Category: Scotland
A source of some distraction
27th May 2008 After the Mayday bank holiday weekend, I promised to add a trip report for a day outing to North Wales, but the combination of it being May and our having some decent weather has meant that my attention has dashed off elsewhere. It's hard not to be tempted by the outdoors at this time of year, with all the colours that abound. In addition to the fresh, verdant green of the new foliage, the list becomes a very long one. After all, this is my favourite time of the year.
Here's a cursory summary: the magnetic hues of the glades of bluebells, the white of hawthorn blossom and the catkins on horse chestnut trees, the yellow of the flowering gorse and the pink of the cherry blossom. There are more (that ever present invader, rhododendron, comes to mind) but what I have listed is enough to send you off somewhere when some sunshine is on offer. The result is that I have spent evenings in the outdoors near my home in Cheshire, and another trek to Wales ensued.
To cap it all, I have just spent a glorious weekend in Argyll, and I am kicking myself for not allowing an extra day for making even more of it than I did. Just catch Aktoman's photos from his recent trek in the Cairngorms to see what I mean; it makes my exertions look minor in comparison, and I wish that I had pushed the boat out more than I did. Not having full foresight of the weather when working for a living has the effect of cutting yourself short sometimes, especially when you need to plan ahead and get the required clearance.
All of that means more trip reports, so I'd better get cracking sometime. Of course, the trick is making the time, but the weather looks to be damper over the coming days; that might allow me the time to settle the matter. When the weather draws you outside all the time, it can be challenging to get anything else done. That applies to more than blogging.
Wandering around lochs among white-capped hills
24th April 2008 This past weekend saw me head up to Lochaber in the Scottish Highlands after seeing a favourable weather forecast up there; the prospects for south of the border weren't as good. A spot of overnight travel saw me reach Glasgow, from where a Scottish Citylink coach service carried me through the usually glorious countryside with it looking resplendent in the sunshine. The slopes may have been brown, but many of the tops were still white, a reminder of the bumper crops of snow that fell over the past winter and spring. It seemed a pity to merely be passing through all of this wonderful stuff without stopping but it just isn't physically possible to explore it all at once.
Appropriately enough for a day that was to be spent in its vicinity, my coach journey was completed on the shores of Loch Leven next to Glencoe village. My eventual destination was to be Kinlochleven, but the next bus there was nearly two hours away and a short stroll along the lower slopes of Sgurr na Cìche (also known as the Pap of Glencoe) was more than a way to spend the time. I found my way onto Forestry Commission land originally landscaped to mimic Canada for Lord Strathcona's wife. Unfortunately, the creation of an artificial lochan and planting of Canadian flora failed to stall a return to British Columbia and the big house that he built is now Glencoe Hospital. I walked around the lochan, taking in the views of mountains, some with snowy caps, above and through gaps in the trees. At one point, I took a path that gave my legs a good workout, a prelude to what was to come later.
My time well spent, I caught my bus for the short hop to Kinlochleven where a trek to and from Loch Eilde Mor was in my mind. I was retracing my steps from a visit in damper, clammier weather last August. Kinlochleven seemed more alive with people when I got there this time around and there were no midges to plague those who were out and about. When I set to ascending the steep slopes by Allt a' Chumhann and Allt nan Slatan, it didn't take long for me to find myself away from humanity. Views down along Loch Leven caused me to dally; I saw the potential in August but I knew that better weather would improve the views and I wasn't wrong. The Mamores and their others were the mountainous wall on the right as I looked west while, on the left, the view towards Sgurr na Cìche took in what divides Glen Coe from Loch Leven.
By the time that I reached more level ground, banks of cloud had bubbled up and were limiting the sun but not that much. It meant a spot of patience was in order when it came to photographic activity, a very minor problem. By now, I had made my way from a well-made path onto a good vehicle track and it didn't take that long for me to reach Loch Eilde Mor from that point. I would have walked its entire length were it not for doubts regarding my catching a bus to Fort William in time to reach my accommodation for the night. Thus, I turned back with Locheilt Lodge appearing tantalisingly close. In the event, I could have continued on a bit more since I was left with an hour to spare before the said bus arrived. However, it's best to be safer than sorry sometimes and I was getting tired anyway. On the way back, rather than following the path that I used on the way up, I stayed on the vehicle track and followed it until Mamore Lodge, after which I dropped down to the road on the West Highland Way.
Fort William was reached in good time and I spent a quiet night there before starting my journey home after enjoying the early morning sunshine. I was wondering if I left the area prematurely and whether a little more planning would have made a longer break of it. The views from the coach were as good on the way down as they were on the way up, even if a strange sense of fatigue with all things brown came over me. Even so, I might have been visiting Lochaber for next to ten years but I keep finding something new that always seems to convince me that I'll only ever scratch the surface of all that it has to offer. I have left hoping to return and a trek from Corrour to Kinlochleven might be a plausible proposition that returns me to the shores of Loch Eilde Mor and Loch Leven again.
Options that come and go
29th March 2008 The options that I have in mind for this post are of the public transport variety. I have noticed that there are years when I visit an area a lot and that is down to number of factors: it might be somewhere new for me to explore and the weather conditions are more favourable there than other places. A window of opportunity for getting there using public transport can be yet another contributor.
After all, public transport options do change over time and not always for the better. One factor that contributes to this is public demand. There have been times when the frequency for bus services has been improved only for it to be cut back again, possibly because of patronage. An example of this that comes to mind is the T3 Trawscambria service that became hourly in 2006 but is as good as two-hourly these days, even if some services extend to and from Chester with Wrexham being the main northern terminus. the trouble with this is that there is the nagging question as to whether enough time was allowed for patronage to build up; that is something that might take a few years rather than twelve months in some cases.
The next thing that crops up in my mind is the loss of a public transport connection and rail-bus connections particularly come to mind. Sunday rail-bus connections in Bangor (in Wales, not NI) or the lack of them have disappointed me in the past. Having the bus leave before the train arrives does sound a bit ridiculous but short connection times are just as useless, especially when you recall how late trains can be.
Then, there regulatory hurdles to be overcome. One that recently came into play was the 50 km limit for local bus services brought into force following an EU directive. That has done for a Sunday Dalesbus service operated by Arriva and introduced changes where there previously were through services. I could see the 555 in the Lake District being hit by this as well. However, I suppose that England and Wales had a better express bus system like Ireland and Scotland, then all of this wouldn't cause any problems.
The route length limitation can be seen as a piece of regulatory madness but there are home grown ones in the U.K. too. One that annoys me a little is the intervention of the Competition Commission in the Scottish bus market following the coming together of Scottish Citylink and Stagecoach's Megabus. Thankfully, a sensible compromise was reached with services on some routes going to Parks of Hamilton and they are agreeing to work with Citylink as regards timetables and ticketing. Otherwise, it could have further fragmented an already fragmented system and is an exhibition of the sort of mindset that could stop us ever getting the joined up transport system that we so desire.
What has brought all of this to mind is the retiming of the Macclesfield-Crewe bus service on Sundays to leave twenty five minutes earlier. I seem to remember that an early departure from Macclesfield on Sundays was a possibility some years back but it has since disappeared for some reason. So, the earlier start for the bus service in question is very much a good thing, even if it means that last one home is earlier too. That earlier first departure restores the option of getting to Shropshire and Mid Wales after its being removed by train retiming. I hope to make good use of this opportunity to explore Shropshire and mid Wales a bit more. Who knows but I may even walk new sections of the Offa's Dyke Path. Not all of the world's going downhill...
Glen Finglas: a tempting idea?
27th March 2008 When I was walking from Drymen to Callander last August, I encountered a leaflet proclaiming the attractions of Glen Finglas. These days, it is owned by the Woodland Trust, and they have big plans to restore the woodland in the glen. The glen forms part of the Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve and a 200-year landscape-scale woodland restoration project, ensuring its preservation for future generations to enjoy.
However, it wasn't that which caught my eye but the walking possibilities. There are nine waymarked walking routes of varying difficulty, including the Great Trossachs Path, a 48km trail that traverses the entire Great Trossachs Forest. Cycling routes and a play trail for children in Little Druim Wood further enhance the outdoor recreation opportunities available. Wildlife watching opportunities abound, allowing visitors to connect with nature on a deeper level.
Glen Finglas was once a royal hunting forest, graced by the presence of kings such as James II, James IV, James V, and Mary, Queen of Scots. The site of the Hunt Hall, built for James II in the 1400s, is believed to be near the Glen Finglas Reservoir. A Visitor Gateway Centre is located at the Lendrick Hill car park, offering essential facilities such as toilets, Wi-Fi, and visitor information. Open daily from April to October, it serves as a vital hub for those exploring Glen Finglas and its surroundings.
The glen has long been an inspiration for artists and writers, including Sir Walter Scott, who penned the poem "Glenfinlas, or Lord Ronald's Coronach" in 1803. The famous art critic John Ruskin and painter John Everett Millais spent time here in 1853, while poets such as Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Gerard Manley Hopkins were also captivated by the glen's ethereal beauty.
Given all of this, it is possible to see why the Woodland Trust bought the 4,875-hectare estate in 1996. However, without a car, it appears that getting there is the tricky bit; it might be a case of doing a spot of cycling, then. Even so, it is perhaps not as far from Aberfoyle as initial impressions might lead you to believe, though there will be uphill travel. The way from Callander is longer but more level.
Good weather for frogs
10th March 2008 Without doubt, I have shared similar sentiments on this blog before but I'll share them again: it never seems to amaze me how a honey pot walking location can blind you to other equally attractive places. On this occasion, it is again the delights of Lochaber and Skye that come to mind because, two weekends ago, I was enjoying a hike among the Arrochar hills in Scotland. Since then, I have pored over maps and the quality of the hill country really makes me wonder why I never explored the area before. A peek at any map will reveal a goodly number of useful paths and tracks through some accessible and fine countryside. Some offer ways to the summits of Munros and Corbetts and this presents me with the idea of ascending a top or two; I have yet to stand atop a Munro and this part of Argyll may well change that.
Returning to the subject of hill tracks, it was an inspection of ScotWays' very useful Scottish Hill Tracks that set me up with some ideas for a trip, as it has for many of my explorations of Scotland's wilder places. The old rights of way in these parts seem to offer opportunities for shorter days, a useful thing if you don't have the whole day to spare. One such idea was a circular walk from Arrochar through Glen Loin before following Allt Coiregrogain up to Bealach a' Mhaim and dropping down towards Arrochar between Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) and Beinn Narnain. The book describes it the other way around but I had my reasons for doing in reverse if my plans were to come to pass.
The forecast was for showers but I had my waterproofs with me and remained hopeful for some sunny spells so that I could avail of momentary glimpses of the surrounding scenery at its most resplendent. I suppose that I could have gone for hill country in the Scottish Borders instead because of a drier forecast, but the idea of an earlier start was to override the idea. At 08:00, a Scottish Citylink coach dropped me outside the hotel in Tarbet, and I couldn't resist pottering down to the shore of Loch Lomond before continuing on my way to Arrochar. I thought that I was in for two miles of road walking but the idea of checking on train times revealed the possibility of following a good Forestry Commission path around the slopes of Cruach Tarbeirt instead. The first shower of the day came on me while I was on this track but it soon departed to leave very reasonable views across Loch Long towards The Cobbler and its ilk.
Within an hour, I had made my way into Glen Loin, a somewhat industrialised spectacle. For one thing, conifer forestry is very much in evidence there, but what really attenuates the appeal is the presence of two processions of pylons through it. Conditions underfoot were sodden and the going would have been on the challenging side were it not for the presence of a good track, even if a spot of puddle dodging was in order. The reason was dodging those puddles was actually more nature consciousness than trying to avoid getting one's feet wet. I was being greeted with sights and sounds that were new to me and on a scale beyond my wildest imaginings...
The various pools and puddles were playing precarious host to a precious cargo: frog spawn. The sight is enough to make you shudder to think what devastation an errant boot or tyre might do to the frog population and the idea of pools drying out is no better. Being on the cusp of springtime, it was time for the creatures to do what comes naturally and they were everywhere, both on and off the track. Having one's reverie interrupted by the primordial cacophony of bullfrog croaking is certainly an experience that I will not forget and it just shows that you don't need to watch BBC television to encounter life of the cold-blooded variety.
That spot of wildlife watching shortened the journey up Glen Loin and I crossed Inveruglas Water near Coriegrogan to pick the reservoir track between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas. It was about this time that the dry morning interlude, that I had been enjoying, came to an end and a shower dumped its wares upon all that were out in it. Some had headier heights, like Ben Vane, but my sighting of the reduction in visibility on high might have made me reconsider my plans in the absence of the time factor that already had made me go for a lower level circuit than that which was originally in mind.
The shower soon passed, and my gear was working well in the conditions that were experienced. The sun made an appearance to dry things a little and the hills were resplendent with a sprinkling of the white stuff having happened on or near the tops. I followed Allt Coiregrogan on its northern banks but, rather than staying on the track to ascend the slopes to the initially intended bealach, I crossed the burn and started to follow a track that was to take me back towards the shores of Loch Long again. Another shower came and went while I was immersed in tree cover so that the landscape was bathed in bright sunshine when the views returned.
As time moved on, my mind was becoming ever more concerned with my getting home and I needed to return to lower levels first. A track traversing well up a steep slope is all well and good for the views that you get but getting down with an out of date map is another matter. The OS Explorer that I was using dates from 2001 and it very nearly misled me because the tracks had changed in the meantime; it's getting rather tatty now so its replacement might be in order. A brief spot of fumbling got my feet wet, but patience paid off in the middle of yet another shower when I came upon a well-engineered path with plenty of switchbacks on the descent; some don't appreciate such niceties as was evidenced by the shortcuts visible on the ground. The going was easy from here: follow the road around the head of the loch until you see a bus stop sign.
The showery activity was continuing with a vengeance now, so much so that it was becoming an irritation. The coach from Campbeltown turned up late, but that wasn't such a problem because it was the one from Oban that I had in mind. (That both stop at Arrochar within 30 minutes of each other is something that I consider a missed opportunity when it comes to providing a less sporadic public transport service.) Unusually for a Citylink service, I was left on the bus with my rucksack but I suppose that the driver didn't want to go out in the middle of a heavy shower. As the coach continued to Glasgow, there was no let up in the rain so I reckon that my departure was well-timed even if I left shortly before 15:00.
After a stop in Glasgow that allowed me to acquire a new pair of socks to facilitate a change to drier footwear later on, my journey home continued. It should have been a railway one of all the way but engineering works meant travel to Carlisle was by coach and two were needed because the first one broke down. Otherwise, I travelled on without any incident after a very satisfying day. The showers may have annoyed at the end and I may have barely scratched the surface of what seems to be a fascinating part of the world, but gaining the lie of the land for future visits was well worth any effort. I hope to return.
