West Coast Walks - day one

An early start last Thursday but we all got to the Mountain Cafe in Aviemore around the 9 am mark for breakfast/brunch and a chat about what lay ahead of us. The first obstacle was a road closure just west of Newtonmore, but Ken navigated us safely round that and soon we were all winging it towards the Fort William area.

Ken had previously given us 4 options for the Thursday walk, depending on weather conditions, timing etc. Three of these options involved Ben Nevis some way or other and as the weather looked to be set fair, we all agreed one of these would be fine. We were motoring along in bright sunshine when, all of a sudden, Ken and Dave in the lead car turned sharp right off the main road in to a car park. We all thought something must be amiss, but it transpired that Ken had spotted some coastal cloud in the distance and decided that the Ben Nevis options might be a bit risky after all, and the Creag Meaghaid glen walk was a safer bet.

So it was that we lined up for our first team photo of the weekend:

We were headed upwards towards a little lochan and, as the day progressed, we all started taking layers off. The views were getting better and better:

Noon was approaching, so tradition dictates:

Eventually, we made it to the lochan:

The round trip there and back was 13 kms - full stats and map here - http://www.mapmywalk.com/workout/986385281

A drive and two ferries later we were on Mull and heading towards our hotel in Craignure (http://www.crerarhotels.com/isle-of-mull-hotel-spa). There wasn't a cloud in the sky and we decided to go and take a quick look at nearby Duart Castle. Spectacular location, although there was a fair amount of scaffolding on show:

Adjacent is the site of a shipwreck:

We watched the Oban ferry arrive:

Tourist bit over, we were ready for a beer. Our hotel had a handpump on the bar, but no beer - not even any nice bottled ales - but we knew the Craignure Inn also had a handpump, but it too turned out to be ale challenged. Nonetheless, a swift pint was downed and then back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. It was Steak Night - and really excellent they were too - although the "free" half bottle of wine was a bit naff.