West Coast walks (3)

From http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/

Sunday morning and there was barely a ripple on the water - it boded well.

We took a short drive down to Armadale to catch the big ferry over to the mainland port of Mallaig and, from there, we drove a couple of miles south to the Sands of Morar, where Gordon let the dogs out for a spot of exercise before we all got on the small, passenger only ferry across to the island of Eigg and it's very distinctive volcanic rock formation.

Ian tried to make a friend on the crossing, whilst John had a munch and Colin looked for land:

Ken and Gordon looked after the dogs:

It was a one hour crossing on a millpond and soon the island beckoned:

It looks an almost impossible climb from here - and even tougher from here:

Looks are deceiving, however - there is a way up and round the back - albeit with a bit of scrambling:

However, I'm getting ahead of myself. First of all, the team photo at the start of the walk. By this time, it was virtually a cloudless sky, with very little wind - at least at sea level:

On such a clear day, the views were spectacular. I took one panoramic shot on the way up:

This shot is so wide it looks like you can see the curvature of the earth - but it's an illusion.

Time was of the essence and it always takes me a lot longer than the rest to get up the hills, so when we all reached  a plateau about half an hour from the summit, I told everyone else just to go on and make sure they made it to the top. I had a plan, which was that I would keep on climbing until 2pm and then I would turn around and go back down, no matter where I was. The ferry back left at 4 pm and there was no way any of us was missing this.

I plodded on and did eventually make it to the top - with just 5 minutes to spare. Just enough time for a quick celebration dram and a photo and then turn around and head back down - I didn't even sit down at the top!:

In the end, the descent was swift and we had plenty of time for tea and scones at the cafe at the terminal before boarding the ferry. The return crossing wasn't exactly on the millpond we had come over on - the small boat rolled to and fro and then a short squall rolled in and we all headed from the open seats at the rear to the cover in the midst of the boat.

When we landed at Arisaig, we still had an hour's drive to our hotel in Fort William. This took us past Glenfinnan, where CK and I stopped to take some photos. The views of the viaduct were a bit distant and disappointing from ground level here, but the monument was clear enough:

We checked in to the Distillery Guest House, showered, changed and jumped in a 6-seater taxi to the town centre for a swift pint - two for some - at the Grog and Gruel, before taking the short walk down to Ken's favourite restaurant, the Crannog (http://www.crannog.net/restaurant.asp), to celebrate his birthday - and, yes, we did eventually sing Happy Birthday when he was presented with a cake:

So that was about it. We had originally planned to do something on Monday morning before returning home - some wanted to do a short walk, others fancied going on the gondola up Ben Nevis, but, in the end, the weather defeated us. It was wet and visibility was poor, so it was a late-ish breakfast then we hit the road.

One final pit stop was at one of Ken's favourite coffee shops, the Mountain in Aviemore. Great scones, cakes and muffins - even if Colin and I had to queue for half an hour on the stairs, waiting for a table - and the others to arrive. Ken really is an expert when it comes to coffee shops.

I really enjoyed it and I hope I didn't put the others off too much as I trailed in their wake - but it was my last chance before I get my new knee, which is planned for autumn/early winter, and I couldn't resist having one last go. Thanks to all for putting up with me - and especially to Ken for organising such an interesting schedule.

West Coast walks (2)

From http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/

On Saturday, the Famous Five had planned to drive from Plockton over to Skye and catch the morning ferry to Raasay, where they intended to complete two walks, with me hoping to join them for the afternoon coastal one.

I left Banchory not long before 7 am on a glorious Saturday morning - not a cloud in the sky. My plan was to catch the 1 pm ferry from Sconser and head for the north of Raasay, hoping to bump in to the others along the way.

I took my time on the drive, stopping three times in all, including this photo shoot on the stretch between Ballater and Corgarff:

Yes - shorts were the order of the day (and remained so for the whole weekend).

My third stop was not long past Inverness, where I picked up a paper. Not long after this, I phoned Ken to check whether I should take my car on the ferry to Raasay or not. Ken enquired where I was and wondered whether I had any chance of making the same 10:30 am ferry as them? "No way", I replied - but I might now have an outside chance of catching the 11:25 am ferry as I seemed to be making such good progress.

I crossed the Skye Bridge about 10:10 am and headed towards Sconser behind a steady stream of slow moving traffic. My Sat Nav was now telling me that I would get there at 10:30 am - still too late to get on the ferry the boys were on, I thought, but at least in plenty of time for the 11:25 am crossing.

I got to Sconser at precisely 10:30 am, imagining I would have to buy a ticket etc, but the ferry was there and I was just waved on. The first person I saw was Ken, who seemed as surprised as I was that I'd made it in time.

It had taken me about three and three-quarter hours, with three stops on the way, for what I had thought would be a 5-6 hour journey. So now I was able to join them for their morning walk up Dun Caan, a flat topped hill towards the south-east of the island:

The weather on the Western Isles wasn't anywhere near as nice as the rest of the country on Saturday, but it was very acceptable for walking - dry and mild-ish. The first part of the route up was fairly easy, but it got a little steeper nearer the top, once we were past a small reservoir loch. Here's the team photo at the top:

The stats and the route for this walk were:

A quick bite, then down the hill again, in to the cars and we drove north along narrow bumpy roads towards Calum's Road and the ruins of Brochtel Castle:

We drove to the end of Calum's Road and that was where our afternoon coastal walk began. It had to be relatively short to allow us to drive back in good time to catch the 5pm ferry back to Skye. Here's the stats and the route:

On the drive from Sconser to our hotel in Sleat, I recognised the car registration plate in front of me - it was Jack and Frances Simpson, who were staying at a hotel nearby ours, so they joined us for a quick drink before baths and dinner.

The hotel was nice and we enjoyed some Red Cuillin over dinner in the bar, where we were later entertained by a local three-piece.

West Coast walks (1)

From http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/

I had said after last year's trip to the Lake District that it would be my last, but Ken had put together such an attractive looking schedule for this year that I was tempted to try to make an effort to at least take part in some of it. I knew I couldn't do all 5 days, so my game plan was to join them for Saturday afternoon and Sunday and Monday activities.

So the Famous Five - Ken, Ian, Colin, John and Gordon - plus dogs - set off without me early on Thursday morning. They had planned to go over the Lecht but a sudden cold front arrived and they had to make a last-minute detour via Huntly, as the Lecht road was closed with snow.

Their first destination was the Torridon area and they completed a three and a half hour walk on Thursday afternoon before retiring to the comfort - and a healthy selection of real ale - provided in the Torridon Inn. Here's a few photos of that day, provided by Gordon, John and Ken respectively:

Friday was big walk day and here are some of the snaps from then, again, courtesy of Gordon, John and Ken respectively:

This time, accommodation was at the Plockton Inn - lots of real ale and good food again, I'm told.

Scolty

From http://bvhill-walkers.blogspot.com/

Great idea of CK's in the pub on Friday night to go for a walk up Scolty yesterday - what a glorious morning it was. Four of us made it along - John McW, Andy M, CK and myself. I forgot to start the app until after we crossed the Dee so the stats are not quite right. We had a little pause on the way up and took a slight detour on the way back as well, so here's how it all looked according to Adidas MiCoach (http://www.adidas.com/uk/micoach/):

We took the shorter, steeper route on the way up and John set off at a cracking pace, but crucially, still sporting full fleece and layers. About half way up he stopped for a breather but he was obviously overheating and he fainted as he rose to get up again. We stopped for a while to let his head clear before setting off up the hill to the top for the traditional team photo:

Visibility was terrific - here's the view of Banchory and beyond from the top of the tower:

It was a very pleasant little warmer prior to the real thing on the West Coast at the end of the month. CK had wanted to test his lungs a bit and John wanted to test out his gear and the number of layers required - so mission accomplished. No doubt Ken is organising similar weather for Torridon and Skye.

Refreshments and lunch were had on the decking at the back of the Douglas:

Better than golf.