Category: Scotland
A major addition and a significant overhaul
6th February 2026 After what probably has been far too long, I have added a Cairngorm Mountains album to the photo gallery. The accumulation of photos from 2009, 2010, 2023 and 2024 was sufficiently large for this to be a gargantuan exercise. Picking out photos became challenging, particularly when emotions entered the fray and self-doubt further complicated decision-making. Once that was out of the way, the task became more manageable.
Then it was down to the addition of titles and descriptive text, a task that took more time because of work commitments. For a time, there were photos online with titles and no other text until I could get around to adding that. Thankfully, that is all complete now, so others can enjoy what is on there, which is the more important part.
All of this was in marked contrast to the pruning of the Lochaber gallery and the hiking ideas that threw up for me. Aside from any wish to improve on photographic quality, the Cairngorms do not have quite the same pull on me after all the traipsing in recent years. Nevertheless, there were a few ideas that popped into my head as I surveyed the map while identifying the locations of photos.
One thing that had not occurred to me was how far south Loch Eanaich was; there is not much difference between its latitude and that of Kingussie. That lead me to plot out a lengthy course from the latter back to Aviemore via Glen Feshie, Sgòr Gaoith, Sgòran Dubh Mor and Sgòran Dubh Beag. A decent level of fitness would be needed for such an escapade, as would a day with plenty of daylight. The west wall of Gleann Eanaich would take its toll, with the Munros and the northern descent after them posing significant challenges.
Another prospect that caught me eyes was that of reaching Loch A'an, which might be combined with an ascent of Cairn Gorm too. It is not just the height that matter in the Cairngorms but also the distance, hence the preference for longer hours of daylight, hopefully without the attendant heat that can accompany them during the high season of the Scottish year.
My not being to Braemar for more than fifteen years is itself a prompt for a return, as much as the images I made on a showery autumnal around nearby Morven. Longer ventures would take me into Glen Callater, though that is verging on embarking on a multi-day backpacking escapade, much like going from Blair Atholl to Braemar via Glen Tilt or going through the Lairig Ghru between the latter and Aviemore. Using the Lairig an Laoigh route between Glenmore and Braemar also brings its own temporal challenges that may or may not be as arduous as the others.
Keeping things more modest would keep one around Braemar in preference to those longer hikes. Here, Creag Choinnich and Carn nan Sgliat could offer rewards. If terrain, time, fitness, energy and strength were accommodating, then continuing to Creag nan Leachda and Millstone Carn could be ideas. There may be little need to venture any further.
Thus, without needing to peer at more than a map, hill wandering ideas can surface. Given the geographical scale of the area, it is best to keep one's ambitions in hand so as not to overdo things. After all, it is little wonder that some combine a mountain bike ride and a hill climb to fit things within the temporal confines of a day in these parts.
A year with much city hopping around Ireland, Switzerland and elsewhere
3rd November 2025 While you can plan as much as you like, a year never turns out quite as you hope. For me, that has been the story of 2025. A hoped for trip to Canada could not happen, necessitating a booking cancellation. The need to get more freelance work in a tough market simply weighed on everything else. Having addressed that need, it is only now that I can begin to look ahead again, even though a busy work life takes from that a bit.
This also got in the way of wilderness wandering, which meant my getaways involved cities most of the time, even if adjacent countryside also saw my footfall there. Also, booking a place to stay forces you to get going more than dangling the prospect of a day trip before you in circumstances like what I have experienced this year. That more likely made my excursions urban than they otherwise might have been.
Cork Residencies
January began in Cork, Ireland’s second city because of my spending Christmas there in somewhere that I have as an Irish base. My search for freelance work had begun without my realising the arduous road ahead of me. Otherwise, it was time to haul myself outside around such places as Blarney and Kinsale when a certain torpor could prevail otherwise. Before I left for the UK in the middle of January, a property matter was set in place that would close later in the year.
April would see me return, first for a weekend visit, searching for items that I needed to send to someone else and recovering after another discussion about new work came to nothing. The recovery was helpful, while the search remained fruitless in the interval before I returned for an Easter residency that allowed me to visit Cobh and Kinsale again, among other things. Then, my time was spent away from other city landmarks like its English Market, the north side’s Shandon area, University College Cork, Mardyke or Fitzgerald’s Park. Other things were on my mind.
A funeral was the cause of my returning at the end of July. Apart from saying goodbye to an elderly relative, things were otherwise upbeat thanks to my commencing a new contract and getting out in the sunshine for some pleasant walks around by Blackrock Castle and Cobh on consecutive evenings; this is an area that is much influenced by its harbour and estuary. However, it felt too short a rendezvous, ensuring that a return is in mind as soon as a space comes up for such a venture.
Swiss Getaways
May brought a near miss with getting work organised and that left me feeling morose. Having felt on the fringes for too long, a conference trip to Geneva came not before time, even if it may have scuppered that earlier opportunity. These just in time searches are very fragile things, as I was to discover in June, albeit without any real consequences that time aide from feeling saddened at having to choose something else.
Sunlit evenings in Geneva ensured that I became sated with what the city offered, along with some complementary weekend sampling along Via Jacobi from Coppet back to Geneva. Landmarks familiar from a stay in September 2015 like Jet d’Eau, the banks of the Rhône and Lake Geneva were again frequented, while the cobbled streets of the old town climb to the Cathédrale St-Pierre offered new perspectives. Later that week, a certain amount of repetition aroused a need for novelty that propelled me to Bern for a glorious evening of strolling that did me a lot of good as I traipsed its loop of the River Aare, another first since September 2015.
Other prospects like Zurich and Lucerne appealed during my time in Geneva, until I saw the travel times were longer than I fancied. They offered a platform for a bank holiday getaway before which things began to look up for me a little. Lucerne was where I spent the better day of the trip, leaving Zurich to be explored in mixed weather. That limited photographic activity, yet it did not stop me embarking on a return sailing on Zurichsee that got me as far as Rapperswil, where I spent a good deal of time strolling around there and Pfäffikon under seemingly improving skies.
Since Zurich left an itch to scratch, a return ensued as May ended and June began. Hot sunshine was the enduring weather challenge this time around, even if it did little to stop me strolling along the shores of Zurichsee after following the banks of the Limmat or even along the banks of the River Rhine in Basel with that striking proximity to France and Germany.
Additional evening ambling around Zurich after returning from the latter led me into that city's nearby woods. There, I found an abundance of quietude that was healing, a refuge from the pervading uncertainty in my life. It was much needed and would have reached deeper into my psyche if my work life had been going better. It was quite a counterpoint to all activity around each city's Münster.
Passage through Paris was an element in all this journeying too, albeit far more briefly than during my travels in 2024. The first time was as part of a train journey conveying me all the way from Geneva to Macclesfield, while the second would have been the Zurich equivalent except for its expense. Then, it was Paris Charles de Gaul airport that was my exit point from continental Europe, a much quicker journey, albeit not one that was without its occasions for relaxation either.
British Trials, Solace and Celebration
While the Irish and Swiss segments of this piece have a certain chronology to them, even with Irish trips bookending the Swiss ones, the British portion does a spot of time hopping around each of them. First, there was the January return to the UK, after which I attended to numerous other matters that lay outstanding, possibly affecting my search for new freelancing work.
When meetings with a potential client came to nothing, I decided to break things up with weekend trips to Edinburgh and London. These mixed up revisiting old haunts with seeing new places while I rebooted my search for work. It was going to be out in the sunshine rather than being downbeat at home. My work strategy was getting a shake up too, which set the scene for coming months. Success would take time to come, meaning that there would be another trip to London early in June to attend a conference before everything came together.
Yet Another Scottish Incursion
When it did, there was cause to celebrate, albeit quietly. Before commencing a new contract, I headed north to Inverness, ticking off one last item from my excursion list for my time between contracts. It was in my head for the autumn of 2024 and might have happened if I could lure myself away from Ireland for longer during that September.
The ideas were rural in the main: Fionn Bheinn near Achnacarry, the Great Glen Way between Drumnadrochit and Inverness and the South Loch Ness Trail from Foyers or Dores back to Inverness. In the end, I opted for the first two, partly because of having better public transport options.
Even so, there was an evening spent in the highland city itself, pottering around the Ness Islands and passing Inverness Castle. On the trail back from Drumnadrochit, I briefly encountered the Caledonian Canal, though I did not spend as much time along its towpaths as on a previous visit as 2023 transitioned into 2024.
Eastern Quests
Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire drew me away from home in July at a time when going east meant gaining cooler weather. This again was a mix of urban and rural, with much traipsing by the orienting River Wensum as well as a visit to Whitlingham Country Park. The medieval sights were surveyed too, especially around its cathedral close and its quiet green space within the city. There was time to traipse between Brandon and Thetford, shadowing the Little Ouse and passing through The Brecks under ever clouding skies. Those dented my brief visit to Ely and denied me photographic satisfaction there, ensuring a reprise two months later.
Though Ely was my target, I stayed in Cambridge because of its better accommodation options. A short train journey was all it took for me to see Ely's cathedral on a sunnier day, its unusual lantern tower drew a share of my attention before I pottered out of the city while skies broke over my head. Some rural ambling shadowing the Great Ouse showed me just how much of a landmark those cathedral towers make when viewed from the level, drained ground around the city. A return to its heart sated my photographic desires before another stroll by the river took me back to the train station under again clouding skies. Time had been called on my visit without causing any umbrage in my mind.
There was time to revisit Cambridge, too, to see and photograph different sights before I left for home. Advancing cloud cover again spurred me on to the train station after a sunny morning of ambling around the Backs, among other places. Different places were open compared with a previous encounter from years before. The River Cam was busy with punts and I left them to their way. Pembroke College saw me tarrying a while before I continued on a journey that was ending a sequence of summer jaunts, mainly urban but at times rural too.
A Southwestern Incursion
There was some time hopping above too: the two eastern excursions encapsulated a first trip to Devon and Cornwall. Again, cities pervaded with time spent around Exeter and Plymouth. Penzance became the Cornwall terminus for my rambling, allowing me to see the county's scenery from a passing train. While Exeter's cathedral and its surroundings clearly were a draw, they did not keep me away from the Riverside Valley Park, bounded both by the River Exe and the Exeter Canal. Exmouth was another location that lure, causing me to wander the coast a little too much for my own comfort given the advancing end of the hours of daylight. Nevertheless, this dalliance with the South West Coast Path did not result in ruin either, and Penzance became another, though my previous adventuring had tamed designs on an out and back trot to St. Michael's Mount. Thus, I made it home without any misstep.
Looking Ahead and Looking Back
There are upcoming business trips to Germany ahead of me, so the city hopping is not over for this year. Mainz is to be the location for a client meeting, with Frankfurt's airport proving essential for convenient travel. Because of the nature of the trip and the time of year, exploring will be at a premium, though. This also would be my first-ever overnight stay in Germany, only for the second likely to soon follow it: a conference trip to Hamburg. There, my time will be more my own, so more may come of it, though uncertainty pervades those possibilities.
A return to Cork for a longer spell is in my mind too, even if one cannot hope for too much when the hours of darkness are longer; an Easter stay would be better on that score. Beyond that, another conference could draw me to Italy for the first time. The venue is Milan in a time when hours of daylight are more amenable to personal city explorations. Since this is quite a time away yet, plans are not at all firm at this stage.
On reflection, there was a lot of temporal toing and froing in the above, unlike any rivers that flowed in only one direction. That was the sacrifice caused by focussing on locations to provide a thread holding together the whole account. Returning to the hydrological theme, it may have made the account tidal in places.
Another theme was what eventually became a successful search for freelance work, one whose busyness perhaps keeps me away from gallivanting as much the technological novelties that are coming my way. Reading is happening in parallel and something may stick there too, even if it feels far too premature to be considering summer holidaying plans. Last year's hubris does sit so well now.
From canal paths to high ridges: Pondering possibilities for Lochaber returns
21st October 2025 The Lochaber and West Highland Way albums in the online photo gallery recently got updates (an overhaul in the case of the former) from trips to the former during April 2009, July 2013 and June 2024. However, this activity itself spurred some notions of returning to Lochaber because I fancy making digital replacements for what I pruned from the gallery. Naturally, it would have been better to have those newer images in place before culling their predecessors.
It was a previous round of curation that led me to traipse me along sections of the West Highland Way last year, one between Fort William and Kinlochleven followed by another from Glen Coe to Bridge of Orchy. Those journeys replaced images of lesser quality than what I prefer these days, efforts that were rewarded, which is just as well given the wearying heat experienced on the former and the wintry showers encountered on the latter. None of this took from the success of the endeavour, an aspect that dulled any wishes to return to the area for a time afterwards.
Returning to those unused excuses for returning, I am collating a few here for further perusal. These go beyond an ascent of the Pap of Glencoe from the village that gives it part of its name or even any continuation as far as Sgor nan Fiannaidh though that looks like a craggy proposition on OS maps even if Harvey Maps show a path up there. Proceeding any closer to the Aonach Eagach is of no interest to me, given its intensity of exposure and the scrambling involved; this also might be going in the wrong direction too.
Otherwise, Glenfinnan may have its monument commemorating the Jacobite Rising at the head of Loch Shiel as well as its cinematic associations because of a famous viaduct, and short paths that lead to classic viewpoints of both landmarks, while longer circuits climb into the surrounding hills and a track up the glen reaches the Corryhully bothy. Bringing us more on topic, Kinlochleven turns up a lot here because of what lies on its doorstep, which is far more than the well visited Grey Mare's Tail waterfall or even the well trodden West Highland Way, which threads past some of what is described below.
Matters of Unfinished Business
Glen Nevis
An encounter with Glen Nevis was among my earliest incursions into the Scottish Highlands. That was a serendipitous affair that included a trot along a very short section of the mountain track leading to the top of none other than Ben Nevis. It granted me ample views of what lay about me after some forest track trampling in advance of an intrusion that met no reproach from others who were better equipped for their hiking. Apart from the possibility of reaching Scotland's country top, other traipsing through the glen on the West Highland Way has left me sated for now.
However, that still leaves other parts much further into the glen. After all, my second visit took me all the way to the car park at the end of the tarmac road on a stroll with my brother. While a dull day might have limited photography, that was not the point at the time. It was only a few years later that I went past the sign asking about visitor preparedness to reach wilder parts on a day laced with heavy rain. Before that, I had loitered around Achriabhach on a wonderful August evening on a circuit that followed forestry tracks from Fort William before sticking with tarmac for the way back. Then, gaining height on the path shadowing Allt Coire a' Mhusgain granted me a vantage point from which to savour my surroundings at a time when directional sunlight cast many shadows.
Surprisingly, there has been no follow up on those incursions for a good while since they were made. It is not before time that this should be something that is set to rights, though the vicissitudes of Lochaber's weather and the numbers drawn by the delights that await them mean that the errand is challenging. Overcoming those will bring rewards, though.
Great Glen Way
Around midsummer this year, I pottered along the Great Glen Way between Drumnadrochit and Inverness. The start was under cloudy skies without much hope of seeing sunshine, yet there were breaks in the cloud cover later and a fine end to the day. For a long time, my dalliance with the trail was at the other end: between Clunes of the western bank of Loch Lochy, Gairlochy, Banavie and Fort William.
The sprawling rambles started from Spean Bridge and passed the impressively situated Commando Memorial. Their reach included the shores of Loch Arkaig as much as Loch Lochy, with Achnacarry and the Mìle Dorcha as landmarks on my traipsing. Along the way, I surveyed sightings of the Grey Corries as much as the more dramatic side of Ben Nevis and its neighbouring hills. Since all got captured on film, I would fancy returning to make digital images of these alluring panoramas too.
An added sense of adventure could send one's mind to ponder the heights of Meall na Teanga and Sron a' Choire Ghairbh, often suggested as a joint ascent in guidebooks. My first reaction to such an idea was that the realities of carless hiking make this implausible, until I got around to looking at timetables. An early start could make this happen with a spot of care, and Laggan sounds a better starting point than significantly more distant Fort William. However, routing by Mìle Dorcha could increase transport options with a diversion to Spean Bridge.
The stretching of logistical realities sent another flight of fancy into my mind: walking from Laggan to Fort William using the Great Glen Way. This is no quick stroll at 36 kilometres (22.5 miles), though it can be managed in a single day given adequate hours of daylight. The aforementioned section between Drumnadrochit and Inverness was around 32 km (20 miles), after all. If required, a 5 km (3 mile) diversion to Spean Bridge would shorten the distance with access to bus and rail services. However, the section beyond Gairlochy would add digital photos for me when the weather is offering, so the full distance still appeals and seeing those aforementioned hillwalking summits would do no harm either.
Loch Treig, Lairig Leacach & Glen Spean
It was May 2006 when I walked from Corrour station to Spean Bridge after overnight travel got me to Fort William, an escapade that inspired one of the first trip reports on here at a time when brevity was more my style. The sunlit landscapes, still brown after the winter and awaiting greening for the summer, caught my eye as much as Loch Treig itself and any remaining snow on the surrounding hilltops. Though the start may have been later than was ideal, I was still in ample time for a train back to Fort William, and I seem to remember that there were later bus services available in those friendlier times too.
While I might have had a digital camera with me then, film photography was my mainstay at the time and later fumbling meant that I lost the photos anyway. Thus, going that way again is something that appeals to me should such an opportunity arise. Lairig Leacach and the Grey Corries would again have my ephemeral company, though there are other route options in the area that may appeal just as well.
The descent to Spean Bridge had me skirting Leanachan Forest, which offers possibilities such as the 9.8 kilometres Leanachan and River Lundy circular, offering a sheltered outing when weather conditions make higher routes inadvisable. However, the mixture of walkers and mountain bikers does mean that you need to pay more attention at junctions, without being distracted by views of Ben Nevis through the trees.
Adjoining that is Torlundy and the Nevis Range gondola that lifts walkers to opportunities that would otherwise require long approaches. From the Top Station, well-made paths lead to the nearby Sgùrr Finnisg-aig and Meall Beag viewpoints, as well as a more challenging 9.5 kilometre route to Aonach Beag and Aonach Mòr for those possessing the required stamina and navigational skills. In contrast, the Snowgoose Trail turns the approach on its head, climbing for 6 kilometres from the car park to the mid-station restaurant, with the gondola available either up or down to ease the effort.
Staring from Kinlochleven offers another possibilities, with some of these passing Loch Eilde Mor, another location visited a good while ago and with remaining digital photos too, some of which now being in the Lochaber album to which I alluded earlier. One is a circuit that also takes in the 13 kilometres long Blackwater Reservoir and its one kilometre wide dam, an intriguing prospect that frequents quiet countryside with views towards the Pap of Glencoe.
Another trail links with the track between Corrour station and Loch Treig from where there can be a reprise of the hike to Spean Bridge made in 2006, while continuing past Loch Eilde Beag to meet the Abhainn Rath could be another option. Heading north from there towards Lairig Leacach means a potentially tricky river crossing, even if it could make use of the pair of Crocs that I acquired after a similar necessity in Gleann Eanaich during May of last year. While the map may show a ford, the width of the river remains concerning, espcially when weather conditions mean a spate is in full flow.
Otherwise, a more committing possibility might be to continue west to Glen Nevis, an idea with which I have toyed in the past, albeit with a start at Corrour station after arriving there on a northbound Caledonian Sleeper train. The economics of that mode of arrival are not so favourable these days, and securing a booking is challenging enough, possibly because of overtourism. With a sufficiently early start, the Kinlochleven start might be a more feasible option.
A Spectrum of Underused Prospects
Ardgour
It was December 2009 when I made my only crossing of the Corran Narrows to savour what lies on the other side of Loch Linnhe. Leaden clouds packed the sky to ensure a dark and sunless encounter. Nevertheless, seeing these parts on a brighter day remains an unused prospect. Once you get there, the council-commissioned Corran Ferry gets you to the other side in minutes to reach perhaps deserted hills and more remote walking to boot.
The Druim na Sgriodain loop is one of the more convenient possibilities in an area more amenable to backpacking than day hikes, especially given the sparse bus timetable that is prioritised for locals more than visitors. Returning to the route, it is one that includes 12.2 kilometres of walking with 795 metres of ascent, an undertaking that would engage you for much of a day with its challenging terrain. After that, there is Garbh Bheinn, at 885 metres, often compared to a Munro and demanding of the kind of respect, making it one for dry, settled weather when visibility remains good.
This is an area for those seeking solitude and remoteness, especially when you venture into neighbouring Morvern and Sunart. As with much of the Scottish Highlands, it helps to have calm conditions along with a sense of self-sufficiency. While my incursions may be limited, I retain hopes of witnessing panoramas that sprawl over water and hill, gifts of clear sunlit days.
Ben Nevis
For someone with a fascination with a fascination with hill country and a long history of frequenting Fort William, it may come as a surprise to you to hear that I never visited the 1,345-metre high top of Ben Nevis. All that I have is a little taste of the Mountain Track from my first-ever foray into Glen Nevis. Advancing awareness of how ill-equipped I was for the full venture throttled any uprisings of ambition, assuming there ever were any, which exceeds any sense of reality.
My brother was wondering about reaching the summit when we went this way on our round trip of Scotland. The answer that seven or eight hours (allowing oneself nine might be no bad idea) were needed was sufficient for dulling any ambitions. Parking up a car at the youth hostel would have gained us a starting point for a 14.2 kilometre out and back hike if we were so equipped. If we had known, a partial climb might have been in order: after all, following the Mountain Trail to Halfway Lochan offers a 7.7 kilometre return route to a fine viewpoint at around 610 metres, one that offers views over Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe.
While the Mountain track might be my choice if I get to make an ascent, there are other possibilities for more experienced walkers, and the Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête is a celebrated adventurous option. This 17.9 kilometre ridge route from the North Face car park is exposed and steep, involving scrambling and pathless sections that require assured footing and good judgement, particularly if cloud presses low over the massif. Thus, this is no place for novices.
Returning to the subject of partial ascents, the North Face approach to the CIC Hut is another fine outing in its own right. This 11.1 kilometre return route climbs steadily beside the Allt a' Mhuilinn to reach the memorial hut beneath Ben Nevis's towering cliffs. Nevertheless, you can continue to the summit from here, stretching your hiking distance to around 25.6 kilometres on a challenge that can take 11 or 12 hours with some backtracking as you round the mountain to reach the upper section of the Mountain Track.
Continuing the theme of combining the Mountain Track and the North Face Path, I spied another option on the map that gains views along its length, if not the top of Scotland's highest hill. This opens up going from Torlundy to Fort William via the CIC Hut, a 17.5-kilometre route that opens with a sustained climb. As a means of getting to know the terrain, this has its appeal and opens up possibilities for reconnaissance before committing to any sort of summit attempt, as grandiose as that makes things sound.
The Mamores
Continuing on the mountaineering thread brings me to things that are flights of fancy to someone who normally summits on a single hill (maybe two at times) in one day, rather than doing a round of them. There are some of those with renown to be found among the Mamores. This is the kind of hill country where safety needs added care. For example, the north-eastern ridge of Sgùrr a' Mhàim should never be used for descent, as it has been associated with fatalities. After all, you are covering the kind of ground that needs added experience, a head for heights, proper equipment and the ability to navigate in poor visibility.
One is the 15.9 kilometre Ring of Steall, linking four summits in a committing loop, and the 13.4 kilometre Stob Bàn and Mullach nan Coirean round. Both are technical and strenuous with ridge walking, scrambling, traversal of narrow arêtes and steep descents. Both are dwarfed by the 39.8 kilometre Mamores Tour that takes in the summits of Mullach nan Coirean, Sgùrr a' Mhàim, Am Bodach, An Gearanach, Na Gruagaichean, Binnein Mòr and others, and the descent from Binnein Beag that requires great care.
Glen Nevis acts as an access point for much of this, as does Kinlochleven, from which stalker's paths will convey you to the likes of Sgurr Eilde Mor, Binnein Mor, Sgor nam Fiannaidh and Am Bodach. While reaching those heights on more modest incursions appears tempting, the potential of these making for challenging mountain days provides pause for thought.
Between the rush and the ramble: Swiss cities, Scottish hills and life’s rhythms
28th June 2025 Much has happened since I last posted something on here. After an extended and frustrating period, I am embarking on a freelance assignment with a new client. This came unexpectedly while I was pursing a search for permanent employment. It also turns out that things may be improving on the freelance market, given what I am starting to see elsewhere. Those other opportunities can go to others; when you choose one for yourself, you are implicitly rejecting all everything and everyone else, as a Capuchin priest preached on marriage on a Sunday morning near the end of last year. Sometimes, wisdom can be portable from one context to another.
From Geneva's Via Jacobi to Zurich's Hidden Woodlands
Bookending the above frenzy were trips away from home, first to a conference and then for leisure. The former took me to Geneva, where I got to explore the place in parallel. A Saturday arrival allowed for a Sunday saunter from Coppet back to Geneva that followed the Via Jacobi for much of the way, albeit with some deviations south of Versoix and near Geneva's Botanic Gardens. After getting sated by other strolling around the city, I embarked on an evening visit to Bern on the Friday before I returned to the UK, going by rail all the way home for the sake of added variety.
Zurich also got two visits. The first saw me go to Lucerne on arrival to make the best of the better day of the weekend with some lakeside strolling before venturing into a shady woodland with some ascent involved as I turned back towards the city centre again. A boat trip around Zurichsee made a lot of the mixed weather that came my way the next day, especially during an amble from Rapperswil to nearby Pfäffikon under breaking skies before returning by train. Some city strolling around Zurich followed the passing of a rain shower to round off the trip ahead of a return flight the next day.
The lack of sunny weather around Zurich drew me back later, even if temperatures were higher than what suits me. After following up a work opportunity, I caught up with the place on a sunny if sweltering evening to make some better photos. The next day, I went to Basel to potter through its Altstadt on a circuit taking in the banks of the River Rhine. That was completed in sufficient time to allow more wandering around Zurich after attending to a matter. More photos were made before my rambling among extensive woodland adjoining the city. That had me passing the city's zoo while remarking at the peace that surrounded me in the late evening, a counterpoint to what else was happening in my life.
An Ascent of Fionn Bheinn and a Section of the Great Glen Way
The action that resulted in the new freelance contract happened after all this and to celebrate the success, I made use of a trip idea that was thwarted by a previous frenzy of similar activity. Thus, I went north to Inverness when some sunny weather was on offer. After a late arrival caused by a tardy start, I went on a day trip to Achnasheen to make an ascent of Fionn Bheinn and take whatever views that gained me. An octogenarian was going the same way, but I decided to pass him and hike my own hike in the hope that the gradient would cause him to opt for a short stroll.
The route has a reputation for being boggy, and even a year with a lot of dry weather did not mean my avoiding soggy ground. That made the going more challenging on the initial stage of the ascent before gradients slackened for a while. It was only near the top that I met with better ground. By then, the views really opened out around me, as they had been doing while I gained height. Heat haze curtailed photographic hopes, albeit without taking from any scenic delights. For my descent, I went down by Sàil an Tuim Bhàin and Achnasheen Plantation to return to Achnasheen where I would have a lengthy wait for my train.
It was around five minutes before that arrived that my elderly counterpart arrived after reaching the top, further irking my conscience about having passed him on the way, even if I did need my own quiet time. The American was talkative, and I grabbed a step for getting him onto the train from the low platform, watching that he was OK after his extraordinary exertions. He seemingly ventured further up the carriage, apparently meeting some acquaintances. That was where our encounter ended.
Though myself wearied by my own actions around Fionn Bheinn, I stuck with my plan to follow the Great Glen Way from Drumnadrochit back to Inverness. The day started cloudy, and I contented myself with that as I departed from Drumnadrochit. Nevertheless, cloud cover began to break as I climbed up from the A82. Until the late afternoon, sunshine was to come and go. Before that, I deviated around by Carn na Leitire and relished some quiet road walking in advance of venturing onto trails again.
Then, I got word of some property that I had lost without my realising it and arranged a meet up with the finders to get it back before leaving Inverness for home. The kindness of others never fails to surprise me, leaving me to wonder at my own helpfulness or my perceived lack of it. A friendly chat ensued with passing fellow walkers after those phone calls; they were local and shared with me some knowledge about drove roads before we parted. They also said about travel being downhill from where we were, and they were not at all wrong about that. Being back in Inverness at an appropriate hour meant that I could attend to yet another matter before resting a while in advance of some gentler river bank wandering on a balmy summer's evening. It attempted to belie the forecast of rain for the next day, a failed ruse if ever there was one.
On being reunited with my lost property, I caught the next train to Edinburgh. Travelling meant that I was indoors from any rain. Even a delay due to overrunning engineering works around Pitlochry failed to scupper my progress, despite it meaning that a later departure from Edinburgh was my lot. The mixture of satisfaction and being humbled by the actions of others brought no cause for complaint.
In Reflection
For me, these recent months have been a reminder that life rarely unfolds as we expect it; we never know enough to plan everything; that is an ongoing life lesson for me. Here are some prompts: a freelance opportunity that emerged after a long wait, the kindness of strangers who returned lost property and chance encounters on hill country paths. Then, you can get a contrast between the frenetic pace of a search for work and the measured rhythm of walking at the same time as a juxtaposition of paths trampled and life experienced: sometimes boggy and challenging underfoot, otherwise offering clearer paths and broader views. It all exhibits how mysterious we are and how life is likewise.
There has been much closure to complement all of this mix of parallels and contrasts, too. There may be the prospect of following the South Loch Ness Trail, but that can wait for a weekday when bus times work better for such a venture. Having considered possibilities while I was up north, I am decided on that awaiting another time. With so much satisfaction otherwise gained, there can be no cause for complaint. Other things matter now as life proceeds into a new chapter.
Frantic: When life’s vicissitudes collide with getting away for a long weekend
3rd May 2025 The past week has been hectic for me, hence the title. However, the result of my exertions was an offer for my freelance services that clashed with another opportunity that came to nothing. The offer was accepted despite warnings that it could be rescinded. The coming week will show whether that was a bluff or not.
All this was happening during the first real sign of heat that we experienced this year; the hot, sunny weather was a foretaste of summer. There were local strolls in the midst of the frenzy, a necessity for keeping my mind in order throughout all of it. My mind even turned to a Scottish incursion centred on Inverness that would have allowed a visit to Fionn Bheinn near Achnasheen as well as a stroll from Drumnadrochit back to Inverness along part of the Great Glen Way.
However, there was too much happening to allow the getaway to become a reality. A hotel booking was cancelled after learning that the weather was not as enticing as I might have desired during a sequence of simplification. Having the prospects for another time will do no harm, though. Ideas are not so plentiful in my head as I write these words, anyway.
Business is set to return me to Geneva for a conference, which will be handy for getting to see the place again. The initial motivation for all of this was making connections for securing freelance work as well as building up my knowledge. Some of that may be less pressing after the past week, though it will be good to get out among colleagues again. Wandering the city in pleasant sunshine will be a bonus too.
These are times when being a solopreneur can be isolating, especially when trying to source work in a challenging market. Thus, it is just as well that the wonders of nature at springtime offer much needed solace and consolation. While my wanderings may be curtailed this year, any such encounter only spurs desire for deeper incursions. There may be time for those later.
