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“Listening to Arran”, or “Us humans are very noisy you know”

Approaching the Isle of Arran

Approaching the Isle of Arran

Yesterday Nita and I spent five hours over on the Isle of Arran.  We weren’t up in the snow covered hills, or enjoying the wilds of Glen Rosa or Sannox however, instead we simply took our time wandering along the shore-line from the ferry to Brodick Castle gardens and back.  Now then, I know I haven’t been getting out walking much this last few months, but even I’m not that unfit that it takes me five hours to walk this relatively short distance!

If you follow my Face Book page, (Keith Salmon – Scottish Landscape Artist) you’ll have seen that I’ve been pondering over how I might develop my work if the little bit of sight I currently have, deteriorates.   Apart from the obvious solution, to return to making sculpture, I have over the last couple of years been thinking about the possibilities of using sound in some way to compliment the paintings and drawings.

You’ll remember that when I created the big Glen Rosa drawing last month, I had arranged for a time lapse camera to be fitted to record each days work.  This was done by Graham Byron and his team at Model X Media and as Graham is the sound engineer at the Harbour Arts Centre, Nita suggested to me that I ask him for advice about how I might create outdoor sound recordings.  I spent some time explaining what I was thinking of trying to do and he very kindly offered to lend me some recording equipment and show me how to use it.

So then, the purpose of yesterday’s leisurely stroll around Brodick Bay to the castle and back was for me to tryout the small recorder Graham lent me.  I’d already tried it out a couple of times along the harbour side here in Irvine and so had, I thought, a rough idea of which buttons to press.  Well, it wasn’t quite that easy. When you can’t read the screen and are basically a bit of a technology dork…. even four buttons can be a bit confusing when you’re out there in the field!!  My first attempt at recording some sound, (at the point where the path crosses a wee bridge very close to the sea shore) was a bit of an epic.  Needless to say I couldn’t get the recorder to work!  Nita came to the rescue and pointed out that the batteries were flat.  After that, with a new set of batteries, I was off and running …or stumbling.  I thought it would be nice to record the twin sounds of the waves breaking on the shore to my right and the water slopping around in the stream to my left.  Simple…..only I’d forgotten that the path over the bridge was a popular one and after just a few seconds of recording, a small school party on bicycles trundled by. Not too bad you’d have thought, only that one of the children fell off their bike, (luckily no damage done) but there was much kafuffle.  It was amazing ….the wee microphone caught it all!

We continued along the shore with me stopping regularly to record some more sounds.  After two or three attempts I was fairly confident that I was pushing the right buttons and I started to think more about the sounds around me and how I might use them with my work.  The microphone was really quite sensitive and picked up a very broad range of sounds ….giving great depth to the recordings.  Of course, I found that there was a huge amount of “noise pollution”, (not all of it made by me I hasten to add).  However, at one point in the grounds of Brodick castle I thought I’d try record the sound of a very small stream of water that was trickling over some rocks.  No sooner had I started the recording than a fishing boat out in the bay, fired up its marine diesel, a vehicle came along the road behind us and a plane flew overhead on its way to Prestwick airport …..and I started swearing! We humans are very noisy!   Of course though, it didn’t matter.  I was just out to see what the machine would do and what kind of problems I might encounter ….it was all good fun.

A fuzzy Beinn Nuis ....I think!

A fuzzy Beinn Nuis ….I think!

On our return to the ferry, I’d made about 20 short recordings and the whole process had started to make me think about my work in a slightly different way.  I still haven’t a clue how I might use sound in my work, but I’m very excited after this first day out with the recorder.  I think there are a lot of possibilities.  I now have to ask Graham to show me the next step, of downloading the recordings onto my PC and how to edit them.  This blog is therefore; very silent ….but watch out, future blogs could get very noisy!

Stretching the legs…..

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….

Glen Rosa – a working walk

Don’t be too shocked, we finally got the boots on again and made it across to the Isle of Arran yesterday. As you know, I’ve wanted to get back to Glen Rosa for the last couple of months but the extremely poor weather has until yesterday, kept us at bay.

Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran

Glen Rosa, Isle of Arran

Have to say that it didn’t look altogether promising as we disembarked from the ferry in Brodick at eight o’clock yesterday morning ….it was absolutely pouring down with rain and we got quite wet just getting the 100 metres to the waiting room where we’d planned to don the waterproofs. Of course by the time we had all the gear on the rain had passed and as we walked along the promenade the first breaks in the dark cloud were appearing.

It’s always a good walk from Brodick to Glen Rosa and well worth doing just for the spectacular scenery but this trip was a working one. With the plans for creating a big Glen Rosa drawing all arranged with the Harbour Arts Centre in Irvine later in the year, I needed to get back to the glen in order to start planning how exactly I’m going to do the piece. Yesterdays visit to the glen was to look at and record the first half of the glen. I wanted to spend time looking and thinking and making a few simple sketches.

As we entered the glen a Golden Eagle flew overhead, low enough for me to see it ….it made a good start to our day. Up to this point it had been difficult to know quite how much snow there was on the hills as the cloud level had been very low, but things quickly improved and we started getting glimpses of Beinn Nuis and Beinn a’ Chliabhain, the summits of both looking white and wintry.

Goat Fell from glen Rosa ...approaching shower

Goat Fell from glen Rosa …approaching shower

A little further on and the glen swings around to the NW and at this point the views open up even more and the fine peak of Cir Mhor stands dramatically at the head of the glen. With the cloud rising and breaking and the periods of blue sky and bright sun increasing, we got some wonderful views and the colours were really quite intense at times. I spent a lot of time standing or sitting doing some quick sketches as we made our way up the footpath at the side of the river. Nita was busy taking photos and was particularly interested in the river that was full and busy but with incredibly clear water ……in the bright sun the patterns of the rocks underneath the water looked wonderful.

It was a very profitable day and I got a lot of information in the way of sketches and photographs. I’m still not one hundred per cent sure how I’m going to do this big drawing but I have come away with a much better idea. Now I need to get up to the head of the glen and record that section.

Computer blues …getting brighter!

Glen Rosa, January 2013

Glen Rosa, January 2013

Last week I moaned about having problems with my newly updated computer.  Now then, I have to admit that I’m not the most computer literate person in the world and so trying to get everything back to normal has proved a little challenging!  Thankfully Nita is up for a challenge and she’s been spending a good few hours sat at this machine sorting things out for me. 

As I think I said in a previous blog , I’ve also  just changed the magnification and screen reader  software I use. This new software, Zoomtext, seems to be excellent but again, there’s a lot of new things to learn, so this, coupled with a rather new look Windows 7, is taking a lot of time to find my way around. Nita has done an excellent job and she’s re-loaded most of my software and it seems to be working quite well now…..I think I’ll have to buy Nita some chocolates and a bottle of wine as a thank you for all her work.

I’ve been working on a new painting this week and it’s starting to come on now.  It’s based on a small scene we saw in Glen Rosa last January and I was rather hoping to get back over there again yesterday in order to start doing some serious planning for the big drawing  project.  The forecast had been excellent, calm, dry and reasonably bright ….it would have been the perfect day.  We’d got it all booked and had planned to catch the 7 o’clock ferry over so that we’d get the maximum time to wander through the glen, stopping to do sketches and take some photos.   Unfortunately my plans fell apart on Wednesday when a courier I’d booked, failed to collect!  Ahhhhh!  I’d waited at the studio all day but somehow the courier couldn’t find me!  So, they said that they’d  try again the next day …Thursday.  I’m glad to say that the painting was finally collected, albeit a day late and with a bit of luck …it’ll be delivered safely sometime today.   We’re now hoping that we might be able to get over to Arran this weekend or sometime next week; I’ll be checking the Mountain Weather information Service again and hoping for another fine day

Looking forward…. and back to Ben Vrackie

North from the summit of Ben Vrackie, December 12 2005

North from the summit of Ben Vrackie, December 12 2005

The plan had been, to write about a walk on Ben Vrackie, but in the end, we didn’t make it to Ben Vrackie or to any other hill this week for that matter.  It was my birthday on Monday and it had seemed a good idea to have a nice walk to celebrate, but when the forecast spoke of very low cloud, the lazy, couch potato side of me got the better and instead of the healthy walk, we had a lie-in, a wander into town and a meal and a couple of beers instead!   This was very nice and very relaxing as there aren’t many days when I don’t pick up a paint brush or spend hours doing studio related work on this computer.   So then, a great day on Monday ….but as I spent the last couple of days slowly getting on with the An Teallach commission, there’s not much to tell and it now leaves me with a gap for the blog!

But don’t think you’ve got off that lightly as by pure chance I came across some photos I took back in December 2005 when I’d been to Ben Vrackie with my pal Guy and another chap called Ian.  An even bigger chance is that when I looked to see exactly when we’d done the walk it turned out to be 12th December …today in other words, just eight years ago.

Big views from the summit of Ben Vrackie, December 12 2005

Big views from the summit of Ben Vrackie, December 12 2005

There was one great difference to today though.  As I look out of the window this morning at 10.30 am, it’s almost as dark as it was three hours ago…..it’s very grey and damp and not really a day for the hills.  On December 12th 2005 however it was bright and sunny and cool and the three of us had a wonderful walk up Ben Vrackie and indeed, I remember the low winter sun being particularly difficult as we scrabbled our way up the steep front of the hill.  Great big views from the top though and I think this was the first time I’d seen them as the previous couple of visits to the hill had been wild and grey.  I remember Guy pointing out the summits of Beinn a’Ghlo to the north and thinking that perhaps one day I’d get to reach them.

Anyway, the photos here were taken on that walk in 2005 and you can see why I want to go back.   It isn’t a long walk although it’s a bit of a drive to get to the base of it but it makes a perfect short winter day for me.  Hopefully we’ll get there again sometime in the next month or so.  In the meantime enjoy the fine weather in the photos!

Annual visit to Ghlas Bheinn – a colourful palette

You might well think that in a former life I was a gold-fish!  But it’s not that I go back to Ghlas Bheinn every year because I forget what it’s like ….it’s the exact opposite; I go back there each year because I remember how good the views are from its low undulating ridge.

As I’ve said in the past, it makes a wonderful short winter walk and with the daylight hours being so short at this time of year, it’s especially good for me.  On our past three visits we’ve gone there in December and have seen it under similar but still different conditions.  Indeed, the first time we went there it had been especially cold over the previous two weeks and although there was no snow at lower levels, all the lochs on Rannoch Moor were frozen.   Last year I think the snow level was down onto Ghlas Bheinn and with little sun that day it made for a very cold little walk.  I remember Nita pointing out the tracks of small animals in the covering of fresh snow.

This years visit wasn’t as cold and the snow that had been covering the ground on Ghlas Bheinn a few days earlier had mostly thawed leaving just very small patches lying in the grass and heather.  Patches of solid and partially melted ice were everywhere too and it all made for interesting patterns and colours.

Above Loch Tulla, a grey November morning

Above Loch Tulla, a grey November morning

It was the intense colours at the end of the day that really marked this walk out, but when we started a few hours earlier it was under very grey skies.   The cloud though was above all but the highest summits and with the snow level being around 700 metres everything was looking very good.  Loch Tulla was incredibly calm and as we made our way up the lower slopes of the hill overlooking the loch, we could at times see the mountains reflected in its glassy surface.

First brightness over Rannoch Moor

First brightness over Rannoch Moor

There were a few breaks in the cloud though and when we caught one of these the colours in the bright sun were very strong …..a short glimpse of things to come.  By the time we were sat eating our lunch at the summit a couple of hours later, there was increasingly large amounts of clear sky moving down from the north west and in the clear air and bright sun, Rannoch Moor looked very big and incredibly beautiful.  Being November rather than December, the colours of the grasses were different.  They had not yet turned to the straw colour of later in the winter and were, instead a mixture of bright ochre’s, oranges and yellows.  As the sun got lower it accentuated this, creating stunningly colourful scenes against the snow topped hills and the deep blue of the sky.

From the summit of Ghlas Bheinn

From the summit of Ghlas Bheinn

One of the problems about walking with such limited sight is that I have to walk along staring at the ground just in front of me.  On grey days this can get tedious but on Sunday afternoon in the bright sun I could simply enjoy these amazing colours and patterns made by the grass around my feet.

Towards the hills of the Blackmount

Towards the hills of the Blackmount

In the past, after each of our previous visits to Ghlas Bheinn I’ve created at least one painting based on my experiences there.  This year I think there will also be a painting or two coming from this latest walk.  As you know, I’ve been working on several more abstract 80 x 80 cm oil paintings.  I think I may well try and create a couple more using the bright colours we saw on Sunday.  I’ve been wanting to create a larger painting for some time now too and a couple of weeks ago bought a 120 x 120 cm canvas…..it could be perfect for creating a painting about the big bright colourful views we experienced.  Watch this space!

Rich afternoon colours

Rich afternoon colours

 

November landscape, Blackmount

November landscape, Blackmount

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The first stage of a very long journey…

'The City of Adelaide' (1864)

‘The City of Adelaide’
(background)

 

Not a proper blog this week, just a series of photos Nita and I took yesterday on Irvine Harbourside.  The City of Adelaide, the last (I think) of the old clippers, was put on a barge and with the help of a high tide, moved down river.  The biggest problem was trying to squeeze it through the gap in the footbridge that spans the river.  Unfortunately they ran out of time and tide and so another attempt will have to be made before this grand old ship can get out to the open sea.  It was moored on its barge alongside the wharf and makes a real sight…..well worth getting down to see it before it leaves.  Apparently from what we’ve gathered, another attempt will be made when it’s both high tide ….and calm.

2 City of Adelaide

City of Adelaide

4 City of Adelaide

5 City of Adelaid 109

5 City of Adelaide

6 City of Adelaide

7 City of Adelaide

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Rosa not Rannoch

Below Cir Mhor, Glen Rosa

Below Cir Mhor, Glen Rosa

Well then, all our plans to go and walk some of the paths out over Rannoch Moor on Tuesday, came to nothing ….the bad weather that has been causing mayhem in most of the UK, finally caught up with us here and although it didn’t sound like it would be anything like as bad as elsewhere, we certainly didn’t fancy setting out on the 90 mile drive north with snow forecast and the roads likely to be bad. Instead then, after a quick rethink, we decided to go across to Arran and do a low level walk there. We’re very lucky here in North Ayrshire in that if ever the road conditions look to bad further north, we can nearly always get the few miles to Ardrossan and catch the ferry over to Arran and its fantastic mountains …some of the finest, south of Glen Coe.

Glen Rosa ...a wild and beautiful place

Glen Rosa …a wild and beautiful place

We got up at 04.00 to find a couple of centimetres of snow everywhere …but it seemed to have stopped and once out of the estate where we live the roads here were fine. First a quick detour to Kilwinning train station to pick up Guy at just after 06.00 and then on to Ardrossan and the ferry terminal …where we had a brief surprise …the ferry wasn’t sitting waiting where it normally does! Instead it was in a second space further away. After getting out tickets we were told that we would be boarding by way of the vehicle ramp …not a gangway. Different. Even more different when we emerged from the car decks to find that the layout of the ship seemed to have changed!!! When we wandered into a completely re designed café, finally it dawned on us that this was a different ship! Apparently the normal ferry was in dry dock having some work done. The breakfast though was up to its usual high standards and we were soon on our way.

My patient guides!

My patient guides!

Guy had been planning on catching the bus to Sannox and then walking up Glen Sannox, then up and out onto the Saddle and down Glen Rosa back to Brodick. When I heard his plans I have to admit that I said a very loud ‘No’. Nita and I had done this a number of years ago on a perfect summer day and although 97% of the route is a straight forward walk, the final section oft the climb up to the Saddle is interesting to say the least, and proved challenging for me even in good summer conditions. The route climbs steeply at the head of Glen Sannox up a very well made path …but it’s a bit misleading. High up this little motorway ends abruptly and the only way to continue is to scrabble up a very steep and eroded gully and then out to gain the final small path onto the top of the Saddle ….the col between North Goat Fell and Cir Mhor. With the prospect of climbing this gully with snow and ice in it …well …No! As Guy said, he can always go back and do that himself sometime. Instead, with forecasts of strong winds higher up, we opted for the gentle route to the Saddle …from Glen Rosa … returning the same way.

Snow covered slopes below North Goat Fell

Snow covered slopes below North Goat Fell

Although we’ve done this walk several times over the years it is always very beautiful and this would be the first time we done it on a real winter day. The snow wasn’t right down in the base of the glen at first but we reached it higher up. Near to the head of the glen, the point where you cross the stream and go up easy slopes to the Saddle, we stopped. We’d spent so long stopping and looking, taking photos and generally enjoying the complete peace and quiet that we were running a little behind time and decided it was far enough.

Looking down Glen Rosa

Looking down Glen Rosa

The mountains look wonderful in the snow, their upper slopes disappearing into the clouds. I snapped away with the camera and more importantly spend long minutes just stood looking and trying to fix in my mind the subtle colours and tones created under these wild and wintry conditions …I’m looking forward to trying to create some paintings or drawings based on what I saw. My two guides, Nita and Guy had a good day spotting wild life too. There were plenty of deer to see and Nita spotted a couple of Golden Eagles …confirmed by a very interesting local gentleman who we met …and who spent quite a bit of time trying to point them out to me. Alas, I never did get to see one of them this time …but with all the excitement of the others …I feel like I did. I’m not sure who the chap was, but he spoke with so much enthusiasm and passion for the glen. He was pointing out the colours and telling us about how they change over the year ….he was a man after my own heart …he might have been a painter too. Hopefully we’ll meet up again another time when we’re wandering the hills or glens on Arran …and I can remember to give him one of my business cards!

A good start

On the southern edge of the Ochills

On the southern edge of the Ochills

Well then, 2013 is up and running.  It started for us, in grand fashion with a beautiful walk on New Years Day.  We managed some very good walks last year but alas only managed a few with our friend Guy and all of those in the first half of the year.  A mixture of work, family commitments and bad weather conspired to mess up any plans we had and so we’d decided to try and get out for a walk together some time over the Christmas period.  It did seem quite hopeful for a short while but that terrible trio struck once again and before we knew it we’d run out of available days, leaving Guy with the only option of a walk on Monday 31st  Dec and us, a walk on January 1st.  Weather wise we were certainly the lucky ones, there being a brief break in the severe mountain weather, especially over in the east and so Nita and I decided to have a walk in the Ochill Hills to the east of Stirling.

Above the forest

Above the forest

Of course a walk on New Years Day does mean forgoing the usual festivities as a reasonably early start is called for.  That meant getting up at 06.00 but this allowed us an easy drive on empty roads through Glasgow to Stirling and we were in sight of the hills by half past eight and they were looking fine in the early sun …especially with a coating of fresh snow.  We were walking through the beautiful woodlands on the south side of the hills by about half past nine and so had a good six hours of daylight ahead of us.  Our plan was to walk the same route we’d done on a couple of previous occasions, following tracks beneath the side of The Nebbit, then up onto Ben Ever and across to Ben Cleuch, the highest point in this range of hills.  If time allowed we’d then wander over to Ben Buck and back down to join our outward route.

Into the snow, on Ben Ever

Into the snow, on Ben Ever

We really had picked the right day, the light and colours were amazing.  Big dark clouds interspersed with patches of blue sky and bright sunshine coupled with the patchwork of snow, grass and shadow, made everything look superb.   By the time we were well up Ben Ever there were several centimetres of snow underfoot and on the open flat and wind swept top of this hill, the snow had been blown into numerous little ridges like sand on a beach.  Ben Ever is a cold spot.  We’ve walked over it on several occasions and it’s always been freezing cold …it seems to catch whatever wind is around …and some that’ not, I’m sure!  It’s definitely a place for plenty of hats and gloves especially as you just have to stop and take in the views.

The Nebbit from Ben Ever

The Nebbit from Ben Ever

Ben Cleuch looked beautiful in the sun and snow and for the most part it had a feint shroud of misty cloud on its very summit.  This increased as we neared the top and it was a strange cold place when we arrived with weak sun shining through the mist.    We followed the ice covered fence over to the lonely little top of Ben Buck and only then did we get below the mist and once again had the beautiful views.   The snow was melting and the lower slopes of Ben Ever were now an intense yellow green in the low afternoon sun.  We were back at the car by half past three and feeling very glad we’d made the effort to get up early and out ….it had been the perfect start to the New Year.

In the mist near Ben Buck

In the mist near Ben Buck

Our friend Guy had an equally good walk to end his year although conditions were pretty miserable for the most part.  Forecast for the mountains on December 31st were not good…..gale force winds with frequent snow showers creating whiteout.  Definitely not a day for the tops, so instead he chose a low-level route from Inveruglas on the shores of Loch Lomond following forestry tracks over to Arrochar and then the road to Tarbet to catch the bus home.  It’s a very nice route following around underneath a couple of the big Arrochar hills and despite the wet weather he had a good time by all accounts.  That said however, I was a little worried as the route involves crossing a quite large stream.  This isn’t a problem under most conditions but with all the rain and snow over the last few weeks I imagined it might prove problematic.  Well, Guy is not one to easily be beaten back by stream crossings and he did get across this one …but it wasn’t easy with fast flowing water up to his knees by all accounts.  I have to admit that I’d have turned back at this point but then I’ve never been very good with ‘whooshing’ water!  Guy sent me some photos so here is one …..I think he probably deserved a large malt whisky after crossing this!  Oh well, it’s certainly a different way of seeing out the old year.  Hopefully we’ll get to see him on the hills a little more often during 2013.  Plans are afoot to join him in a couple of week’s time for a walk on Rannoch Moor ….so watch this space!

The stream crossed!

The stream crossed!

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A gentle wander in Glen Luss

Below Beinn Dubh, Glen Luss

Below Beinn Dubh, Glen Luss

We haven’t been out for a walk for several weeks but on Sunday last with the forecast fine and cold, we finally made it out.  Not that it was a great mountain walk in freezing winter conditions or anything …… just a gentle low level wander up Glen Luss.

We had planned to try and get up onto the hills on the south side of the glen and this would have needed a reasonably early start.  Alas, despite the fine day, the roads were very icy first thing and so we in fact left later and instead of a walk on the hills we had a walk between them!

It’s a beautiful spot though and Loch Lomond looked lovely in the still cold morning air.  The hills had some snow on their upper slopes and Ben Lomond further to the north and across the loch, look particularly fine in the sun.  Having decided that their was now no rush, we made use of the café and grabbed ourselves a cup of coffee before setting out and then headed to the start of a path we’d noticed many times before, (but never walked) that was marked ‘Quarry path’.  It headed into the woods and quickly led down to a footbridge over the Luss Water …which ran clear and green.  We’d always hoped that this path might lead through the woods on the south side of the glen and to a point where we could reach the open hillside.  But of course it wasn’t for doing that  …instead it followed the river back towards the loch and almost before we knew what was happening it went under the main A82 and a little further on, joined the old road that led back to Luss!  It had gone away from the hills not towards them!  Nothing for it but to retrace our steps back to a couple of side paths we’d noticed.  The first one seemed hopeful, leading through the woods in roughly the right direction, but after another couple of hundred metres we reached a fence with a sign saying ‘access to cottage only, please return to bridge over the Luss Water and follow sign for the hills’!  The only sign we knew and had seen for the hills was the one pointing to the path up Beinn Dubh on the north side of the glen …a walk we’d done many times before.  The second little side path we’d seen, meandered through the trees on the north side of the stream but then faded out at a view point over looking the green water ….very nice but not quite what we were looking for.

In Glen Luss

In Glen Luss

I should really have looked at the hill guide before setting out as this I know has a route leading up onto the southern Glen Luss Hills …but of course in our over relaxed start I didn’t think.  By the time we’d got back to the small single track road leading up the glen it was about 11.45 and so we simply decided to walk it to the end of the tarmac and then continue along the track heading west through the glen.  The tarmac runs for several kilometres to just below the base of Mid Hill and we’d walked back along it a good number of times after completing the circuit of Beinn Dubh and Mid Hill, but we’d never just walked it for its’ own sake …just to enjoy the views of the hills all around.

Mist breaking around Beinn Dubh, Luss Hills

Mist breaking around Beinn Dubh, Luss Hills

And so that was our walk ….a gentle wander along a single track road through Glen Luss.  It really was beautiful though, the low winter sun illuminating the hills with their snow covered tops.  At the end of the tarmac a slight detour is needed to avoid walking through a small farm.  A footpath leads away from the main track and skirts the hill for a few hundred metres before picking up the main track again.  This was very icy and we were skating around like mad things.  The track beyond looked almost solid ice and so it seemed like a good spot to sit and have lunch and just enjoy the peace and quiet.  I put the ‘spiders’ on, (small in-step crampons) to make things easier on the ice and then we headed back….reaching Luss in time for another cup of coffee.  It had been a strange and slightly different walk to that originally planned …but very enjoyable and very relaxing too …just what was needed.

In the Luss Hills

In the Luss Hills

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