Category: Trip Ideas
Went a week too early?
11th December 2009 Spending a weekend in Scotland just before the arrival of a sustained spell of settled weather sounds like unfortunate luck but stuff like that just happens. Still, it is the sort of thing that makes for wistful thinking and the only thing for it is to get out among well lit hills and that's what I plan on doing. Imaginings of how wonderful Ardgour and Loch Linnhe could have appeared can only drive one to snatch opportunities when they come the way. Then, there are visions like those of Glenfinnan, Loch Shiel, Loch Eilt, Morar and much more that cause the making of mental notes on the staging of returns. It may be ironic to see good coming of what should be an annoyance but it's thoughts like these that drive you out of any indoors bound rut into which you have fallen and make your way into the outdoors again, no bad thing at all.
There is another way of looking at my luck with the weather. On a near perfect weekend, it may not have been so easy to choose where to spend the time because of nagging doubts as to whether you are in the best spot and making the most of it. That's how it felt after a Spring Bank Holiday visit to Argyll when the weather surprised me with its gorgeous side. Knowing that everywhere is cloudy and being glad of any dryness does put questions like that out of commission.
When travelling south from Fort William on my way home, the situation was that I was coming away satisfied with my lot rather than being frustrated with a lack of sun. As my coach plied the A82, Ardgour's hills were lit up by the morning sun as if it was invitation to the onlooker for either a first or a return visit. Further along, it was the turn of the Black Mount to remind me that I had passed that way too often without stopping either. The angular contrasty light that those hills were catching certainly was a feast for the eyes and etched the idea on following up a hike from Kingshouse to Bridge of Orchy with more. You could say that there was a light show going on in order to draw back whoever was leaving. If anything, it just shows that you are never in a position to say that you are done with anywhere and life would be dull if that ever were possible.
Returning to the present, I plan not to waste the weekend that seems to be coming our way. There are plans and ideas in flux but the hope is that they are turned to good use. Even if it's a matter of blooming where you are planted, something can be made of crisp clear sunny winter days other than dreaming about how those far away hills might be looking. If my efforts reward me with some pleasing photos and some quality quiet time away from the pre-Christmas rush, they'll have been worthwhile.
First month of winter?
1st December 2009 It might be my Irish schooling but the thought that November is the first month of winter is ingrained in me while others consider it to be December. The current drop in temperatures after what may have been a relatively mild November may convince some but the deluges during what became the wettest November on record sent a very different message, one that is very persuasive when it comes to keeping you indoors unless you had the severe misfortune to bear the brunt of flooding that afflicted many in England. Scotland and Ireland.
This November's grottiness may have had a hand in my not getting in some outdoors action since October but winter often has its brighter occasions too and I am determined not to fall into hibernation either. That was one of the reasons why I headed up to Edinburgh over the past weekend. Apart from the chance to do some Christmas shopping, the promise of broken cloud allowing glimpses of blue skies and sunshine also held prospects for some photographic activity. On the day, the Edinburgh that I found was a grey foggy one so the camera stayed out of use apart from some experimentation. Ironically, I might have had more luck with the sun if I had stopped off among the Southern Uplands or the Cumbrian fells though there was plenty of low cloud about in those parts too. It wasn't something on which I dwelt with the other things that I got sorted. As it happened, a copy of The Sutherland Trail (yes, it's the Cameron McNeish and Richard Else one) proved too tempting to leave after me so it has now joined the others on my reading list.
The mention of the latter volume brings me to something that seems to be in the offing with good weekend weather prospects for the West Highlands. As ever, the weather that actually awaits me is another matter but the escapade still makes a getaway from the winter everyday and that is what really is needed. Hopefully, a little winter sunshine will brighten up things and a spot of pleasing hill country exploration would be very much appreciated too. After last weekend, I am not going to get up my hopes to heady heights so I'll go with whatever comes my way. Well, open mindedness like this can be rewarded as my Western Isles escapade proved so very adeptly last year.
Unenticing weather
21st November 2009 The least sign of dampness or greyness shouldn't be enough to put anyone off spending a day exploring hill country, but there are conditions that can cause one to challenge the sense of any such scheme. A day-long soaking or hefty showers coming in on top of one another are on that list, but the recent record-breaking deluges only can be sure to send you indoors. As those who have had it happen to them will tell you, that's all very fine, so long as the nasty conditions stay outside and don't come in after you or put out your heating or lighting. Anyone who has come a cropper in the flooding that has visited too many places has my sympathy (seeing photos showing Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake nearly becoming one really captures the scale of things for me).
It was all so different last Sunday when I grabbed the chance of an outing in bright sunshine. My destination may not have been the countryside, but I got to see plenty of that out through the train windows as I wound my way over to Chester and back again. Any gaping at what lay outside has planted some ideas in my brain for future outings that are relatively near to hand. An amble about Delamere Forest is one such possibility, as is a stroll along the banks of the River Dane near Northwich. Aside from this pondering, I came away with photos (the main motivation on the day) even with Chester being under cloudier skies that only release the sun late on during my visit. A late train allowed me to potter around Stockport to explore its more pleasing parts (yes, they do exist!) and make more of them than I was to make of Chester's much more esteemed architecture.
Last Sunday's trip may have been urban in the main, yet it did break any descent into the rut of indoor winter hibernation. An escape into some fine countryside would make an ideal next step, but it would be better if the threat of deluges was lifted, but there's little sign of that now (it's raining well as I write this). However, just as good spells of weather have to end, the bad episodes can't last forever either, even if we remember them all the more clearly. I'll be awaiting that chance of an escapade.
Travel details:
Return train trip from Macclesfield to Chester with a change in Stockport.
In times of plummeting mercury
12th November 2009 It had to come as it often does at the start of November. Temperatures fell on a Sunday night after a fairly pleasant day that saw me fail to get out into the open air as I would have liked. What followed it was a day that mixed fine crisp winter sun and typical November misty murkiness. Some may say that it's still autumn, but the weather feels like winter even if trees retain the last leaves after some stormy interludes. A lunchtime walk had me surveying what's left of the golden shreds after the Indian summer that came to us in September and October.
Apart from the chill in the air, November brought us some unsettled weather too and that seems set to continue; we may be in the midst of a lull at the moment but something more dramatic lies ahead of us if forecasters are right, and they are far from infallible. Thus, it is somewhat timely that The New York Times has brought us an article concerned with the avoidance of hibernation. The activity at the heart of it may be running, but the same malady afflicts those who explore the outdoors world so it's interesting to read another take on the subject, especially given November's habit of bringing grey murky weather with it.
It is tempting to retreat to virtual explorations on one's PC when it looks not so alluring out of doors. Nevertheless, that can have its place too and might even result in putting you out over your activation energy barrier to enjoy what abounds at this time of year. In recent weeks, I have been sprucing up old members of my online photo gallery. The ones of Skye are as good as done until I get to add to that collection from a day's walking over Ben Tianavaig last year. Lochaber has come next for a spot of improvement and Argyll hasn't escaped either with an old print taken by the shores of Loch Etive seeing an attempt to better it with a new scan and subsequent Photoshop work; there's a knack in keeping things realistic, a line on the wrong side of which I don't want to find myself.
The trouble with all this tinkering with old photos and is that it consumes spare time like it's going out of fashion, so a short session can gobble time that was set aside for other things. That's what happened to me on Sunday but it has its benefits too. Looking at those old photos reminds you of places where you haven't been for a while. For instance, I now think of that photo of Loch Etive as a less than sharp specimen and wonder about a return visit. In the past, I have played with the idea of a two-day walk from Taynuilt to Glen Coe or vice versa with an overnight stopover at a bothy. Nothing has come of it so far, but the idea of revisiting Loch Etive and passing along Glen Etive for the first time makes the notion attractive. If the weather was to play ball, then it would be even better.
While on the subject of a wandering mindset, there are places in Lochaber to revisit. Loch Treig and the Grey Corries fit in here and there's what's around Corrour too; the idea of disembarking from a Sleeper to walk to Fort William has come to mind from time to time. More civilised spots like Loch Lochy and Loch Arkaig also beckon. Mind you, a spot of bicycle hire might be an idea for the latter pair because progress along the Caledonian Canal as it rounds Meall Bhanabhie can seem so slow as to be infuriating. Still, this is a nice part of the world that should be traffic free and the distances involved make bicycle travel look the more useful. For long-distance travel on foot, there's the Great Glen Way of which I have sampled only a little and it would take me by Loch Lochy on its way to parts that have yet to host my footfall.
Continuing the theme of exploring pastures new, there's around Mallaig too with some introductory possibilities from Morar to gain a sense of what lies about there; it is remote country too, replete with possibilities around Loch Morar and Loch Arkaig for the more adventurous. It's been a few years since I ventured around by these parts while en route from Skye to Oban and the only stops were Mallaig and Glenfinnan. With the options already described and others like Knoydart and the Small Isles within reach, it is perhaps small wonder that the summer excursion that eventually took me to Aviemore could have taken to towards Mallaig instead. In the end, I decided that it was better to try for a time when the weather would have been more suitable for showing off the landscape at its best. Nevertheless, it is good to have such a scheme in mind, for the sake of avoiding indecision if noting else.
Having skirted around it, I suppose that Skye well deserves a longer mention. That walk from Elgol to Sligachan may not get repeated after seeing my surroundings bathed in the sort of light that would have been in order for a week based in Mallaig. However, there are other paths to follow and other parts to savour. Glen Brittle is but one of these and a spot of cycling might be in order given that's how I got about on my first visit to the island. It's never any harm to see new sides to an old favourite.
With all of these, what really hits me is how well peering at old photos can act as a muse as well as being an uplifting distraction from any greyness that is about. It is tempting to say that shortening days curtail the possibilities but I am minded to convert the delights of afar into experiencing what lies on my doorstep. Making use of the latter may set me up for heading further afield yet. In a way, it's amazing what indoor inspiration can achieve so long as you don't spend all of your time lost in the reverie and fail to get out at all. After all, November isn't always murky and December's bright moments should not be missed either.
How far west?
10th November 2009 One thing that is easy to forget is that the British mainland is not aligned along the Greenwich meridian but at an angle to it. One of the effects of that state of affairs is that Edinburgh and Manchester are nearly lined up in a straight north-south line, even if shadowing the coast and finding a line of least resistance through any hill country means that your route gains an elbow and that certainly is the case if you travel by train. Travel on the East Coast Mainline also veers away from what might be termed direct with the result that the journey time between Newcastle and Edinburgh is of the order of 90 minutes.
The cause of this being brought to my attention was my pondering a short getaway that arrests any decline into end of year torpor or, better still, punctuates it so much that it is stopped in its tracks. During these episodes of plotting, eyes are cast over maps and that's when it came home to me that I was next to immediately north of Donegal in Éire when I was on South Uist last year. What really made this plain were the similarities in the predicted weather for Wicklow and Mallaig for the coming weekend when I last looked on Metcheck. However, you do need a longitudinal west/east split to make this kind of thing plain, especially to make it dawn on you for the first time. Of course, a split can be north/south or any other combination too as the weather enjoyed on my trip to the Western Isles was to prove.
As regards my plotting, that is a work in progress so things are in a fluid state. The good thing about that is that I wouldn't be ruling out the possibility of a short Scottish escapade if it makes me an offer. After all, when you fancy rupturing a continuity that feels like a rut, taking yourself somewhere else for a little while is just the thing. If the everyday clutter can be left behind you and there is a chance of a fresh start, it works even better. For me, this is what the long break around Christmas and New Year does every year but once a year can never be enough. In fact, it is for that very reason that I want to disembark for while from the juggernaut that could land me on the doorstep of that much hyped season before I know it. Letting life carry you along is too easy so clearing some space and time to force a restart as well as allowing those batteries to be recharged only can be a good thing.
