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Mountain Photos | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings - Part 3

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Hot, hot, hot…..too hot

Posted by admin on July 10th, 2014
On Beinn Each

On Beinn Each

After what had been quite a busy week already, Nita and I decided to make the best of the fine weather and go for another walk.   For quite a few years now I’ve wanted to climb Stuc a’Chroin, the neighbour of Ben Vorlich in the Southern Highlands.  I decided that I would like to climb it via the smaller top of Beinn Each to the south and then along the broad, knobbly connecting ridge.  It would make quite a long day as the only way back would be to retrace your steps back over Beinn Each.

At the summit of Beinn Each

At the summit of Beinn Each

Well then, yesterday was going to be the day.  We started quite early and drove up to the hill under almost cloudless skies ….it looked perfect.  Perhaps though, in retrospect, it was a little too perfect for a long day!  I’d forgotten just how steep a pull up it was to reach the summit of Beinn Each.  Hardly surprising really seeing as we’d last walked this hill perhaps eight or nine years ago and if I remember rightly, it was a grey and misty damp day with little or no views higher up.

Stuc a' Chroin from Beinn Each

Stuc a’ Chroin from Beinn Each

The path itself isn’t a bad one when you can see, but for me it was quite difficult and about half way up where it scouted around the edge, above some good size crags; we went off paste and made our way straight up.  The going was much easier underfoot as we were on a mix of grass and heather but it was very steep in places.  The views were spectacular though in the bright hot sunshine it really was quite sapping on the energy.  As we approached the top and saw the view towards our main hill, Stuc a’ Chroin, our spirits flagged…..it looked a long two and a half kilometres in this heat.

Towards Ben Ledi

Towards Ben Ledi

Having spent the last 20 years learning how to adapt how I do things, I decided that it was perhaps time to adapt our route…..we’d call it a halt here at the top of Beinn Each and instead of having a tiring, hot and sweaty haul to Stuc a’ Chroin and back, we’d make camp here and sit and enjoy the views of it for an hour or so!   I have to say, that Nita was in full agreement and would possibly have mutinied if I’d even suggested trying to carry on!    We sat down, dug out the lunch packs and simply enjoyed the views ….although Nita later suggested I had done so for a short while ……while snoring!

And that is really about that, except for a rather disturbing incident on the way down.  We’d stopped to take some photos of Stuc a’ Chroin when we suddenly had a large insect buzzing around us.  It definitely wasn’t just a large bumble bee as it had a much deeper louder bussing sound.  And it was very persistent.  Nita said that it was large and torpedo shaped…..and it seemed pretty aggressive.  We tried to move away as quickly as possible but this wasn’t too easy for me on what was quite steep ground, especially as I was also flailing my walking poles around trying to fend the bug off!!!   For anyone who was watching it must have looked like that scene out of Mr Bean when he was bothered by a wasp!   The thing came back repeatedly for about five or six minutes I guess before finally losing interest.  Phew!

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Lochnagar

Posted by admin on July 5th, 2014
The NE facing corrie of Lochnagar

The NE facing corrie of Lochnagar

When I visited the John Muir Trust centre in Pitlochry earlier this year to discuss my exhibition there in May / June 2015, I was asked whether I might include some paintings of that region. In the past I’d walked and created paintings of Ben Vrackie, Beinn a’ Ghlo and the Drumochter Hills but I’d always fancied heading a little further east and north to explore beyond Glen Shee. If ever I needed one, this seemed the perfect excuse to do some walking around Lochnagar and the White Mounth ….with the hope that I would get some interesting ideas for paintings.

Enjoying a day on the hill

Enjoying a day on the hill

The main reason we’d not been to this area before is that it is just a little too far away from Irvine. We would need to stay over night somewhere in order to walk any of the hills here. When we were a little younger and sprightlier, Nita and I would take my old light weight Saunders tent and camp and walk ….but we gave that up a good few years ago. Indeed, the last such outing was back in 1999 not long after we’d moved to Scotland and we spent a few days out on the Isle of Jura and after that the wee tent was put into retirement!

Lochnagar

Lochnagar

Now, fifteen years later, we decided the best way for us to get walking in these more distant regions of Scotland, was to get ourselves another small tent …..and hope we were still agile enough to get in and out of it! Several weeks ago we went up to the large Tiso in Glasgow and bought ourselves a small light weight Vango tent…..and on Sunday afternoon did the drive up to Ballater and pitched it for the first time. It’s a great little tent and most importantly for me, very easy to pitch. We’d chosen the easy option for the first outing and had booked a couple of nights at the Ballater caravan and camping site…..and it proved a very good choice.

The summit of Lochnagar

The summit of Lochnagar

Although quite busy it was also quiet and had excellent facilities including a washroom, toilet and shower for disabled visitors. This might sound daft as my sole reason for being there was to try and get to the summit of Lochnagar, but when you’re visually impaired it’s often the simpler things that cause problems …like finding your way around public conveniences, camp site shower blocks etc. Suffice to say, I used the disabled facilities and it made my stay there so much easier. …. I would strongly recommend this site.

At the summit of Lochnagar

At the summit of Lochnagar

Anyway, on to the walk itself. We’d got up first thing and driven the 10 miles to the start point in Glen Muick where there is a good car park, toilets and the Balmoral Estate Visitor Centre. We arrived just before 08.00 and eating a quick breakfast headed off up the main path. Low cloud shrouded the hills and although it had been raining when we first arrived, this had stopped by the time we were walking and we were pleased to see the clouds rising and breaking as we gained height. The path led up to the beallach between the main bulk of Lochnagar and Meikle Pap and this overlooks the great NE facing corrie of Lochnagar. As we reached this point the cloud finally lifted off of the summit and a bright patch of sunshine lit up half of the corrie. This really is a fine view point with the huge cliffs dropping into the corrie and its beautiful small dark loch. We stood for a good time just taking the scene in…..and thinking of potential paintings. The rocks seemed to drop in vertical bands with several big gullies obvious and lower down there were several large chevron shaped patches of snow…..what a great hill ….what a great mountain.

Retreating ....and wet!

Retreating ….and wet!

From this point, the path led up steeply through boulders of all sizes and shapes. Being a very popular hill, the path makers had been busy and done an excellent job of creating a winding staircase up onto the plateau at around 1070 m. From this point on it was just a pleasant walk around the rim of the corrie to the summit at 1155m. The views didn’t last all the time as clouds rolled in on a couple of occasions, but thankfully lifted again as we approached the small cone of crags that marks the summit ….and we arrived in bright warm sunshine. The views were even bigger from here and mile after mile of Scotland lay all around us, a wonderful patchwork of colour, line and texture.

Rain and cloud clearing from Meikle Pap, evening

Rain and cloud clearing from Meikle Pap, evening

Not really fancying the descent back through the steep boulders, we decided to follow another path down, although this led eventually to a steep section by the side of waterfalls and when we reached this I decided it was going to be very difficult for me to get down safely ….especially as by this time it had become very dark and was raining heavily. We retraced our steps a half kilometre to where another path led back around the side of the hill and eventually back to our outward route ….but avoiding the steep boulders! This did add an hour or so onto our walk but when you can’t see too much it’s better to adapt your route and take a little longer than to risk having an accident. As it turned out, we got some great views later as the rain and low cloud once again broke and lifted off of the higher ground. The one big problem though, was that we got back to Ballater too late for a pub meal ….and had to make do with a couple of pints of ‘Trade Winds’ and a packet of crisps for our evening meal…..what a hardship! What a day!

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Another piece in the jigsaw

Posted by admin on June 14th, 2014

On Wednesday evening after what had already been a very busy week for us both, we fell prey to a good weather forecast for the east of Scotland and Nita suggested we do another trip to Glen Shee and have a recce of the glen leading up to Loch Callater …and maybe up onto one of the Munro’s too.  Until the other week on Tolmount we never even knew of Loch Callater or that you could get to it from the northern end of Glen Shee using Jock’s Road.  It’s amazing what you can see from the top of a hill!

Overlooking Loch Callater

Overlooking Loch Callater

Another early start saw us at the Glen Shee ski centre cafe at about nine o’clock and after succumbing  to the call of a bacon sandwich and coffee, we started walking just under an hour later.  It’s a five km walk up the glen to Loch Callater but it’s a very beautiful walk with the river rushing along at your side.  When we reached the end of the loch we took the path marked on the map that leads all the way to the summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor.  In a way it was quite strange following what was in most places a very good path all the way to the top of a hill rather than wandering over open hillside … but it was a very pleasant walk and we reached the summit just in time for a late lunch.  The views on the way up had been good, especially so as we were looking across to the hills we’d walk just a couple of weeks ago.  From the summit though, the views took us into new territory…..taking in several other Munro’s and the fine summit of Lochnagar rising above the others a good few kilometres away.  I always find it particularly exciting seeing new hills for the first time and we’ll certainly be going back later this summer to explore further…..taking the tent though so that we avoid the long drive before the walk.

The flat summit of Carn an t'Segairt Mor

The flat summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor

As we were leaving the summit of Carn an t’Segairt Mor we met a couple of young chaps and their dog and stopped to have a quick chat.  It turned out that they’d already walked all the way over from Lochnagar and were making for the next Munro in the group ….quite a walk.  We of course were moving at a slightly more leisurely pace and after leaving them, we headed slowly back down towards the car.   By the time we’d got back I really felt that I’d fitted the latest piece of the magnificent Scottish landscape jig saw into place ….can’t wait to get back.

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Big space

Posted by admin on June 6th, 2014
East of Glen Shee ....a lot of open space

East of Glen Shee ….a lot of open space

Last July Nita and I drove up to Glen Shee with the intention of walking four of the big grassy Munros to the north east of the ski centre. It’s quite a big walk but the hills are mainly grassy and it’s easy underfoot, so it should have been a very pleasant day. As it turned out it was a little too pleasant…….. we’d gone in the middle of the hottest part of the summer. When we reached Glen Shee at about half past eight in the morning it was already baking hot and we quickly decided to do a shorter walk to match the conditions. Instead of walking all four hills we did a more leisurely circuit over the nearest two tops.

So, after a busy week for both Nita and I last week, we decided at the last minute to make the most of a good forecast for Saturday and headed back to Glen Shee ….this time with the aim of walking the two more distant hills we’d missed in the heat last year. This time when we reached the ski centre at the top of Glen Shee it was perfect conditions for a walk ….high cloud with patchy sun and a gentle breeze……so good in fact that we just had to stop at the ski centre cafe for coffee and biscuits first!

From the broad ridge near Cairn of Claiss

From the broad ridge near Cairn of Claiss

The hills were looking great as we made our way uphill from the starting point about a kilometre below the ski centre, with big patches of snow picking out the edges of corries and filling hollows. There were particularly big areas of snow on the north slopes of Glas Meol and at one point Nita spotted a big herd of deer running across one of them. I have to say, that we were amazed at just how dry everywhere was…..it certainly didn’t look like there had been anywhere near as much rain there as we’d had up in Assynt the previous two weeks. Large areas of peat were starting to dry out and crack and it made for very pleasant walking.

Our route took us out past Cairn of Claiss, one of the two hills we’d walked back in the heat last summer. This high boulder strewn top makes a very good view point but we decided to keep going rather than making the short detour up the boulders and stones to the summit. Even so, the feeling of space here is really strong. The high, open and wild grass and heather covered hills stretch away in all directions ……you seem very small indeed in this magnificent setting. It had taken us about two and a half hours to reach Cairn of Claiss and, as we’d been walking the reverse of the route suggested in the Munro guide, we’d seen no one at all ….despite there being half a dozen vehicles parked in the car park.

A view from Tom Buidhe

A view from Tom Buidhe

Our walk then took us out across the open slopes towards Tom Buidhe…our first top of the day. Still classified as a Munro, (it’s a very strange business!) but being of less height than its neighbours beyond, Tom Buidhe rather merges into the landscape when seen from Cairn of Claiss but still makes a good view point from it’s lonely little summit cairn. It’s neighbour and our second top of the day, Tolmount, lay just a kilometre or so away and by this time we were meeting many of the occupants of the parked cars …for an hour or so the hills seemed quite busy …although in all honesty we probably only saw about 20 other folks the whole day.

Approaching the top of Tolmount

Approaching the top of Tolmount

It’s just a small descent and rise from Tom Buidhe to Tolmount and from the second hill you get a great view down the steep sided glen to Loch Callater . For us, it had just been a gentle wander up grassy slopes to reach the summit of Tolmount but from Jock’s Road down in the glen it must look quite an imposing sight.

We wandered our way back in increasingly bright and warm sunshine and this time made the detour up to the top of Cairn of Claiss ……the views by this time in the early evening were taking on a strangely blue hue and with everyone else back in their cars by this stage, Nita and I had a very quiet descent, enjoying the lengthening shadows and rich evening colours.

We’re off back to Glen Rosa on Friday in order for me to do some more preliminary drawings as preparation for the big drawing project in November and December. It’s going to be a working walk I guess….. it’s much better than being in an office though!!

Photos by Anita Groves

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Back from Assynt

Posted by admin on May 30th, 2014
From the summit of Cul Mor

From the summit of Cul Mor

That’s me back in Irvine after a two week long holiday in Assynt in the NW of Scotland.  As usual after we get back from a trip away, I’m madly rushing around trying to catch up with everything.  We were staying at the small caravan site at Achmelvich just a few miles to the north of Lochinver and getting an Internet connection was almost impossible.  We did have access to a couple of different networks but neither was available.  After a bit of asking around we found we could get connected if we went to the small sports centre in Lochinver and this was useful for keeping up to date with emails …..but I decided to take a break from the blog and FB……hence the silence on these pages for a couple of weeks.

I must admit it has been a very relaxing time without the hassle of crashing computers and I’ve come back feeling good for the break.  That said, I did use some bad language a short while ago when my computer screen reader decided to throw a wobbly and then refuse to work at all ….but we’ve got over that so hopefully this blog will get written without any more upsets!

Looking towards Suilvern

Looking towards Suilvern

As you know, we’ve been up to Assynt on a number of occasions in the past.  It’s a wonderful part of Scotland with a very distinctive landscape that I just love.  Over the years we’ve walked many of the fine hills here but these are always worth revisiting and there are  always others just a little further away to be explored.  As it turned out, the weather didn’t really play ball and we had a lot of low cloud, rain and on occasion’s high winds which tended to keep us low rather than venturing onto the tops.    Even so, we got to see some great views and wander through some really wild places.  When it wasn’t raining, I even managed to sit down and get some quick sketches made, a couple of which I’m hoping to develop into larger more finished drawings now that I’m back in the studio.

From Cul Mor

From Cul Mor

We did get a couple of nice days however and on these we headed up –hill.  Back in 2008 we’d had a fabulous day on Cul Mor and I’d always wanted to do a return trip ….so that’s where we headed last Monday.  Have to say that it didn’t look altogether promising as we drove south the few miles towards the hill ….we couldn’t see it at all to start with …thick low cloud was completely shrouding the hill.  There were however a few small breaks in the cloud and as we were putting the boots on we noticed one of the tops  breaking clear of the cloud.  For the next half an hour we had some great views as the hills all started to shrug off their covering of cloud to leave everything bathed in a pale sunshine……it was looking good for the rest of the day.  On our previous visit in 2008 we’d tackled this hill via a steep rocky slope to the north of the hill that lead directly to the summit.  This time we headed into the big grassy corrie between the hills two main summits, and took a gentler route up.  It’s a fabulous  place with the steep rocky summits rising on two sides and a very big view east to mainly empty country and remote hills.   This grassy corrie was like an oven with the sun by this time, fairly blazing down and the hillsides protecting us from the breeze.

From the beallach at the top of the corrie, it’s a short and rather rocky little pull up the main summit but instead of heading there we decided to wander out to the western end of the hill where big cliffs fall down to the loch strewn moor-land below.  It’s a great place to sit for a while with many of the classic Assynt hills all around .   Our walk back from here not only took in the main summit but many little detours to look at some of the strange and beautiful rock formations caused by erosion of the flat beds of sandstone from which much of the upper section of the mountain is formed.  Indeed, much of the soil there is almost completely made up of sand …. you could be on a beach in places!

Suilvern from Cul Mor

Suilvern from Cul Mor

We normally get back from these May holidays a few pounds lighter but this year I think we may well have put some weight on …….we certainly ate out a few more times especially after finding a fantastic bistro in Lochinver that served really excellent food and beer.   They also made a wonderful range of pies which I managed to resist during the holiday only to find that they do a ‘Pies by post’ service …..so I may just have to order a couple next time we have something to celebrate.

Anyway, I’m back in my studio this week and starting to enjoy the painting again.  It’s always difficult after a break away but I’ve started a new 120 x 120 cm painting …..so not a bad start.

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Landscape mimics painting?!

Posted by admin on May 2nd, 2014
My two hill guides, Nita and Guy ....wouldn't be on the hills without them!

My two hill guides, Nita and Guy ….wouldn’t be on the hills without them!

As you know, for many years my interest in painting and hill-walking were kept well apart.  My work was based around man-made environments, building sites; townscapes etc and the days spent in the hills were just for fun.   When I moved to Scotland in 1998 however, things started to change.  After attending a very successful mountain skills course for visually impaired people at Glenmore Lodge in 2001, I met up with Guy Hansford (one of the fully sighted volunteer guides on the course) and with his help and that of the folk in our local mountaineering club Air na Creagan, we started tackling more serious hills and getting out into the wilds on a very regular basis.  In February 2002, Guy and I joined 11 members of Air na Creagan on a weekend trip to Corrour and on the Saturday we headed into the hills on a day that was to change my work as an artist.  We experienced a ‘proper’ Scottish hill day …..one that included all four seasons in just a few hours, from patchy sunshine and heavy clouds, to driving snow and back to almost cloudless skies and bright sunshine.  At the end of the day I realised that I just had to start using all these amazing views and scenes as the basis for my paintings …..the rest, as they say….. .   Now, when I’m out walking I’m constantly looking for things that I might be able to use in my paintings.  Hill-walking is not just for fun now …it’s work too!  It’s a tough job but somebody has to do it!

Anyway, you’ve heard all that before, but on Tuesday, we once again joined forces with our friend Guy and headed up to Ben Lomond for a leisurely wander together.  We had picked another perfect day and the misty atmospheric conditions as we started, quickly cleared and by lunchtime we had bright sunshine .  Our walk took us up the normal ‘tourist’ route until we reached  the long almost flat section at around 600m.  It had been a great ascent and we heard lots of different birds as we passed through the lower now partially wooded sections …including a very active woodpecker somewhere close by… ..it was really wonderful.

Landscape mimics painting?!

Landscape mimics painting?!

From the 600m mark though, we left the main path with its walkers making their way to the summit, and instead, cut off down the side of the hill to reach a perfectly quiet and secluded spot by the stream that flows from between the main bulk of Ben Lomond and the Ptarmigan ridge.  This was the perfect lunch spot and being out of the breeze, it was really quite hot too.  A short way further on and we picked up the Ptarmigan path which we followed back to our starting point.  The views out over Loch Lomond from this path are wonderful and on Tuesday the loch was almost completely calm, reflecting the big clouds and skies.  As we looked down I suddenly noticed that  I was looking at something that quite closely resembled the new large 120 x 120 cm canvas I’m working on…….it was quite strange to see!

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Stretching the legs…..

Posted by admin on April 25th, 2014

As you will have noticed, there has been a slight blip on the blog front recently….. that can be put for the most part down to a troublesome computer.   Anyway, I’m back in business now, so, at long last….. a blog.

On Carn Chreag

On Carn Chreag

As I look out of the window now, it’s a grey overcast scene, but for the most of the last week, ten days, it’s been really good weather here in the west of Scotland….. and I’ve been making the most of it.  Being both school and bank holidays, there have been a lot of people down on the harbour side here in Irvine and so it’s been important that I’ve been at my studio.  I’ve certainly had a lot of visitors which has been good and as this has been the run up to the Open Studios Ayrshire event this year, it’s been a good way of promoting that too.  Of course, having my studio open to the public is nothing out of the ordinary for me …when I’m working, the door is always open and visitors are always welcome to call in and see what work is on the go.  However, taking part in an official Open Studios event like this, is very good publicity for me  and I’ve been delighted to get involved and be one of the 47 studios open in Ayrshire over this coming weekend Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th April.  It should be a good event and of course, for many folk it’s the only time of the year when they open the studio door.   If you’re not doing anything else this weekend why not visit some of the many artists and craftspeople taking part this year.  You can find full details by visiting: www.openstudiosayrshire.com .

From the summit of Beinn nam Fuaran

From the summit of Beinn nam Fuaran

But, fine weather is not just about working and being in my studio.  I just had to get out in the hills and we managed three walks in just eight days …which was pretty good for us.   We’d started out by taking a day in the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh, (see my last blog), then a very gentle wander up Meall Odhar near Tyndrum last Tuesday.  Finally with the forecast set for almost cloudless skies, we decided we’d have to do a longer walk on the Friday.   I’ve wanted to reach the top of Beinn nam Fuaran, a steep grassy hill that rises to just over 800m but is somewhat tucked out of the way.  In the guidebooks they suggest it can be walked as part of a big circular day taking in five hills in total but I’ve always felt that this would just be a slog with no time to enjoy your surroundings.  So then, over the years we’ve visited these hills individually or in pairs, but Beinn nam Fuaran has always been a little out of reach.  This time however, I was determined to reach its summit…..but not before a good breakfast!

We timed our drive north so that we arrived at the Green Welly in Tyndrum just as they opened their doors at 08.30 and were second in line for coffee and bacon roll.  They really do make an exceedingly fine and well filled bacon roll at the Green Welly.   A five minute drive back down the road took us to a small car park just off the main road on the line of the West Highland Way.  As the crow flies, it’s just over 9km from the car park to the summit of Beinn nam Fuaran but there’s quite a bit of ascent and descent in between.

The air that day was really clear despite the bright sun and the big hills with their splattering of snow, looked especially fine. Streams rushed down the hillsides, full and busy from the melting snow above …it was really quite idyllic.  We did pass a few people on the long crossing between Carn Chreag and Beinn nam Fuaran ….but they had their heads down and were I think doing the five hills in a oner …..best of luck to them …we were going much slower!

We had to descend to about 400 m before the steep pull up to the summit of Beinn nam Fuaran which we reached just before 15.00.  It was well worth the effort, (even the cramping legs on the last hundred feet up the hill).  The views were really big and there was no noise except for the wind, an occasional passing insect and the call of a Raven circling overhead.

Below Ben Challum ....evening light

Below Ben Challum ….evening light

In all honesty we were running a bit late and there was the definite possibility of us finishing our walk in the dark …but what the heck.  As it turned out, we got back to the car about 20.45 and there was still plenty of light.  We even made it back to Tyndrum in time to get some chips and coffees before the chippy closed …so what more can you ask?!  What a day….

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Staggering around in the dark!

Posted by admin on April 15th, 2014

I sometimes forget just how little I can see ….until that is my PC crashes and I have to try and use this laptop.  It’s not that it’s actually any more difficult to use, it’s just that its different.  The  answer to being visually impaired I think, is routine.  When suddenly what you’re used to is unavailable, things get a whole lot more challenging ….and more importantly, when you’re running a business, time consuming.  You know what they say about time being money ?  As my sight has got worse over the years, small problems with the computer become large ones and I seem to spend more of my time working on the computer than I do on the paintings……or it certainly seems like that!  As an example of this ….I’ve now spent almost an hour and a half just getting this laptop booted up and getting to this point.  Ahhhhh! 

Anyway, I’ll stop my moaning and get on with the blog ….which is far from staggering around in the dark ….it’s about the opposite in fact …..it’s about wandering over the fine little tops of the Pentland Hills the other day.   Our last walk, in the snow around Loch Ossian the other week, was great but we really needed to get a few metres of ascent and descent into our legs this time.  As usual we were looking to follow the best weather and after changing our plans at the last minute, we decided to head over to the east and enjoy our annual visit to the Pentlands.  These hills are not huge in any way but there is a bit of ascent and descent between each one so at the end of the day you feel like you’ve had a good walk.

From Turnhouse Hill

From Turnhouse Hill

The forecast seemed to get it right as after a very wet drive over from Irvine, as we neared the hills, the cloud broke and the sun started to come out.  By the time we’d got the boots on it was looking really good.  At the point where the path starts heading up towards Turnhouse Hill, it takes a small footbridge over a stream and as we crossed, Nita spotted a Dipper sitting on a rock not far away.  It was great as with a few directions I managed to find it with my monocular.   From this point, the path climbs at first gently and then more steeply to reach the top of Turnhouse Hill.  It’s a fabulous view point and I guess, needs to be as by this time the legs are complaining somewhat!   The big views however, continued for the rest of the day as we wandered along the ridge.  Nita could see the two bridges over the Firth of Forth, as well as  Edinburgh airport with the planes coming and going.  It’s quite strange to be up in the hills and yet so close to a city.

Our original plans had  simply been to walk along the ridge to West Kip before descending into the glen and walking back along the single track road  past the two reservoirs.  However, as we approached the summit of Scald Law, (the highest point in this group of hills) I remembered South Black Hill ….a top that rises to the south west of Scald Law and somewhere we’d never been to before.  It seemed well worth a detour and being to the south of the main line of hills, gave some wonderfully different views.  It was about at this point that Nita suggested that instead of walking back along the road in the glen, we go back the way we’d come ….thus giving us a few more metres of ascent and descent.  It seemed like a good idea and made a great little day.  As we got back to the wee footbridge we were given a quick fly-by from the Dipper and on walking the final few hundred metres through the woods to the car park …we were treated to the sound of a woodpecker on one of the trees….what a great way to finish a day.

When I feel like I’m staggering around in the dark using the computer, I just have to remind myself of all the hills I walk and the paintings I paint!

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Spring colours

Posted by admin on March 13th, 2014
A remnant for the old Caledonian Forest

A remnant for the old Caledonian Forest

What a difference a few days make.  After last weeks very grey and cloudy walk on Tinto, this week we saw the Scottish landscape at its very best under almost clear blue skies.  The colours everywhere were stunning and although we only walked a fairly small hill we managed to spend over nine hours in the process.  It was such a stunningly beautiful day that it just demanded that we keep stopping to look and take in the scene.

I really love this time of year with winter still very much around, (we set off with frost covering everything and the bigger hills white with snow) but summer closing in rapidly.  It was great too that even setting off from Irvine at just after 06.00 there was light in the sky and the sun rose over the Glasgow sky-line as we crossed the Erskine Bridge heading north.

We were making for Tyndrum but not for Meall Odhar which had been our original target last week, but for its neighbour across the glen, Fiarach 652 m.  We’ve never walked this hill and it was only last week while pawing over the map with my magnifier looking for the route up Meall Odhar that I spotted it and started looking for a route to it too.  It’s basically the high point of a large area of wild upland ground  that is surrounded on all sides by the higher hills, Ben More, Ben Challum, Beinn Dubhchraig and Ben Lui …to name but a few.  It’s a fine location that just demands a perfect day ….and what better than a clear, cold early spring Wednesday in March?

Ben More from Fiarach

Ben More from Fiarach

As we wanted to stretch our legs a bit more this week, we decided to park the car in the village of Tyndrum and walk back along the West Highland Way the few kilometres to the big bridge crossing the river flowing out of Cononish Glen.  This is a beautiful little section of the West Highland Way ….a proper little footpath the meanders its way along through mixed woodland and alongside streams .  The views from this path alone were superb and we got good views of the hill we were going to walk.  From the river bridge we left the WHW and followed an estate track that lead over the railway and then lead around the flanks of Fiarach for a couple more kilometres to a large area of conifer plantation.  On the way it went through a fabulous area of the old Caledonian forest that made this truly highland scene even more so.

At the start of the plantation it was simply a case of making our way up the open hillside, at first along side the trees and then climbing above them.  I have to say that I’ve never been too impressed with these conifer plantations but on this occasion I was pleasantly surprised.  We stopped level with the top corner of the plantation and sat down in bright sun to catch our breath, give the aching calf muscles a rest and to take in the views.  As we did we were aware of all of the bird song coming from the dense trees to our left.  One bird in particular ….we think it was probably a Thrush, was singing at the top of its voice and it made the place even more special.

Nita at the summit of Fiarach

Nita at the summit of Fiarach

A little higher up and the steep slopes eased and we came into the first big patches of snow.  It’s a hummocky area of grass, moss, small crags and numerous little lochs and pools.  The biggest of these, Lochain Fiarach, was almost completely frozen and had varying amounts of snow lying on it …where it was just ice, it was a beautiful shade of blue, green, and grey and this turned paler to white around the edges ….it reminded me of the ‘white’ sandy beaches we saw last year on the west coast of Harris.

Despite the generally featureless nature of the ground up here, the summit itself was a surprise ….set atop a craggy little spine that rose 30 or 40 metres above the rest of the moor.  It made a great setting and a wonderful place to stand and take in all the bigger snow capped peaks around.  The nearest of these, Beinn Dubhchraig looked particularly massive and Nita could make out three tiny figures plodding up the heavily snow covered slopes towards its summit.  We  stopped numerous times to sit and look and enjoy the colours, textures and patterns …and were impressed  to find two other visitors to this little hill ….a pair of what we think were Golden Plovers.

The summit of Fiarach from Lachain Fiarach

The summit of Fiarach from Lachain Fiarach

This really was a fine day …..it had a similarity to the wee hill, Ghlas Bheinn on the edge of Rannoch Moor that we tend to visit most years.  I definitely think we’ll be back to Fiarach again next spring.

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East vs. West?

Posted by admin on March 9th, 2014
Not quite the sunny east, but better than the west ...Tinto.


Not quite the sunny east, but better than the west …Tinto.

As you may have read on my Face Book page we’d planned to get out for a walk on Wednesday.  The forecast had been really quite good for the west Highlands that day, with low wind speeds, predominantly dry, reasonably high cloud and some sunshine.   We’d decided that we’d drive up to Tyndrum and walk Meall Odhar, a small hill that rises immediately to the west of the village and should on a fine day, offer great views into Cononish Glen and across to the bigger hills around it.  We’d walked this hill a good number of years ago with our friend Guy.  Quite when exactly (8 / 9 years ago perhaps) I can’t quite remember.  If you’re reading this Guy perhaps you can let me know.  Guy is far more organised than me and keeps a log of all the walks and climbs he does.  He did give me a copy of the spread sheet he designed for the purpose so that I could keep my own record …but of course  I never quite managed to keep it going after an initial bout of enthusiasm and now I’m working full time on the painting ….well I have a good excuse!  Anyway, the day the three of us all went to Meall Odhar it was pretty miserable weather. ….very low dark cloud and rain.  Needless to say that we didn’t see anything as we plodded our way up through dripping trees and then followed the steep zigzagging path up through the old lead mine to reach the open hillside.  It was, that day, a very damp walk but I’ve often thought that it’d be well worth going back on a fine winter day ….hence our plans for Wednesday

These plans however, were based on a forecast I’d seen on Monday morning and unfortunately after getting back late from my studio that evening, I’d forgotten to check the new forecast which is issued early evening each day.  The original forecast had suggested that Tuesday wouldn’t be good weather, but on Tuesday morning I found myself admiring the garden from the back door ….and it was bright sunshine.  At that point it occurred to me that perhaps things had changed and Nita grabbed her Kindle and went to the forecast page.  Sure enough, now Wednesday was looking really quite grim …instead of dry and bright and calm ….it was now winds gusting 45 mph, low cloud and persistent and at times heavy rain and higher up, snow.  Ahhhhhh!   Grabbing for anything that might give us hope, we went to the Met Office forecast instead …only to be met with the same ….and  ..AND ….a ‘weather warning’.  My language at this point was not good!

Now then, my good friend Norma, who lives in Angus, has been telling me for years that she lives in the sunny east and we live in the wet west ….and in all honesty, she has a point!  We looked at the forecasts for south east Scotland and sure enough, although not brilliant, it did suggest that we’d get a reasonably dry walk  if we headed in that direction.  Nita had been working night shifts at the weekend and was doing twelve and a half hour day shifts on Thursday and Friday, so we didn’t want a huge walk or for that matter, a huge drive…..just somewhere we could get a few metres of ascent and descent into our legs and some fresh air into our lungs.  Tinto, the small but prominent little hill to the south of Lanark seemed to fit the bill and so we made our way over there instead of north to Meall Odhar.

As changes of plan go, it was a good one.  We did get our walk and we did stay dry, if a little wind blown, especially at the very top of Tinto ….and what is more, we got back to the car and out of our walking gear just five minutes before the rain making its way over from the west arrived.  Perfect timing.  It’s good to be flexible!

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