counter hit xanga
Crianlarich | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Crianlarich’

It’s amazing what you can do if you get up at 03.45!

Corrour Station, 09.15 Friday

Corrour Station, 09.15 Friday

Yesterday evening at 18.20 we were stood in a very cold shelter on Corrour Station watching the snow fall heavily and peering north through the whiteness hoping to see the lights of the Glasgow train.   It had been a day of very heavy snow showers but just when we thought they had finally fizzled out for the day, it started snowing again and this time just continued.  It was wonderful standing there watching the snow fall in almost complete silence …..with just a little concern that the train might be cancelled.  Those of you who don’t know Corrour, well, it’s the highest station stop on the West Highland Railway line and sits on the edge of Rannoch Moor at a little over 400 m above sea level.  The nearest main roads are the A82 …. a long way to the west and the A9 an even longer way to the east.  There is a small public  road that goes to Rannoch Station, (the next stop to the south) but even this is quite a few miles away across wild and unforgiving country ….especially so when it’s snowing hard!  The only vehicular access is by way of the estate road / track from I think near Dalwhinnie.   Suffice to say that if the train hadn’t arrived, there would be no way of walking out at that time of the evening and it would have been a very cold night huddled together in the open fronted platform shelter.  But I needn’t have worried of course ….at a couple of minutes to 18.25, we heard  the sound of an approaching train and soon Nita could make out its lights through the falling snow.   I guess when you live in the Highlands you get used to this type of weather and just get on with it, but as someone who lives by the coast and sees very little actual falling snow ….well, it was all kind of exciting.

Corrour Station, a wild location

Corrour Station, a wild location

Anyway, the reason we were stood on Corrour platform at 18.25 yesterday was of course because we’d gone walking again.  We’d originally planned to head for a hill somewhere but the winds were still very high and they were forecasting these very heavy snow showers …..sounded a bit out of our league.  So then, we needed to decide on a low level route, somewhere that the predicted high winds and heavy showers wouldn’t matter.

Ten or so years ago I went to Corrour with a group from Air na Creagan, our local mountaineering club.  At the time, the old signal box had been converted into a wee bunk house containing six bunk beds, a small kitchen and loo and a fantastic wee sitting room upstairs in the top of the signal box.  It was great and over the two weekend visits we made there, we walked several of the hills  and on one occasion when the weather was really vile, three of us did the walk around Loch Ossian.  Nita had been working on both occasions and so had never been to Corrour before…..  it seemed like a good option for our low level walk yesterday.

Heavy snow shower, Loch Ossian

Heavy snow shower, Loch Ossian

Of course with any day walk at Corrour, you need to fit it into the train times.  The first train north arrives at 09.00 and the next south bound trains are either around 12.30, 18.25 or 20.30 ish I think.  The actual walk around Loch Ossian isn’t too far …probably about 12 kilometres I guess and so with nine hours or so between arriving and catching the 18.25 back, we’d need to do a bit of exploring to use up the time.

Of course, the other decision to be made was whether to catch the train all the way, or to drive part way and pick it up at one of the stations adjacent to the A82.  Which ever we chose, it meant an early start and when the alarm went off at 03.45 neither of us was too convinced that our plans were particularly sensible, ‘whose  stupid idea was this’ sprang to mind as I dragged myself out of bed!  We decided to go for the drive / train option  and headed up to Crianlarich to meet the train north at 07.45.  Have to admit that we rather over did the ‘giving ourselves plenty of time’ bit  and arrived there almost an hour early ….but heck, we didn’t miss the damn train!

Corrour on our return at 17.30

Corrour on our return at 17.30

The West Highland Line really is a spectacular  railway and the section we were doing from Crianlarich past Tyndrum, Bridge of Orchy and up over Rannoch Moor to the lonely platform that is Corrour ….well, it’s just spectacular, especially so yesterday morning with the snow low on the mountains.  If you ever get the chance to ride this train ….go for it, it’s a visual feast.

We'd hoped to get back to Corrour dry!

We’d hoped to get back to Corrour dry!

The day was everything we’d hoped for …and a bit more ….snow too.  The conditions really were quite unpleasant at times but it was a wonderful way to see this remote and beautiful place.  The surprise though was at the end.  After a series of heavy snow showers interspersed with just brief brighter spots, the weather did start to improve by mid afternoon.  We’d started making our way back towards Corrour and were both thinking that we might make it back to the station in a reasonably dry state.  Big mistake!  At about 16.30 it suddenly started to rain and this quickly turned to snow again.  We thought it was just another shower but by the time we reached the station an hour later it was still falling hard  and well, it just kept on falling.  It didn’t look like it was going to be a pleasant drive back to Irvine from Crianlarich but as luck would have it as quick as it started, it stopped… shortly after setting off south on the A82.  We were back home by 21.30 after an amazing little adventure.  It’s amazing what you can do if you get up at 03.45!

‘Late snow, near Ben More’

‘Late snow, near Ben More’

‘Late snow, near Ben More’

‘Late snow, near Ben More’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2012, 30 x 30 cm

This is one of my small acrylic and pastel pieces.  I am currently still working on it but thought I’d use this quick image as work of the week.  It is based on a day a few years ago when we went to walk the east ridge of Ben More near Crianlarich.  It was the first week in April and to our surprise there had been a heavy fall of snow the previous night.  It made everything look wonderful but the snow was not good for walking on and instead of reaching the top of the hill we were forced to retreat.  Not that it really mattered; we still had a great day and saw some beautiful sights.  Anyway, if I get this little piece finished properly, I’ll no doubt post another image of it.

Stob Ghabhar …at last

'The Bridge of Orchy hills from near Victoria Bridge'

'The Bridge of Orchy hills from near Victoria Bridge'

It’s been three weeks since we were last out on a hill and so we were keen to grab the first fine day that came along to get out again.   Tuesday seemed the best chance and so it was simply a case of deciding where to go.  We’ve reached a stage with the Munro’s that the ones we haven’t walked that lie within a day trip of Irvine, are either too challenging for me, or involve a long walk in.  There are however a few that don’t fall into either category ….Stob Ghabhar in the Blackmount being one.  It’s a fairly big hill, rising to 1090m and has a formidable east facing corrie.   One route to its summit takes a ridge leading across from Stob a’ Choire Odhair, but this is narrow and in one place very narrow and exposed …..not a place for me these days.

'From the slopes of Stob Ghabhar'

'From the slopes of Stob Ghabhar'

Our other option was to both climb and descend the hill by its gentler SE ridge….and this is what we decided to do.  This route though still had one potential problem …it involves crossing quite a large stream in order to gain access to the base of the SE ridge.  It certainly needs to be done when the river isn’t in spate and preferably when it’s low.  Thankfully, here in the west of Scotland, we’ve missed all of the heavy rainfall that has been causing so many problems recently in west Wales and the south of England and so we were hopeful of finding the stream crossable.

'Approaching the summit'

'Approaching the summit'

Our trip didn’t start quite according to plan though.  The forecast had predicted 80% chance of a cloud free hill …but as we drove out of Irvine it started to rain and it kept on raining all the way to Crianlarich!  What was more, the cloud was dark and heavy and well down on all the hills around Loch Lomond……it wasn’t looking promising!  With the day light lasting well into the evening at this time of year, there wasn’t a rush to start walking and so we decided to stop at the Green Welly for a second breakfast ….in the hope that an extra 45 minutes might see an improvement in conditions.  We didn’t really believe it but what the heck, an excuse for one of the Green Welly’s superb bacon rolls and a big mug of coffee, well, we couldn’t miss that could we?!  As it turned out, it was an inspired move.  The bacon roll did me a power o good and by the time we emerged again it had stopped raining and the first small breaks in the cloud were starting to appear.  By the time we reached the start point near Victoria bridge, the cloud had all but lifted and there were bright blue patches appearing everywhere …it was looking good.

'Towards Rannoch Moor from near the summit'

'Towards Rannoch Moor from near the summit'

I’ve wanted to climb this hill for a good few years and it proved well worth the wait.  The stream crossing was a little problematic ….the water wasn’t high but even so, getting across it proved interesting for me!  It took us about half an hour to find a place where I could cross without too big a risk of getting a soaking before we had even started going up hill.  Once across though, the going was pretty straight forward up fairly steep grass and then higher up, rockier ground.  The views were stunning all the way up but became superb once we reached the crest of the ridge and could see into the huge corrie that is the main feature of this hill.  Wow …wonderful …it made you feel very small indeed.

'Our route home'

'Our route home'

As is so often the case when walking any other than the famous summits in Scotland, …we didn’t see any other walkers and so we had the summit to ourselves.  We had as I said, planned simply to return by the same route, but now with time in hand and the mountain spread out before us, we checked the map and decided to make a bit of a tour of it, first heading west along a broad grass and moss covered ridge and then down to a beallach where the map showed a stalkers path leading back to the forest and the track back to Victoria bridge.  It was a great decision and made for a really enjoyable circuit of this hill ….always much better than simply going up and down by the same route.

This was only the second ‘new’ Munro we’ve walked since I think February 2008 and takes my tally to 104.  The trouble is that I caught myself thinking …’only one more and it’ll be 105 …and with a bit of effort I could reach 110 by the start of the winter’ ….ahhhhhh ..I might have caught the Munro ‘baggin’ bug again!!!

A perfect October walk

Breaking through the cloud, Beinn Odhar

Breaking through the cloud, Beinn Odhar

It’s been ten months since we were last out on a hill with our friend Guy but on Monday we made up for it in style. I’d been trying to fix a date for a walk with Guy since returning from Germany and when we had to cancel the other week due to a problem with the car, it looked as if his comment earlier in the summer, that we’d probably need our axes and crampons by the time we got out together again, might come true!

By the weekend though the forecast for the week ahead was looking good ….especially in the west of Scotland and so with my paintings for the ScotlandArt exhibition finished and both Nita and Guy not working, we booked Monday as the day. We planned to go back to Beinn Odhar above Tyndrum, but this time instead of just doing the quick walk to the summit and back, we aimed to do a bigger circular walk. This ascended by the same route but returned via a long broad grassy ridge stretching behind the village of Tyndrum. We’d looked at this ridge a few times in the past and this seemed the perfect day to test it out …it’d be more than a short walk …but not too big a day for our rather unfit legs!

Towards Ben Lui

Towards Ben Lui

After meeting Guy at the station at just after half past six in the morning we got to Loch Lomond as it was getting light and things were looking good. Ben Lomond was clear as were many of the other hills and the cloud was breaking higher up. The drive up to Crianlarich along the shores of the loch at this time of year on a fine day is great. The trees are all turning to their autumn colours and with almost no wind, these were all reflected in the loch. The higher tops of the Glen Falloch hills and Ben More were still holding cloud but it all looked very promising …exactly how promising though we were still to find out.

On the ridge to Meall Buidhe

On the ridge to Meall Buidhe

Ben Odhar was clear and its upper slopes were catching the early morning sun as we set off up the West Highland Way out of Tyndrum heading for the base of the hill. It was definitely autumn and there was a real chill in the air and frost on the parked cars. We left the WHW at its high point between Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy and headed straight up the hill. There’s no messing with this route, its steep grassy slopes for much of the way, passing some old mines about half way up. It never ceases to amaze me that people came to work here each day at some point in the past.

Towards-Meall-Buidhe

Towards-Meall-Buidhe

Very quickly as we gained height, a thick blanket of low cloud rolled in and we were soon in mist with no views to ease the steepness of the climb. But it really wasn’t very substantial cloud and we had a feeling that we might just bob out of the top with a bit of luck. And that is exactly what happened. Around about 750m the sun broke through and we found ourselves looking out over a layer of white cloud that stretched south of us. Above was clear blue sky and the sun was very warm. But it’s the views of all the other hills sticking up out of the cloud that really catch the eye …it was stunningly beautiful. We could see the chain of hills from Ben More to Ben Lomond, along with Ben Lui and its neighbours. Strangely north of our hill there was little or no cloud and we could see all the way down into the glen below in this direction.

Just below the summit

Just below the summit

Just above this point the steep slopes ease to a small level section in which a small loch sits immediately below the final steep and boulder strewn section of the hill…..a perfect spot sit and just take in the beauty of the location and these amazing conditions. The final clamber up to the cairn at the top of Ben Odha at just over 900m opened up even bigger views and all of our cameras were working overtime!

Our route back led first down steep slopes SE to another wee loch and then followed the broad grassy ridge in a southerly direction across to Meall Buidhe at 653m. By this stage much of the mist had cleared and so the whole time we were walking in warm bright sun. From Meall Buidhe it was a case of following the ridge to its end and then descending to a bridge over the railway and onto the West Highland Way again. We were now at a point a few kilometres south of Tyndrum and so it was just an easy and very pleasant walk back along the WHW to the car.

This was a fantastic day and the circular route and stunning conditions made for a perfect October walk.

‘Blackmount, autumn’

'Blackmount Autumn' , acrylic pastel 2007, 75 x23 cm Ref: 53

'Blackmount, Autumn'

‘Blackmount, autumn’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2007, 76 x 23 cm

A couple of years ago we travelled up to visit an old friend and colleague (the sculptor Keith Barrett) who was undertaking a huge commission in Inverness. It was late October and the weather had taken its first steps towards winter and had gone decidedly cold. We set off early taking the slightly longer but more scenic route up the shores of Loch Lomond, and through Glen Coe to reach the Great Glen which we followed through Fort William to Inverness.

As we reached Loch Lomond and the first hills it became apparent that we’d not be seeing too much that day. Thick banks of low grey cloud hung to the tops and sides of all the hills, occasionally breaking to give a glimpse of brightness from the early morning sun …but not really promising much. As we reached the higher hills around Crianlarich Anita spotted through breaks in the cloud, snow on the upper slopes ….but I never saw this. Then further on as the A82 climbs up onto Blackmount and Rannoch Moor, I caught my first sight of it. A thick belt of cloud was starting to break up and clear, revealing the snow covered tops of Beinn Toaig and it’s higher neighbour Stob a’ Choire Odhair.

There always a great thrill in seeing the first snow of the coming winter …the long summer days are well gone and the short more challenging days and conditions are upon us. Sadly the cloud didn’t continue to lift and this brief view of the hills was the best I got that day…. definitely worthy of a painting I thought.

Work of the Week: ‘Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain’

137 'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain', Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 90 x 60 cm

'Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain'

‘Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 90 x 60cm

I did this painting after a fantastic day walking this time last year.  A friend and I went up to Bridge of Orchy to climb Beinn Dorain – and caught ourselves a wonderful few hours of weather.  It was freezing hard all the way up from the road, but there really wasn’t much snow except on the steep north facing slope not far below the cairns.  As we climbed the clouds broke and although clear around us, the hills of Crianlarich and Glen Falloch were all sticking there heads out of the mist.  Being mid week we only saw a couple of other walkers and when we reached the main summit we had the place to ourselves.  We just sat and took in the incredible views and complete silence.