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A day exploring Beinn Toaig in the Blackmount, West Highlands

About 10 years ago, my good friend Guy, led me on a walk up the Munro Stob a’ Choire Odhair in the Blackmount region of the Scottish West Highlands.  Guy, never one to just follow the standard routes up hills, suggested we climb this Munro by way of its neighbouring top, Beinn Toaig.   We did this and it made for a very good route, but on that day, it was a very good route in thick cloud and we didn’t see very much.  Since then Nita and I had been back on two or three  occasions, and on one of them, we enjoyed hot clear conditions ….but still didn’t see much  because of very thick heat haze!

scottish mountains

‘In the Blackmount, the Scottish West Highlands’

Yesterday, with the weather once again set fine for the West Highlands of Scotland, we decided to go back to Beinn Toaig, but this time, spend a few hours exploring it and enjoying the fine views we expected to get.    That said however, it didn’t look too hopeful as we drove up the side of Loch Lomond at about eight o’clock yesterday morning.  There was thick dark cloud and it all looked very dreary.  We shouldn’t have worried however, the folk at the Mountain Weather Information Service had got it right and by the time we’d had a coffee and breakfast at the Green Welly, the thick cloud was breaking up and clear blue skies were taking over.

scottish mountains

‘In the Blackmount, the Scottish West Highlands’

We parked the car at the end of the road near Victoria Bridge on the West Highland Way and following the broad track through the trees until we reached the open moorland.  The views were already stunning and our hill, Beinn Toaig, looked very inviting with plenty of snow still on its steep upper slopes.   We weren’t really sure what the conditions would be like higher up as, after many weeks of freezing temperatures on the mountains, spring had suddenly arrived and the temperatures were quite high.   After a couple of kilometres on the WHW we turned off and made our way across the edge of the moorland, heading for the lower end of the broad ridge leading from the summit of Beinn Toaig.  I can’t quite say how wonderful it was to be out here with the mountains all around and the huge space of Rannoch Moor stretching out  below us.  Wow!   There was a lot of snow higher up but despite this there were still areas of snow free ground and for the most part we were able to follow these up the steep slopes leading onto the ridge.  By the time we needed to get onto the snow, the slopes were very gentle and the snow underfoot, fairly soft.

scottish mountains

‘In the Blackmount, the Scottish West Highlands’

I had hoped before setting out, that the views from the ridge into the heart of the Blackmount, would be good.  When we gained the height and could see into the main group of mountains ….well, it was just breathtaking, especially so in this clear crisp spring light.  We spent so much time just stopping and looking and taking photographs and our lunch spot was one of the most enjoyable and spectacular we’ve had for a long time …..and that says something.  We could hear the distant roar of the river rushing through the glen below heading for Ba Bridge and Rannoch Moor and there were the occasional sounds of Raven, Plovers and at one point, high up, two Golden Eagles.  Nita watched them for quite a while but they were too high up for me to make out ……but it was great to know they were there.

scottish mountains

‘In the Blackmount, the Scottish West Highlands’

We didn’t quite reach the summit of Beinn Toaig in the end.  We carried on until about three o’ clock and still a short distance from the top, decided it was probably sensible to start heading back ….I really am very slow on the descent!  It was probably a good decision as in the end we only got back to the car at about half past six and the sun was down by then and everything was getting a little dark.  What a day though …… my jaw was aching from smiling so much!

scottish mountains

‘In the Blackmount, the Scottish West Highlands’

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A snowy Saturday in the Southern Highlands

Last Saturday we were out for a short wander up near Tyndrum.  For once, the weather forecast got it a little wrong.  It had seemed to suggest that a band of rain and snow would move down from the north west late Saturday afternoon and so as we were only planning on a fairly short low level walk into Cononish Glen, we thought we’d have plenty of time to do our walk and get home before the bad weather arrived.  That was the plan anyway!

When we left Irvine just after eight o’clock in the morning however, there was already a lot of low dark clouds around and the few breaks in the east soon disappeared……and of course, the sun rise was quite interesting ….what do they say about red sky in the morning?! 

By the time we got to Loch Lomond it was already very gloomy although Nita said you could see the snow covered tops of the mountains.  At the southern end of the loch the snow level was a couple of hundred metres above the road but by the time we got to the top end of the loch …it was down to road level and at Crianlarich and Tyndrum there was quite a bit laying everywhere and the snow plough had piled it up a little at the sides of the road.

Of course, of course, we had to go into the Green Welly for a cuppa (we were good though …we didn’t have a bacon or egg roll this time) but on emerging out into the car park to get our gear on …Nita said that it was starting to snow lightly.  Not in the plan at all …but it didn’t seem much and so we headed off on our walk.  By the time we had crossed the railway by the station and started up the forestry track that leads over into the glen, it was snowing properly and a half hour after that ….it was snowing heavily.  It looked great though as there was no wind and it was falling straight down and settling on every little twig and branch.  

 

abstract scottish landscape paintings

Cononish Glen ….a rather white scene

Cononish Glen is really spectacular with big mountains all around and our plan had been to take some photos and to stop and for me to make some new sound recordings.  When we reached the glen it really was pretty snowy and white.  You couldn’t see more than a couple of hundred metres up the hillside and ice had made the river much narrower than normal.  At this point though, we did stop for 15 minutes while I set my sound recorder to work …inside a water proof rucksack!  On returning home I found I’d captured the soft noise of the snow flakes hitting the outside of the rucksack with the very faint sound of the river in the background.

abstract landscape art

Meeting the West Highland Way

Anyway, by this time we were starting to think that the roads might not be so clever and so decided to cut short the walk and to head back.  We didn’t just retrace our steps though but followed the glen back to a point where we could meet the West Highland Way ….and then follow that back through the beautiful Tyndrum Community Woodland into the village. 

abstract scottish art

By the West Highland Way, near Tyndrum

scottish hillwalking blog

In Tyndrum Community Woodland

It made for a lovely walk and we were back at the Green Welly by about two o’clock.  The road wasn’t looking great …snow with tyre tracks ….but as we got out of our gear the snow plough / gritter came along.

I had said to Nita that we shouldn’t worry as by the time we were back down to Loch Lomond it would be warmer and the roads would be fine there.  Got that wrong ….if anything it got worse and the snow fell harder…..and kept on falling all the way back to Irvine!!  Took us over two and a half hours to get back ….but it did look great and we’d had a fabulous if short day out.

Light and subtle sounds …….back on the hill again

It’s damp, grey and dark here in Irvine today, but on Sunday last, Nita and I caught the end of the fine weather and made the most of it with a working walk in the hills.

We hadn’t been out for a week or two so it was with a real sense of excitement that we drove north through the beautiful scenery of the Loch Lomond National Park.  Huge banks of fog lay over the loch, sometimes shrouding everything including the road, sometimes pulling back out onto the water to give amazing views of the summit of Ben Lomond sticking out above it.  The colours were superb in the bright early sunshine and I had the feeling that even if I didn’t get any sound recordings made during the day, I’d certainly see some great views and maybe get some new ideas for paintings.

Hills around Bridge of Orchy

The Bridge of Orchy Hills, morning

But that said, you do have to get your priorities right and as we drove through this spectacular autumn landscape our minds were firmly fixed on breakfast at the Green Welly and one of their fine bacon rolls!  Once this was accomplished I’d put my mind to work ….but not before!

One of the problems I’ve encountered during my first attempts at making sound recordings in the wild is that there can often be a lot of background man-made noise.  I decided therefore to head back to a small hill we’ve walked several times in the past and one that is set well back from the main roads and isn’t an ‘anything’ …like a Munro or Corbett or Graham.  Being unclassified it, tends to be less frequented by other walkers.   The wee hill in question was Ben Inverveigh……rising between Glen Orchy and Loch Tulla.  I hoped that from its broad rough summit ridge I might be able to capture something of the wild in a recording.   It’s difficult to explain quite what I’m after except that there are wonderfully subtle sounds of space and quiet when you’re up in the hills ….and these are what I want to try and capture with the sound recorder.

View from Ben Inverveigh

From Ben Inverveigh

Ben Inverveigh is only around 650m high but even so its upper slopes were periodically shrouded with cloud and it made for quite a strange atmosphere as the mists came and went, sometimes reducing the visibility considerably and sometimes breaking so that we could see the bigger hills around us.   We stopped by one of the two small cairns marking the official top and after a quick bite of lunch, I set the sound recorder working…..propped on a small rock with its microphone sheltered from the cold breeze.  Over the ten months I’ve had use of this recorder, I’ve made quite a lot of recordings, but most have failed to capture quite what I want.  Many of them have as I said, captured the background noise of traffic or passing aircraft…..or me sneezing or Nita eating a bag of crisps as happened on one occasion!  Recording sound is not easy you know!  Anyway, on Sunday we did seem to have perfect conditions and when I switched the recorder on I felt rather more optimistic about the results than normal.  I’d have to wait until I got home to have a listen to the recording, if for no other reason than that it was bloody cold up there and we needed to get moving.

WHW & Beinn Dorain

Beinn Dorain from the West Highland Way, late afternoon

The walk back saw conditions improve considerably and before we were half way down we found ourselves in bright late afternoon sunshine.  The colours were once again, very beautiful and quite intense.  The spiky clumps of grass that made up much of the covering vegetation on this hill were a strange mixture of colours, ranging from a reddish brown at the tips, to a rich straw colour and to a vivid yellow green at the base of each blade of grass.  This meant that the overall colour seemed to change depending on which way the breeze blew.

By the time we got back to the car the light was fading fast but we’d had a great little day.  Not only did I get some ideas for new paintings, I also, it turned out, managed to get my first half decent sound recording.  I haven’t worked out yet how I’m going to use these recordings ……but it’s a step forward and quite an exciting one too.  At some point in the future I’ll get some of these recordings on-line so that you can get an idea of what this crazy painter is trying to do!

Diary of a trip to Assynt – week 1

Saturday 23rd May 

Had the perfect start for our trip and drive north, with clear blue skies and the hills of the Southern Highlands looking stunning in their spring colours.  Warm too, it being 17 C when we stopped for breakfast at the Green Welly in Tyndrum.  But the bright conditions weren’t to last, even by the time we were a few miles up the road driving across Rannoch Moor, we could see the high grey cloud moving down from the north west.  By the time we were in Glencoe village it was grey all over and just 9°C!  Little did we know that this was a taste of things to come?  The remainder of the trip north to Assynt was under increasingly dark skies and the final few miles along the single track road to the cottage we’d booked for the first week on the Storr peninsular, saw the rain start falling.  We’d picked a beautiful spot to stay all the same and even in the gloomy light and rain of the first evening, Nita could see wild geese grazing the rough pasture outside the cottage window.

Sunday 24th May 

Woke to bright sunlight and beautiful views across the land to the sea.  In between, in the hollow in these small hills, lay a wee loch and a short wander from the cottage took us to its shore.  I was surprised to find small banks of reeds growing around the edge which made for interesting patterns and possibly, some drawings in the future.

Monday 25th May  

Quinag, Assynt

Below Quinag, heavy shower

Heavy showers and high winds forecast, so decided on a lazy day checking out access to the ground leading up to below Sail Gorm on Quinag.  I’ve wanted to try and get up to below this part of the hill for some years in order to do some sketching and perhaps make a recording or two.  We found a convenient parking place and access, at least to start with seemed good …..we just needed a little dry weather.  Even the water proof drawing pen my colleague Alex Boyd had given me, would not do too well in the very  heavy showers that kept racing in from the north west.  Got some great views of Quinag as it was engulfed in one of these showers.  Time to head for lunch at the Scourie Hotel!

Tuesday 26th May

Assynt, Sutherland

The Old Man of Storr

More heavy showers and strong winds and so not a day for the high tops.  Instead, Nita suggested we walk the few kilometres from the cottage, out to Storr Head and the Old Man of Storr.    The 1:25000 map showed no fences all the way from the road near the cottage but we soon found  our way blocked and we had an annoying  hour and a half trying to find our way as two more tracks were blocked by fences and gates.  We did finally get to the open ground and had a fine walk out to Storr Head via a small hill that even at I think, 169m, gave impressive views.  The Old Man of Storr, a huge sea stack, was well worth seeing and the roar of the sea crashing against its base, made for some interesting recordings hopefully.  We returned along the cliff tops to the Storr lighthouse and then back to the cottage along the single track road in bright early evening sunshine.  Despite a few heavy showers early on, we arrived home dry!

Wednesday 27th May

Heavy rain and gales all day.  Feet up, heaters on, food, drink and much reading  / listening to books.  It finally eased around 21.00 and a few bursts of late sun had us driving the couple of miles to the nearest beach.  Big waves and very strange light …but good to get an airing.

Thursday 28th May

Scotttish Landscape

On the lower slopes of Canisp, 28th May 2015

No let up in the cold, showers and wind ….but it did seem that conditions would be a little better, so we decided to go for a proper walk and we headed for Canisp.  We’d done two big walks on this hill in the past.  One of them, on a fine hot day, saw us reach the summit of this fine hill.  The other attempt saw us do a circular walk up to a point about 600m on the hill before being turned back by high winds.  It seemed that conditions would be similar today and so we planned to walk the same route.

Sutherland, Scottish Landscape

Between showers, Canisp, 28th May 2015

This involved crossing a large footbridge over one of the streams flowing from below Canisp.  When we got to it though ….well, it was there ….but not crossing the stream.  At some point in the past it had been swept away and was left high and dry on the bank of the stream!  All was not lost though as we were walking in one of Scotland’s finest limestone areas ….and this stream simply disappeared underground a few hundred metres up-stream!  With the water levels being so high, it hadn’t completely disappeared and we spent quite a time picking our way through and across small but luckily narrow rushing streams.  Back on course we had a fabulous walk.  At first, enjoying some bright patches of sunlight but then becoming engulfed by a series of huge hail showers that blasted down with real force.  The landscape around Canisp is so wild and rough  and these conditions really made you feel quite isolated …..there was no-one else stupid enough to be out  that day, not on this hill anyway.

Friday 29th May

Suilven, Scottish Landscape

Suilven from the near the Stoor lighthouse, 29th May 2015

After the long walk the day before, we decided to head back to the Storr lighthouse so that I could do some sketching and try and make some more sound recordings.  It was still cold but the sun was shining and the cliffs and churning waves looked great.  Had a well earned cup of tea at Living the Dream …. sat with our mugs of tea looking out over the sea…. a magnificent end to a very enjoyable first week in Assynt.

We headed a few miles south for our second week, staying in one of the caravans close to the beautiful beach at Achmelvich.  More about this second week in Assynt in my next blog.

93 days without a walk in the hills ….not that I was counting or anything!

Well then, yesterday saw Nita and I back out walking amongst the hills again…..after 93 days.  We’d hoped to get out last week when the weather was reasonable, but work commitments put an end to that and so we decided that we’d get out on Sunday despite the poor weather forecast.  After such a long break from the walking we didn’t want to head up hill…. we just wanted a low level wander for a few hours somewhere ……  in amongst the hills.

As it was going to be a relatively short day we reckoned we might as well do things in style and so drove up to Tyndrum for a late breakfast at the Green Welly.    A bacon roll and coffee would set us up for the driving rain and strong winds that were forecast. After the snow of the previous weeks it was amazingly mild and although the snow was melting quite quickly there was still plenty of it around …even in Tyndrum.

Once the food and coffee were downed, there were no further excuses and we climbed into the wet weather gear and headed off for the forestry track that leads from near Tyndrum low level station around the base of Meall Odhar and into Cononish Glen.   The snow on the track was soft and my legs took only a short while to start complaining!  But it was just so good to get out again and see, (albeit in a rather vague and misty fashion) the hills rising up into the low cloud around us.   As the track descended into the glen we could hear the rush of the river…..swollen with the melting snows and quite heavy rain.  It was quite an impressive sight and the water was racing along and bashing over the larger boulders.  We passed a parked car with an empty canoe trailer ….brave souls but I guess if you’re a water person it must be quite an exhilarating trip rushing down the river in a canoe ….though not for me!

In Cononish Glen

In Cononish Glen

We had no real plan for the day, just to walk up the glen for a couple of hours and stretch the legs and get some fresh Highland air into our rather rusty systems.  About 10 years ago on a similarly grey, wet and windy day, we walked up the glen with our friends Guy and Roy and on that occasion headed up to the entrance of the gold mine beneath Beinn Chuirn ….where we sheltered from the weather in one of the disused huts.  It made for a good lunch spot and we had thought about revisiting the hut.  Despite the poor weather yesterday however, there had been a few lulls and during these we’d had tantalising glimpses of Ben Lui up at the head of the glen.  For this reason, we decided to carry on up the glen rather than head for the gold mine cafe and carried on until just after half past one before turning around and making our way back.  We did get a very brief look at the steep lower section of the east ridge of Ben Lui …where we did our only proper winter scramble with Guy a good few years ago, but mists and rain quickly returned and we were glad to have it at our backs as we wandered back alongside the river.

Below Ben Oss

Below Ben Oss

Cononish Glen really is a magnificent place even when most of its fine mountains are shrouded in weather.  This was the perfect wee walk for my very un-fit legs and the tight muscles this morning prove that they needed the exercise.    If you’re ever looking for a spectacular but relatively short walk, then I’d thoroughly recommend a wander up Cononish Glen.  The advantage of a short day is of course that you’re back to Tyndrum in time for another cup of coffee and a bowl of soup before the drive home.

In Cononish Glen

In Cononish Glen

-o-o-o-o-

Back to Beinn Chuirn ….ice free this time!

Ben Oss from just above the gold mine on Beinn Chuirn

Ben Oss from just above the gold mine on Beinn Chuirn

The last time we went to walk Beinn Chuirn, (in the winter a couple of years ago) we encountered difficult conditions ….well, for me they were anyway!  There was virtually no snow, but it had been very cold for quite a long period and so there was a lot of ice ….thick and black amongst the grass and rocks.  I was really struggling to see it and this made for very slow progress.  After several hours we were only a little over half way up and with the prospect of having to descend on this slippery ground, we decided to cut our losses and retreat.  It was disappointing but wise ….and we had checked out a very good route up the hill ….perfect for a return trip in more favourable conditions.

as we thought...it was steep

as we thought…it was steep

On Thursday last week, with a reasonable forecast, (well at least not torrential rain all day) we finally got to go back to Beinn Chuirn and complete our previously curtailed route.  Beinn Chuirn lies on the north side of Cononish Glen, opposite Beinn Dubhchraig and Ben Oss  ….and next door to its much larger neighbour Ben Lui.  It took us about an hour and a quarter to walk along the estate tracks to a point just short of the hill.  A large track leads uphill from Cononish Farm to the entrance of a now disused gold mine.  The tunnel entrance leading under the mountain is sealed but a set of tracks leads out and there are still sheds there …presumably when the price of gold rises they’ll start working again.

Overlooking the corrie, Beinn Chuirn

Overlooking the corrie, Beinn Chuirn

Anyway, our route led up into the dramatic and rocky little corrie and then steeply up by way of a grass and rock ridge until the broad easy angled upper slopes were reached.  It makes for an exhilarating walk, the ground dropping away steeply on both sides and behind you and as we reached the steepest section near the top I felt glad we had turned back the previous winter!  We were lucky this time though,  as despite the dark heavy clouds, the rain kept away and we had good views in what was very clear air.  The top of the hill is littered with boulders and strangely layered outcrops of rock ….very beautiful natural sculptures.   Beyond these was the summit cairn ….the perfect lunch spot with views of mountains in every direction.

 "Monarch of the Glen"

Being watched!

As we ate our lunch though, the cloud started to descend onto Ben Lui and it became pretty obvious that we were in for a soaking.  Our route back did a wide circuit down easy angled grass slopes before a final steep section led back to the track in the glen.  Some way below the summit though, Nita spotted that we were not alone on the hill.  Above us standing on the sky line was a large stag …watching us carefully.   Despite the rain the views were still dramatic  in the dark and gloomy light.   We were back in Tyndrum in time for a pizza at the Green Welly and back home in Irvine at the reasonably respectable time of nine o’clock.  Another great day in the Scottish Highlands and maybe even one that I’ll get a painting or two out of?

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!!!