We woke to a chilly morning with the snow still coating the high tops like a light dusting of icing sugar. The conditions meant that any tops were out, especially on the first day. Due to getting back late from South Africa, there had been no time for the planned practice walk in the Pentlands like I had hoped, so I had no idea of the abilities or limitations of the group - they all looked fairly fit, but that was nothing to go on when it came down to the bigger hills. I knew that the hills I planned to take them up over the next two weeks would be a serious undertaking for everyone so I wanted to put my mind at ease initially and see what they could do and what they could cope with.
I told James that I wanted to break them in easy to see what they could do - especially because the weather wasn't looking to great (although tomorrow was looking like it was going to be a stunning day). James agreed that it was a sensible approach so I suggested that we try the
Beinn Eighe Nature Trail. With the plan decided we set off back along the windy road to Kinlochewe. We turned left and headed along the Western shore of Loch Maree to the car park on the right hand side. The kids were all excited and they couldn't wait to get going but we held them back and explained to them about the strategy of walking together as a group, what pace to go along at, etc, etc. We also said to them that we wanted to see if they could cope well with this task and if they did, then we could attempt some of the bigger hills and do some real peak bagging.
I hadn't walked this particular trail myself but I had read about it online and in a couple of guidebooks. I knew that it was a fairly steep walk but didn't go higher than around 550 metres and it was meant to have an amazing view of Beinn Eighe from the viewpoint at the trail summit. I knew that this would be the perfect test for the kids and it would break them in gently and give them a taste for what was to come.
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| Ready for their first test in the Beinn Eighe Nature Trail car park, Loch Maree |
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| Winter on the Beinn Eighe Nature Trail |
We set off through the forest at a blistering pace; climbing steeply up the good path. However, the pace soon slowed and everyone stopped to take off layers - it was suddenly very mild. We stopped again at the waterfall and crossed the bridge over the Alltan Mhic Eoghainn. We then left the forest and the terrain turned into broken quartzite rocks and the path picked it's way through the complex landscape. As we reached 450 metres, it suddenly started snowing quite heavily without warning. Of course, everyone thought that this was hilarious, as we layered up again and then pushed on - not a complaint from anyone (I was most impressed). It wasn't long before we had reached the viewpoint and were looking out at a winter wonderland in all directions - stunning. There was some low cloud but the main tops of the mighty Beinn Eighe were mostly visible. Some of the kids asked if that was where we were going. "Not today...", I replied, "...but maybe later in the week." The look on some of their faces was priceless and James and I grinned at each other. This is exactly the start that I had wanted - it suited to keep them guessing and not to break them too early - it was meant to be fun (the most important thing). We huddled in the group shelters and munched down our grub. One of the girls then came over to us and showed us the perfect snowflakes on her gloves; I put out my hand to have a look for myself and, sure enough, they were perfect flakes. James explained that snowflakes like that meant that it was very cold high up in the air and you would usually expect those kind of conditions in winter.
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| A wintery looking Creag Dhubh, Sgurr Ban and Ruadh-stac Beag from the Beinn Eighe viewpoint |
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| Perfect Snowflakes on the Beinn Eighe Nature Trail |
We set off again and the clouds had now blown through and the views were even better than before. We followed the path around a couple of lochans and had an amazing view of a rather snow-covered Meall a' Ghiuthais. We continued the descent around the top of the Allt na h-Airighe and down the Cnoc na Gaoithe, where we had a spectacular view over Loch Maree to Slioch. The kids were all doing brilliantly and I knew that they were going to be an excellent group; all strong walkers with similar abilities.
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| Looking up to Meall a' Ghiuthais on the Beinn Eighe Nature Trail |
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| Heading back down in the sun with a snowy Slioch in the clouds behind, Beinn Eighe Nature Trail |
Further down, we entered the woods again at Coille na Glas-Leitire and we were soon back down at the car park in no time at all. The sun was now out in full force and it was really quite warm all of a sudden. I overheard a couple of the kids talking and they were laughing about how the walk had been like all four seasons at once - they were absolutely right!
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| The mighty Slioch above Loch Maree |
As it was still early afternoon and the sun was now out, we headed to the Gaineamh Mhor beach at Gairloch - a short drive up the road. James and I also remembered that we had all of the bouldering matts in the van with us so we took them down to the beach with us. Apart from the wind, it was a bit like summer on the beach. We had a couple of games of touch rugby and ultimate frisbee to keep the kids amused - but they seemed happy enough to amuse themselves while we chilled a little and admired the view of Beinn Alligin across the bay.
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| Sunny at Gaineamh Mhor beach, Gairloch |
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| A snowy Beinn Alligin from Gaineamh Mhor beach, Gairloch |
James and I then ran a small bouldering session for a few of the lads that were keen to give it a try. There were a few bigger rocks along the shore that were a perfect introduction.
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| Bouldering on the rocks at Gaineamh Mhor beach, Gairloch |
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| Bouldering on the rocks at Gaineamh Mhor beach, Gairloch |
As the afternoon wore on, the wind picked up and got a little cooler so we headed back to Torridon to get some grub and make plans for tomorrow. I was really pleased with how well the first day had gone and I was thankful that we had such a great group of kids - I knew that we would certainly be able to make the most of our time here in Torridon. On arrival back at the hostel, all the kids noticed how most of the snow on the hills had started to melt and that things were not quite as cold and wintery as they once were. The updated weather forecast was even better than what I had read this morning so I wanted to make the most of it. One of the options I had in my head was to take the group on an expedition from Diabaig to Red Point beach and camp there for one night - so tomorrow could be the perfect weather for that.
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| Chilly at Gaineamh Mhor beach, Gairloch |
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| Winter has gone from Liathach above Torridon Hostel |
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| Snow melting on the top of Maol Chean-dearg from Torridon Hostel |
