as the objective is to climb hills as effortlessly as possible.  

I break my routine up by including regular trips to local hills and this week I was in West Sussex.

The weather was damp and visibility was poor.  The wildlife seemed to be hiding and I certainly did not see a sea eagle which I had been fortunate enough to do in the Outer Hebrides.  But I covered a lot of miles and on the way visited 6 hill tops including the one below.

This particular blog is dedicated to all the hours I spend maintaining my fitness levels.  Some are boring and some are rewarding.  This walk over the hills surrounding the River Arun near Pulborough was definitely rewarding despite the lack of sea eagles.

Looking back and thinking ahead

It is over! My 15 day hillwalking trip to The Hebrides. And what a trip.  One of the best I have ever undertaken. There were many highlights and few bad points. At times it was tough, both underfoot and due to the weather.  At all times it was inspirational.

Before leaving I had trained hard to lift my level of fitness and this paid off.  I was able to be out hillwalking for 14 successive days with only one of these being a light day.

My journey took me by train from Inverness to Skye and on via CalMac's ferry to North Uist.  I walked hills on South Uist, Benbecula, Eriskay, Barra and Vatersay before CalMac took me to Oban and on to Kerrera.  

Mainly I was on my own but in the middle weekend several long term friends arrived and joined me on some tops.  Prior to leaving I had hoped to join Graham and Gregor for an overnight stay in Uisinis Bothy and to combine this with two days on the Hecla to Beinn Mhor ridge. This was not to be as despite my improved fitness, the underfoot conditions on the island were at times very strength sapping and sadly I had to admit defeat on the bothy trip.

This type of trip needs a lot of planning. Prior to leaving I had spent a lot of time pouring over maps and timetables.  By and large I got this part right although looking back I should have picked up one more Marilyn and two more tops. Despite missing these I still managed to reach the top of 17 Marilyns and another 28 hills making a grand total of 45 tops.

The other negative was barbed wire which seemed to be on top of every fence. Why?  There were few gates and almost no stiles. Most fences could be stepped over but always was the lurking fear of being caught on the single strand of barbed wire at the top of the fence.

Tthe Outer Hebrides are almost on a different planet to my home in Central London. A fact that was reinforced on my return with the murder just 2 streets away of a young man returning home from work, by a moped gang intent on stealing his phone.  Stabbed to death for a phone!!!  

Getting around required thought.  I used several ferries and local buses, plus a few lifts from friends, and couple of hitch hiked rides. However most time was spent walking.  The bus journeys were enthrallling with completely different traffic problems to what I suffer on the 414 route from my house in London to Putney Bridge.

Wildlife abounds.  I had a close up view of a sea eagle and among many different species I saw an otter, eider ducks, merlins, hen harriers, voles and of course deer.  The roaring of the deer signalling the rut was underway.

The island hills were not high but nearly all were very rough underfoot.  Everywhere was wet. There are endless lochs big and small.  Always from the top there was a view of the sea.  The Minches lay to the east and the mighty Atlantic to the west which piles up the kelp shown in the photo below.

I cannot finish without thanking my friends for their support and help. At times my enthusiasm for the hills must be a bit wearing to them!

Philippa encouraged me to make the most of the opportunity and thankfully provided all kinds of back up both before, during and after the trip.  Although I very much doubt she will swap the London theatre and opera scene for accompanying me on a future trip, she will be very welcome if she does decide to come.

I have returned  home feeling very alive and buzzing.  Hopefully I will get to return to the Hebrides and Skye before long as I have many hills I still want to climb and several ambitions to achieve. 

 

 My thanks to Trevor who supplied some of the photos 

Kerrera

The island of Kerrera today which makes 10 islands visited on this trip.

Kerrera is a quiet island with gravel roads, few people and memorable views.  The little CalMac ferry plies back and forth across the Sound of Kerrera. On the opposite side of the island is the Firth of Lorn and beyond that The Island of Mull.  To the north larger CalMac ferries go back and forth to Oban.

I climbed 3 hills including a not particularly hard Marilyn.

The plan was just to spend the morning on Kerrera and then peak bag on a roundabout route back to Oban. A gale was blowing and was forecast to get stronger.

After 2 weeks in the hills, my fitness levels were high and I sped round so that I was back at the ferry early.  Panic! No ferry.  It was moored up at the overnight mooring and there was nobody round to ask or timetable to review.  The gale howled. It started to rain.  The sea was getting rougher minute by minute.  I had visions of a night on Kerrera and missed connections back to London.

Hugely helped by Philippa we worked out that all that was happening was a long lunch break and after a 90 minute wait the lovely little ferry lurched over the bumpy Sound of Kerrera to get me - just me- back to the mainland and allow me to bag 3 more hills.

Tough day

Sunday 15th October 2017

Sometimes I sense that people think climbing Marilyns is the easy option. Quite often it is. However there are exceptions and yesterday's climb of Cruach Leargs was one of them.

The hill is just south of Oban and is only 252 meters high - 827 feet. The approach is via a very muddy forest track and then either more forest tracks or via the edge of the forest following a fence above the loch side. Sounds OK?

I didn't fancy the subsidiary forest tracks as they'd were overgrown and so went straight for the loch side route.  This was also overgrown by man eating bracken, head high plants and fir trees. It involved a traverse along a very steep bank with a lot of ups and downs. It was exhausting.

Eventually I made the top - yes that is Marilyn number 479 bagged.  I was definitely not returning the same way so headed south through a succession of bogs before reaching a very steep cliff which needed descending.  The obvious way down was defended by a herd of big horned cattle who all stood up on my approach and took a few steps towards me.

I found another way down and was at times plunging almost vertically into yet more head high bracken. Somehow I made it and was just left with a very long walk back.

Oh and most of the time it rained....

When back at the B&B I realised that if I had gone west instead of south from the top I would have also reached a road back to Oban. I would also have bagged another hill on the way. This time an easy one.

And today - 15 hours later - I feel pleased I bagged Cruach Creags.  I will never go there again!

Barra and Vatersay

Saturday morning and the ferry is sailing. Currently we are about 2 hours from Oban so I am planning a hill to target this afternoon.

Barra was really good as was the neighbouring Island of Vatersay. Plenty of yomping which is where I start on one side of the hill and walk in an almost direct line to the other side via the summit.  Rough pathless country in the main but I am quite happy with that. I also picked off a number of low lying tops so I managed to bag a lot of hills.  Great wildlife as well including seeing a pair of golden eagles and a really close up view of a giant sea eagle.

I thumbed a couple of lifts. The first was with a local lady who had lived all her life on Vatersay. She crossed London once about 40 years ago, in the rush hour, and found it intimidating. She spoke of tough conditions before the causeway was built which connects Vatersay with Barra.  Everything had to be manhandled into and out of boats. Now she can just drive to collect her groceries and also deliver very grateful hitch hikers.

The second lift was with a visitor from New South Wales who was spending a week on Vantersay. A very long way to come for first visit to the Outer Hebrides.

Barra and London are both in Great Britain but that is about all they have in common. Both are very likeable.  Now for the next part of the adventure.......