Category: Outdoor Activities
Hillwalking books: Scotland
25th August 2006 As an enthusiastic hillwalker, I've developed a fondness for expanding my bookshelf over the years, as these books are invaluable for planning my outings. Here are a few of my Scotland-related guides:
SMC Hillwalkers' Guide: The Munros
SMC Hillwalkers' Guide: The Corbetts and Other Scottish Hills
These guides are my go-to resources when I find myself wondering, "What hill is that in the photo?" They are comprehensive and beautifully illustrated with photos of the featured mountains. Recently, while reorganizing the Lochaber section of my photo gallery, I delved into these guides and came up with numerous ideas for a weekend in Kinlochleven. Though not inexpensive, they are well worth the investment. However, they are quite hefty, so I usually keep them at home for planning purposes.
At just £5.99 each, these guides offer incredible value, making it all too easy to accumulate an entire set. Illustrated with maps and photos, the concise route descriptions are perfectly suited for their purpose. My collection includes guides to The Central Highlands, The Cairngorms, The Islands, The Southern Highlands, and The Southern Uplands.
These are Cicerone Guides, coming from a publisher I greatly respect. They provide comprehensive route descriptions and maps as part of their package.
Due to a peculiarity in Scottish law, public rights of way are typically not indicated on Ordnance Survey maps. This makes the Scottish Rights of Way Society's guide indispensable. Many of these tracks are former livestock droving routes, so good navigation skills are essential, as the path may not always be evident on the ground.
For now, these guides fulfil my needs, though I can't rule out the possibility of acquiring more if I decide to explore other parts of Scotland. Nonetheless, I will continue to make the most of what I currently have.
Cadair Idris Summited
13th August 2006 Yesterday, I journeyed to Dolgellau to try to walk to the top of Cadair Idris, an objective that I finally achieved after quite a few attempts. My first trip to these parts was on a showery day in March of last year, but that was without the intention of climbing the mountain (I think). Nevertheless, I did get to within sight of the mountain and it still held on to its crop of winter snow. Just take a look below.
Further visits to the area followed; the next one was on the Spring Bank Holiday weekend. Unfortunately, no one had told me about the annual Cadair Idris hill race and I came into a Dolgellau with all of its accommodation taken up. That meant a relocation of base to Machynlleth and a complete change to whatever plans that I had. While I did do some walking around Dolgellau, my main walking was done in the hills immediately east of the seaside resort of Barmouth (Abermawe in Welsh) not far from the Rhinogs (see below) and with views of the Cadair.
When I returned to Dolgellau in July, I did find a place to stay, albeit run by an eccentric lady with a gold filling in one of her teeth, and the scene was set for an ascent of the Cadair. Being July, the day was hot and sunny; I sweated loads on the Fox's Path but I only got to Llyn y Gadair before a change in plan became necessary. I knew Fox's Path was steep on the final ascent and that it wasn't a descent route but I had no idea that it scaled a scree slope: that put paid to that scheme. I followed another path that took me along the lower slopes to join another one taking me down to the road again. On my return to Dolgellau, I encountered the start of the Pony Path and so another plan was hatched, one for the future. The next day, I remained on low level by following the Mawddach Trail, formerly part of the railway line from Ruabon to Morfa Mawddach where it joined the Cambrian Coast line, to Barmouth before returning home.
In January of this year, I carried out reconnaissance on the Pony Path in sunny conditions with the ground frozen underfoot (the slopes are north-facing) and a scattering of snow in places. Due to the length of the day and the presence of snow underfoot, the final ascent was postponed, but the stage was set for yesterday. Yesterday's successful effort involved an early start to arrive in Dolgellau at 11:00 (more on the transport logistics is in another post). By 14:40, I was on the summit of Cadair Idris being buffeted by a strong wind. By 17:10, I was back in Dolgellau awaiting the 17:20 service to Wrexham. The day was mostly cloudy with the odd spout of sunshine, but that didn't matter, and the cooler temperatures were more amenable to walking anyway.
Pitlochry revisited…
27th July 2006 Having paid it a fleeting visit last May, I decided that it was time to pay Pitlochry another visit. Last time, I left it in rain but this time I found it dry apart from a few drops late on Saturday evening. While the rest of the U.K. was sweltering in sunshine, it seems that Highland Perthshire was not feeling the full benefit of the sun. After a warm sunny day on Wednesday, it was a case of sun versus cloud. The former is good for photos but the latter is better for walking so long as conditions remain dry. On Thursday, I was in Kingussie where the sun made no appearance while it was out and about when I returned to base. Friday and Saturday saw the sun in and out of the clouds.
Overnight coach travel got me to Pitlochry for a four night stay that saw me explore the surrounding area. Wednesday itself saw me walk from Kinloch Rannoch on the shores of Loch Rannoch through the hills to Trinafour. Next day, I took myself off to Kingussie to explore its nearby hills, particularly Creag Mhor. On Friday, I managed to return to Kenmore on the shores of Loch Tay for the first time in nearly eight years. I then walked to Aberfeldy, again through the hills. The only fly in the ointment was an unexpected no entry sign to a farmyard, understandable on safety grounds, that made the journey longer than planned, not what you need when you are making for a bus back to Pitlochry. On Saturday, I focused my attention on Ben Vrackie near Pitlochry on a walk that also took in Killecrankie and the shores of Loch Faskally. As if to prove that mountains do make weather, Ben Vrackie got covered in clag when I was there and was anything but warm and summery. If anything, it was breezy and nippy on top: and I always thought that I was overcautious, I was well prepared for this. Things opened up and warmed up later on in my walk.
Unlike the last time, I left Pitlochry basking in sunshine with a cloud-speckled sky. However, like the last time, I left it wondering about a return. Despite all that I had seen, it was just a small sample of what the area held and I felt that I had only scratched the surface. And I encountered friendly people too. For instance, from Pitlochry, it is possible to get to Balmoral and Aviemore in the Cairgorms. Dalwhinnie and nearby Loch Ericht is another possibility. Also, revisiting places that I saw under a blanket of cloud in sunny conditions could be a revelation.
Another idea also holds its attraction: bringing or hiring a bike to explore the area. It is certainly bicycle-friendly and I was cycling around Loch Tay the last time that I visited Kenmore. It is also an idea that gets around the gaps in the public transport network in this part of Scotland and allows more intimate exploration of the area. Before I took up walking, it was the bike that I used to explore the countryside but hilly country and the need to carry/hire one convinced me of the advantages of walking. Maybe, a partial return to previous ways might be in order...
Yorkshire to Cumbria: A Ramble
5th July 2006 As I write this, the World Cup is coming towards its climactic end and a heat wave has nearly run its course. While I certainly know what has been happening with the football, I have tended to find other things to do instead of watching it. I have nothing against football but, as you might tell, I am light years from being obsessive about it. Even so, someone (a total stranger to me) was asking if I was watching Germany playing Italy and opined that I didn't like football when he heard that I wasn't. As it happened, when I completed my ramble last Saturday, England were playing Portugal and it was easy to sense the excitement. However, I had no inclination to watch, for reasons that may become apparent in a while.
Saturday was forecast to be cooler than Sunday so that's when I decided to walk from Ribblehead to Sedbergh, Yorkshire to Cumbria. This area was subject to country boundary changes in the 1970's when Cumbria was created from Cumberland, Westmoreland and parts of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The result is that part of Cumbria is within the Yorkshire Dales National Park, the boundary of which still follows the old county border. Further confusion is likely if, as has been put forward, the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks are extended to protect area lying outside of them such as the Howgill Fells (near Sedbergh) and Borrowdale (the one near Tebay). Planning permission for a wind farm in the former has recently been refused. The whole issue highlighted the natural beauty of the areas left out of the two nearby national parks.
The Howgill Fells cannot be missed if you are going on either the M6 or the West Coast Mainline. My ramble to Sedbergh allowed me a closer, if fleeting, look at them and the journey from Sedbergh to Kirkby Stephen really shows their extent. A word of warning though: don't drive and look at the hills simultaneously for there are sheep likely to be walking the road.
From Ribblehead, I skirted around Whernside on the Craven Way (a bridleway unpleasantly rutted in places) to join the Dales Way which I followed until near Sedbergh. Part of my journey took in the lower section of the bridleway headed for Whernside's summit (subject of an earlier day out) but these had so many out on it that it was the walker's equivalent of the M6 but I got off it and things soon became quieter and more pleasurable, an amazing sight when you see the hoards heading a different way from less than 100 metres away from you. I was glad that I tackled Whernside earlier in the year.
After not following my instincts, I lost 15 minutes finding the Dales Way from the Craven Way (someone put a church on the map but you couldn't see it!). From here I strode past Dent to Sedbergh (covering something like 6 miles in a bit of a hurry) but missed my bus. I was a little worse for wear after my exertions, my excuse for missing out on the football, so I waited a while before calling a taxi to get to Kirkby Stephen railway station and begin my train journey home.
This was not my first foray along the Yorkshire-Cumbria border since I was hopping over and back across the line in question while exploring Garsdale in 2004. I got some heavy showers that day, unlike last Saturday, before the evening cleared up and showed me what the area offered. If it is wild country that you are after, this part of the Yorkshire Dales has it in spades. It also means that public transport provision isn't what it might be, so you need to be careful.
Southern Scotland Revisited
18th June 2006 The last two weekends have seen me revisit southern Scotland. This weekend saw me venture among the Southern uplands. My base was Lockerbie (of Pan Am 103 fame) but my walking took me in and around Moffat. One of my rambles was a circular route involving the Southern Upland Way. When I was returning to Moffat by road, a friendly motorist offered a lift to Moffat and I took him up on the offer (not something that I'd normally do for obvious reasons...).
That gave me more time for exploring, and I got a glimpse of the Devil's Beef Tub to boot. Later, I also got to Lochmaben, four miles from Lockerbie. All this got done yesterday but, though pleasant, the day was largely cloudy, and the sun came out just as I had to leave Moffat for Lockerbie (sod's law, really): a later bus would have been perfect. The threat of rain today brought me home on the first southbound train of the day. Nevertheless, the scenery was wonderful, and a return is very tempting.
Last weekend, I planned to savour the hills around Wooler in Northumberland, only for accommodation availability in Berwick-upon-Tweed to change my plans, though it was still useful for a Friday night arrival. Next day, I took myself off to Galashiels by bus and dropped off part of my load at the Abbotsford Arms Hotel (Abbotsford was the name of Sir Walter Scott's home in the area) before using another bus to head for a ramble from Peebles to Innerleithen by way of an old drovers' road and the Southern Upland Way. Unlike yesterday, the sun was very much out, and it would have been quite hot if a useful, if strong, breeze hadn't blown up. Sunday saw me take a short stroll around Galashiels before heading home, starting with a bus journey to Berwick-upon-Tweed and continuing by train from there.
Travel Arrangements
Return train journey between Macclesfield and Lockerbie; return bus journey between Lockerbie and Moffat. Bus journey from Lochmaben back to Lockerbie.
Return train journey between Macclesfield and Berwick-upon-Tweed. On bus route 67 from there to Galashiels via Coldstream, and bus route 60 via Duns to get me back to Berwick-upon-Tweed from there. Onward travel from Galashiels to Peebles on bus service 62, followed by another on the same route from Innerleithen to Galashiels.
