Allermuir, Capelaw and Harbour Hills

Taking advantage of a cracking evening, I headed up to Dreghorn Junction and parked the car near Chuckie Knowe. Time was against me but I managed to blast straight up Allermuir Hill and had a great view over to the Scald Law ridge.

Looking South to Scald Law from the side of Allermuir Hill, Pentland Hills

Looking South to Scald Law from Capelaw Hill, Pentland Hills

Sunset from Harbour Hill, Pentland Hills

Sunset from Harbour Hill, Pentland Hills

I then headed West to the bealach and up to the summit of Capelaw Hill and then on to Harbour Hill. I managed to snap a few nice pictures with my phone before the sun went down and I made my decent down to Torduff Reservoir and looped back round to the car - a lovely evening.

The Cairnwell Munros

My folks are over for a long weekend and Emily and I are staying with them for two nights in the Dalmunzie Castle. As usual, Dad was keen to bag a hill of description but we didn't want it to be the main focus of the weekend either, as we were staying in a rather nice hotel for the weekend after all!

Saturday was looking like a decent day, but it wasn't looking too good while we were having a late breakfast. However, as we headed towards Braemar, the clouds lifted completely and were replaced by a blazing sun and bright blue sky. As the weather was favourable and we didn't have much time, I set our sights on the easy round of The Cairnwell Munros from the Glenshee Ski Centre.

Carn Aosda from the main Ski Centre car park, Glenshee

Herbie checking out the route for the day, Glenshee

We parked up at the Ski Centre and were soon making our way up the stoney path to the summit of Carn Aosda. It was very easy going and straightforward. Not the most interesting of summits but on such a nice day we had a great view of the hills all around us. Herbie even recognised the An Socach ridge from earlier in this year - I was most impressed.

Looking Southwest towards Carn a' Gheoidh and Loch Vrotachan from the summit of Carn Aosda

Herbie nearing the summit of Carn Aosda with The Cairnwell behind, Glenshee

We pressed on quickly, as it was extremely windy on the top. The wind continued to hammer us as we made our way down to the bealach above Creag a' Choire Dhirich and past Loch Vrotachan. Here, we had a good view of the way up to The Cairnwell summit - which we would be back for later on. The landscape was more dramatic and far more scenic than I had expected, as we first headed to the top of Carn nan Sac and then on to the summit of Carn a' Gheoidh (passing a couple of Arctic Hares).

Loch Vrotachan, Glenshee

Heading along the top of Creag a' Choire Dhirich towards Carn a' Gheoidh

The Cairnwell from Creag a' Choire Dhirich

Herbie at Carn nan Sac

The summit of Carn a' Gheoidh from Carn nan Sac

We paused at the summit to slap on some more suncream before retracing our steps and heading for the ugly summit that is: The Cairnwell. It wasn't long before we were heading up the steeper scree and approaching the summit buildings. However, it was a bit of a struggle as the wind was absolutely hammering across us and made the final few metres quite challenging indeed. As soon as we reached the top, we took shelter behind the buildings and admired the view to the East across the Cairngorms.

Heading back towards the summit of The Cairnwell

A little blustery on The Cairnwell summit!

An Acrtic Hare on the side of The Cairnwell

As we headed back down to the car over the grassy, we passed more hares darting around. Herbie was buzzing that he was able to increase his Munro tally by 3 so easily and I was really happy with how the short day had gone. The walk was actually a great deal more enjoyable and scenic than I had expected - very underrated. On the way into Braemar for some grub, we spotted a large heard of Red Deer in the heather at the side of the road - a great day.

Red Deer in Glen Clunie

The Braids

It's been a while since my last blog entry as this summer has been quite busy since returning from our trip to Northern Ireland.

Hillend and Allermuir Hill from Braid Hills

Tonight I managed to make the most of a lovely evening and have a quick blast up Blackford Hill and The Braids. Not much to report on but I did have some lovely views of Arthur's Seat and The Pentlands from the summit trig on The Braids. There was also some amazing rays from the sun coming through the clouds over Craiglockhart.

Arthur's Seat from Braid Hills

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me but I managed to snap a few shots with my phone. Hopefully I'll have more exciting things to write about in the near future as August approaches.

Rays over Craiglockhart from Braid Hills

Slieve Donard

This week we are in Newcastle, Northern Ireland for my gran's 80th birthday celebrations. Newcastle is known as "where the dark Mourne sweeps down to the sea" and the highest of these: Slieve Donard (850m). Needless to say, when my Dad heard that we would be staying in Newcastle for the week he called me up and asked if I could take him to the top.

The summit of Slieve Donard from the Enniskeen House Hotel, Newcastle NI

Gearing up in the lobby of the Enniskeen House Hotel, Newcastle NI

As it turned out there was a favourable break in the showery weather on a suitable day so we made a plan for the ascent. My uncle Andrew and 9 year-old cousin John where also keen to attempt the hike so I agreed to take them too - even though they lacked any suitable gear and, despite my words of wisdom, insisted on wearing jeans!

Looking Northeast back towards Newcastle from Donard Wood

We pulled into the main car park and set off just after 9:30am. The path was good up through Donard Wood and as we exited out into the more open hills, the sun was shining down heavily. It was very mild and we all stopped to take a layer off, as we admired the view ahead of Eagle Rock and back down over the trees to Newcastle.

Heavy erosion to the path along the Glen River with Eagle Rock on the left

Eagle Rock, Newcastle NI

The path became wider and heavily eroded before we reached the good steps up and around the steeper slopes leading to The Mourne Wall at the bealach between Slieve Commedagh and the main summit of Slieve Donard. It was at this point that the weather changed; the clouds rolled in and the heavens opened on us. Waterproofs went on, for those who had them, while those in jeans simply had to 'get wet' - karma!

Looking Northeast back down the path from the side of Slieve Donard, Newcastle NI

Heading into the mist on the side of Slieve Donard, Newcastle NI

We were soon at The Wall and following it up to the summit of Slieve Donard. John and I pushed on at our own pace while Herbie tried hard to motivate Andrew at the back and get him to the top, as the rain hammered down.

Herbie and I rather wet on the side of Slieve Donard

John trying to encourage the older pair to get to the top!

At the top we found a large shelter with a trig point on top of it and after a while, the clouds lifted and we had a view. The highlight for me was the view over to Slieve Bearnagh and it's summit tors. We could also see The Mourne Wall making it's way around the Silent Valley - definitely a walk for the future and a good excuse to come back for a visit.

Looking Northeast down to Newcastle from the summit of Slieve Donard

Slieve Bearnagh from the summit of Slieve Donard

We descended the same way and the weather was a lot more pleasant than on the way up. The day went really well, considering the group - a nice walk.

Skimboarding at North Berwick

This weekend we were in North Berwick for a 50th birthday weekend. On Saturday evening the sun was still strong and warm so we took the opportunity to head to the beach. Emily's cousins had been on and on at us to try some Skimboarding on the beach for ages so this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Skimboarding, North Berwick

Skimboarding, North Berwick

We grabbed the boards and headed down to the shallows at Milsey Bay. I had never tried it before but Chris gave us a quick demo and it looked pretty simple... well, the idea certainly looked simple! It certainly wasn't easy - as I soon discovered after a few classic wipeouts on the sand. It was all about technique and I seemed to get better at it but nowhere near the level that Chris was - he made it look very easy (I'm sure it also helps that he only weighs around 6 stone!).

Despite my poor attempts, it was still brilliant fun and a magnificent setting with the sun setting on the beach.

Wipeout! Skimboarding, North Berwick

Skimboarding, North Berwick

A long drive home

The GWC Torridon Project 2010 was now at an end and we were heading back to Edinburgh. Seeing as though it was my first time leading a Project, I couldn't be any happier with how it had gone.

After arriving in winter-like conditions we had been truly blessed by the weather over the past couple of weeks. We had managed to sucessfully 'bag' a total of 5 Munros; including Beinn Alligin, Beinn Eighe and Sgorr Ruadh - a fine tick list indeed. Looking back at the days on the hill, I was very happy with the order in which we attempted the Torridon giants and the kids coped well with the progression of difficulty - the day we had on Beinn Eighe will certainly be in my thoughts for a long time: it was truly magical.

The Loch Maree exped was a great success and it was amazing that we were able to give the group that kind of experience - something that they won't be forgetting in a hurry. But I wondered if it would have been a completely different story had the weather been poor - a plan B needed perhaps?

I would have liked to have given the kids more opportunity to experience more rock climbing. On reflection, Beginners Slabs worked really well as an intro and Grass Crag was just too difficult for the group. All good thoughts to take in for next year.

A great deal of the success was down to a great team of staff in James, Laurie and Margot; I can't thank them enough for all the help and support they gave me throughout the trip and really helped to take some of the pressure off. The kids had also been an excellent bunch - they really embraced the true spirit of GWC Projects.

Considering a lot of the planning was quite last minute due to being stranded in South Africa, I was elated with how successful the trip had been and couldn't wait for next year!

Loch Maree Exped

Over the past two days, we have been on a canoe and kayaking expedition on Loch Maree - run by Boots N Paddles. After our epic day bagging Beinn Eighe on Tuesday, I made the knackered group pack their expedition kit and we split it all between dry bags - ready for the next two days and their final adventures.
We met Mike in a lay-by just further along the road from the Beinn Eighe Nature Reserve Trail car park, on the opposite bank to Rubha a' Ghiuthais. We first got the kids organised and packed up with all their kit, stoves and tents. Then we helped to unload all the boats from the trailers. Mike then spoke to the group and outlined the plan for the next two days and spoke a little about the history of the surrounding area; particularly Letterewe.

Getting ready to launch from the shore of Loch Maree with Slioch behind

We then split the group up into canoeists and kayakers and set about launching ourselves out onto Loch Maree. The shoreline was the perfect put-in spot and we were soon all out on the water. For most of the kids, it was their first time paddling so the first hour was spent learning the beginners strokes and discovering how the crafts could be turned and manoeuvred.

Launching into Loch Maree

Paddling on Loch Maree

Paddling on Loch Maree

The conditions were perfect; completely calm with hardly a breath of wind but not too hot with an overcast sky. We made good progress and stopped for lunch at a small beach just to the Southeast of Letterewe. Over lunch, I had a good chat with Mike and got to know him a little. He had been great with the kids and he seemed extremely experienced on the water. It was interesting to hear about how well his business was doing and what great plans he had for the future. He said that he had been really looking forward to this exped with us: right from the moment he had received the email from me with the idea. I knew that the area was protected because of the Black-throated Divers that nest on the Islands in Loch Maree. He said that he had been in touch with the National Reserve rangers and he knew what parts of the Islands to stay clear of and where the birds might be nesting.

Paddling on Loch Maree below Slioch

Paddling on Loch Maree

Lunch stop on the shore of Loch Maree

We set off again and headed for Isle Maree to explore. Mike showed the kids around the ancient chapel and told the story of Queen Victoria coming here to the wish tree - the kids loved it. There was certainly something special about the whole place and I certainly felt privileged to be there.

Sloch from Isle Maree, Loch Maree

Wish Tree on Isle Maree, Loch Maree

Wish Tree on Isle Maree, Loch Maree

Our next mission was to explore the rest of the Islands. I had said to Mike that I had read somewhere that one of the islands, Eilean Sùbhainn, had a small lochan with a small island in it; an island in a loch on an island in a loch! Mike said that he had read the same thing and he too was curious about it. We landed on the West shore of Eilean Sùbhainn and put the kids to task. They made short work of this and a couple of the lads waded in to stand on the island in a loch on the island in a loch - what a crazy sight!

Exploring the Islands on Loch Maree

Next, we had to find a spot to camp for the night. Looking at the map, Mike said it looked like there might be a flat patch of ground between two of the larger islands, on the North side of Eilean Dubh na Sroine. The water level was quite low, due to the recent dry weather, so there was a perfect flat shore for us to settle down for the night.

Pitching tents at our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

Our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

Our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

We unloaded the boats and set about pitching the tents and getting some grub going. It really was an idyllic spot and we were treated to a spectacular sunset.

Slioch from our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

Slioch from our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

Sunset from our camp on Eilean Dubh na Sroine, Loch Maree

The next morning, after packing up, we swapped the groups over so everyone had a chance to try both canoeing and kayaking. Once again, the first hour was spent going through the basics and playing a few games. Then Mike took us to a sheltered bay at one side of one of the islands where the kids could have a bit of a swim and play around in the water.
Finally we headed to the shore and landed at the car park at Slattadale and helped to load up the trailers with the boats. The weather had been perfect and the exped had been a complete success. We were all very happy with how it went and it was an amazing final adventure for the GWC Torridon Project 2010.