Hillwalk Scotland

The Whangie

At long last some crisp, clear bright winter weather. It was too tempting to resist, so yesterday I downed tools and decided to go for a walk. I didn't have a lot of time to spare so I headed for The Whangie and Auchineden Hill. This is an old favourite of mine and is only about 10 minutes drive away from Bearsden in the north of Glasgow.

Parking at the Queens View just off the main road to Drymen the short walk to the Whangie and then up to Auchineden Hill gives superb views of the Campsies, Loch Lomond and the Southern Highlands. And of course, the chance to explore the bizarre rock formations of the Whangie itself.

I've written about this walk before as it's particularly suitable and interesting for children. Being on my own yesterday I had more of a chance to explore and also to take some video which I hope to post shortly.The Whangie is easily accessed from the car park along a path skirting under Auchineden Hill. It's a long cleft of rock that was split by a glacier at the side of the hill creating a pretty spectacular effect. Its got lots of easy scrambling opportunities and has great views up to Loch Lomond.

The other explanation for the rock formation is that it was created by a swish of the devils tail! Apparantly he had been meeting with some witches and warlocks and when he departed to another meeting in Dumbarton, his tail whisked the side of Auchineden hill shearing the rock.

It was a great walk and well worth doing.

1st HillwalkScotland.com Video

I thought I'd try my hand at producing short videos of hillwalks - my first attempt is of the walk I did last week around the Luss Horseshoe. Have a look and see what you think - I'd very much appreciate any feedback.
I was using a handheld consumer camcorder and didn't want to lug a tripod round with me. Unfortuntely landscape shots show up the slightest camera shake - I'll maybe invest in a camera monopod that also doubles as a walking pole. It was also quite difficult getting the compression right. Panning across a landscape looks great at high quality but tends to break up once compressed.
I also had to decide how to host it - putting a video file on my blog will eat up my bandwidth allowance if even a small number access it. I decided to post using Video Egg as they and Typepad operate an integrated system and I was reasonably happy with the way they compress it. I've also posted it on You Tube and created a Hillwalk Scotland channel. It's obviously the most popular video sharing network so it makes sense to have a presence there, although I felt their compression was not as effective. If anyone wants to place the video on their website, it's straightforward to copy the code and add it. All I ask is that HillwalkScotland.com gets a credit and link.

Luss Horseshoe

The change in the weather to cold, crisp and clear was too good an opportunity to miss. So yesterday I took advantage and headed up to Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond. Rising directly out of the village is Beinn Dubh and the Luss Horseshoe. It's a wonderful walk, not particularly high but with great views in every direction. Loch Lomond was glorious and the clear conditions meant the Arrochar Alps were particularly splendid.

I'll post further about the walk but this morning I've been concentrating on getting some of my photos onto the photo sharing site Flickr which I posted about earlier in the week. You can see the results here and I hope the photos give you some of the enjoyment I experienced on a great days walking.

The Eildon Hills

Some relatively low hills punch well above their weight when it comes to prominence and the viewpoint they offer. One such group are the triple hills of the Eildons on the outskirts of Melrose in the Scottish Borders.

I was down there for work reasons earlier this week and arrived mid afternoon on a nice bright day - perfect for a quick walk round the Eildons. I parked in the public car park by Melrose Abbey, walked through the market place, under the bypass and down a short flight of steps between the houses. You then come to woodland and a straightforward walk up to open countryside and the Eildons. At this point you can only see two of the tops and a clear route up to a coll between them. As you climb you get increasingly good views of Melrose and Galashiels, and the higher Border hills to the West. After the coll, I took a right turn up a steepish path to the highest top. While only 1,385ft above sea level there are tremendous 360 views and a directional disc identifying landmarks.

From the top there is a steep descent to the South which then leads to a gentle rise and the top of the previously hidden third Eildon. From there you skirt easily back round the central peak to the coll and then up to the third peak at 1,327ft. There are more fine views and you can clearly see the outline of an Iron Age settlement. This route is well described in the excellent The Border Country: A Walker's Guide

The walk took about two hours, although was going at a fairly brisk pace. It was a thouroughly enjoyable walk and one I recommend. Although I was on my own, it's also one thet would be good to do with children - not too difficult, great views and an ice cream shop at the bottom!

There's a good chance I'll be in the Borders more frequently and I'm looking forward to more opportunities to get into the hills there.

Quinag Route

As I reported last week, the John Muir Trust has bought Quinag in the North West Highlands. In this weeks Sunday Herald, Cameron McNeish picks up on the story and gives a mouth watering description of climbing the three Corbetts on the range. Having read it the walk is definitely going on to my ToDo List!

The Last Munro

It was a miserable day weather-wise. A strong wind, low cloud and heavy showers do not make for great hillwalking but we were in Mull and for John it was the day we had set aside to climb the last Munro of his second round. I had hoped my 6 year old son would come to do his first Munro but the weather ruled that out.

The overnight rain had stopped as we drove down from Tobermory and every little break in the cloud was seized upon as the start of an improvement in the weather. We even saw a very weak sun try to break through leading to yet more optimism that the weather might clear to give us some of the sunny conditions we had heard the rest of the country was enjoying. However when we parked at Dhiseig and got our gear on there was little doubt in anyone's mind that we were in for a challenging walk in unforgiving conditions. Nevertheless it was a big occasion and we were all looking forward to getting to the top to toast John with the bottle of 10 year old Balvenie malt whisky he had in his rucksack!

We set off into the cloud, up the very distinct path that leads up to the north west ridge of Ben More - another party of walkers could be seen ahead and our group of seven made steady progress slowly catching up with them. Eventually we caught up with them -a group of German students enjoying the sodden delights of the Scottish mountains. We all found a way across the Abhainn Dhiseig although it was starting to get a little tricky due to the amount of water coming off the mountain. Everyone got safely across and on we went. The conditions were starting to get more tricky as we climbed - the wind was picking up and the rain was driving into our faces in a pretty unpleasant manner. The students had had enough and started to go back and it was becoming clear that despite the occasion not everyone in our group was going to continue.  Three of our group then decided that not even the lure of a 10 year old malt was enough to continue to the top leaving four of us to trudge on in increasingly windy conditions. Despite the weather the path was easily seen - just as well as Ben More is magnetic and compass readings are unreliable.

We were all going at our own pace - John was starting to pull away from me and I was starting to pull away from Dougie and Fiona. As I trudged on up the path my mind was asking the very basic question that most hillwalkers and climbers ask of themselves - why the hell am I doing this? Well, the occasion apart, it really was starting to boil down to the challenge of completing something I had set out to do. Both physically and psychologically I was determined to do this and so long as at was safe I was going to continue.

I was glancing at my altimeter frequently and it was telling me that the summit was close. Then through the mist I could see John at the summit cairn enjoying a warming cup of tea and a sandwich! Bizarrely the wind had died down on the summit and I reached a smiling John, congratulated him on his achievement and got out my own hot drink and some food. Sustenance taken, it was time for a toast and out came the whisky. It's at a moment like this, in weather like we were experiencing, that one truly understands why whisky became Scotland's national drink. Its warming glow diffused through my body and proved a rich reward for the climb.

I got out my very damp camera and took a few snaps. There was still no sign of Dougie and Fiona - we were starting to think they had turned back so we packed up our rucksacks and started to move off the summit. Then through the mist we saw them approaching and about turned and went back to the cairn with them. The whisky and camera came out again and another round of toasts made!

So we had achieved what we set out to do and headed back down the mountain. It was still raining heavily but now the wind was behind us and it was a lot more comfortable. We quickly reached the Abhainn Dhiseig which was now a raging torrent. The stepping stones we had used were completely submerged and it would have been extremely foolhardy to cross to the path. However a quick look at the map showed that there were no difficulties by staying on the east side of the burn so we continued downwards to the car and some dry clothes. In no time we were back in Tobermory to dry out, enjoy a hot meal and have a lively celebration in the pub!

Alternative Route for Beinn na Lap

I'm always on the lookout for alternative routes on Scotland's mountains. With the increased popularity of hillwalking and the accompanying erosion, it's ever more difficult to get away from it all. Of course for those anxious to add to their list of Munros climbed, the quickest routes are often preferable. Fortunately as a 'compleater', Bagger no longer feels the need to add another tick, so increasingly I'm looking for fresh options.
I was particularly interested in this article in the Sunday Herald by their hillwalking columnist Cameron McNeish. In it he describes a different way to climb the isolated Munro of Beinn Na Lap. Most people access it via the West Highland Railway Line. Getting off at the isolated Corrour station, you can 'bag' the mountain and get down for another train to take you out. It's all a bit of a rush but I suspect that's what most people do - I certainly did. So I was intrigued by Camerons suggested route and I really fancy trying it sometime.

Guide to Long Distance Footpaths

I was looking for some information on the West Highland way and I came across a nice site that has information and links on many of Britains long distance footpaths. I thought I'd share the link - the site is called Long Distance Footpaths in Britain and is worth a look if you're planning any trips.

Ben Vane

A  very enjoyable day in the Arrocher Alps yesterday. For those of us who live in the north of Glasgow it's only a 45 minute drive to this rugged and attractive group of mountains. Along with a friend, I headed for Ben Vane (the middle mountain), which is one of the steepest in the group and at 915m just qualifies as a Munro.
To our surprise the weather was dry and driving towards Loch Lomond we could see that only the highest hills had cloud over their tops - a promising start given the unpromising forecasts. Parking at the spruced up visitor centre at Inveruglas we headed up the tarred hydro road. Coiregrogan is a stunning place, with high mountains creating an impressive horseshoe (photo of A'Chrois towering over the glen). The pylons and electricity station unfortunately detract from the wildness although given its proximity to such a large centre of population the hydro works seem the lesser of the many evils associated with generating electricity. In no time that blot on the landscape is behind you and you leave the road to head up the mountain. The path has become incredibly boggy and wide since I last climbed Ben Vane, a testimony, I suppose, to the growing interest in hillwalking. However before long the gradient increases and the terrain becomes rocky. As we headed up we could see the cloud lifting off the tops of Ben Lomond and Ben Vorlich. The downside was this was caused by the wind picking up and the chilla and gustiness was starting to become quite unpleasant.
We could see the surrounding hills (picture is of Ben Vorlich) all had a dusting of icing sugar for the top 200 metres or so and eventually we reached this on Ben Vane. As we continued it was becoming treacherous rather than attractive and the speed of the wind was making the going tough. We were pretty high up the mountain when we decided enough was enough. We were having to walk very gingerly over an extremely icy surface and the rocks we were  on were slippy to say the least. The icyness and gusting of the wind was the clincher - at times we felt we were going to blown off our feet.
So we decided to head on down rather than proceed to the top. We'd both climbed the hill before so we felt under no pressure to 'bag' it. I wonder if our decision would have been different if we hadn't climbed it before? Anyway we headed down and it turned out to be a good decision as the weather turned nastier almost immediately with icy rain staring to fall which with the wind made life very uncomfortable.
All in all  it was an enjoyable day although it would have been nice to have reached the top. Not to worry it's still there for another day.

Online Guide to The Arrochar Alps

For those of us who live on the north side of Glasgow the Arrocher Alps are the most easily accessed of the Munros - and some other great hills that aren't Munros. In around half an hour I can be in a wonderful landscape of lochs and mountains and it is a place I return to regularly. Indeed the panorama on the Bagger title is taken from A'Crois.
If you want information on the area and details of hillwalks then I highly recommend this Online Guide to the Arrocher Alps. It's comprehensive and well put together.