counter hit xanga
hillwalking in scotland | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘hillwalking in scotland’

Revisiting Beinn Bhreac

Several years ago Nita and I walked the three hills to the north of Glen Douglas on the west side of Loch Lomond. For what are relatively small hills this is a surprisingly strenuous walk as there is quite a lot of steep ascents and descents. As such, by the time we’d climbed back up to the second hill, we were running a little late and so rather rushed over to Beinn Bhreac, the last and highest of the three hills. We subsequently didn’t have much time to enjoy the big views out over Loch Lomond or to explore the rocky little tops.

On the steep slopes of  Beinn Bhreac near Loch Lomond

On the steep slopes of Beinn Bhreac

Yesterday, with the forecast looking fine, we went back to Glen Douglas, only this time, to walk Beinn Bhreac and to explore it and its neighbour Ben Reoch. We’ve done several walks this year in these hills around Luss and on each occasion it’s been quite dark and hazy. As we arrived in Glen Douglas yesterday things were looking very similar with cloud misting the tops and fine drizzle falling. But even so, the glen was looking fantastic.

Approaching the summit of Beinn Bhreac near Loch Lomond

Approaching the summit of Beinn Bhreac

The route up from the glen to the summit of Beinn Bhreac is pretty direct and like most of the Luss Hills, steep and generally grassy. As we gained height the drizzle stopped and the cloud lifted, giving fine views back into the glen and across to the surrounding tops. I have to say that it’s been three weeks since we were on the rocky tops around Conival in Assynt and my legs were complaining as we made our way slowly uphill. With the sun starting to come out it was quite warm and it seemed to bring out the wild life…. flies and midges and … a lizard, which was hopefully eating some of the latter!

After so much grass, the summit of Beinn Bhreac is a pleasant surprise, being made up of a series of rocky outcrops and crags, the highest of which gives an amazingly large view over Loch Lomond. You can see a long way north up the loch and right down to the southern end. Directly opposite is the Munro, Ben Lomond which was looking great, although no doubt, it was a lot busier than on our side of the loch! We had seen no-one and that was to remain the same for the rest of the day.

Rock crevice near the summit of Beinn Bhreac near Loch Lomond

Rock crevice near the summit of Beinn Bhreac

As I said, on our previous visit to these hills, we had kind of rushed on our way over from Ben Reoch and had by-passed it’s more interesting and craggy little subsidiary top. Yesterday, we decided to make our way over to it and enjoy exploring around the crags. On leaving Beinn Bhreac however, we came across an amazing crevice in the rock. It looked like the side of the mountain was breaking away and would, sometime in the distant future, collapse down into Loch Lomond. It was surprisingly deep and offered shelter for many plants which were somehow clinging onto the ledges of the rock.

By the time we reached the rocky top near Ben Reoch, the sun was bright and hot and after picking our way around and through the crags, we settled down for a very pleasant rest, enjoying the views and the sight of four Ravens that seemed to occupy this lofty little top.

Beinn Bhreac

Beinn Bhreac from the rocky summit near Ben Reoch overlooking Loch Lomond

It was certainly a fine walk and it was well worth while revisiting and spending time exploring these tops. As you know, I’ve recently been doing some drawings based on our earlier visits to the Luss Hills. I think I may well get a couple more done based on our wander yesterday.

Blog…no blog!

Sorry, no blog this week. We’re away up in Assynt and I’ll be writing about the trip next week. In the meantime, here are a couple of snaps taken on a wild walk on Canisp.
Suilven from the slopes of Canisp

Suilven from the slopes of Canisp

 

From Canisp, a bit of a rainbow during a hail shower

From Canisp, a bit of a rainbow during a hail shower

-o-o-o-o-o-

West Lomond – in the sunny east!

Meeting our friend Neil in Fife at 08.00, for a walk in the Lomond Hills, meant an early start. Indeed, it meant the alarm clock went off at half past four in the morning! When I got downstairs and opened the back door to let the cat out, I was disappointed to find that it was raining hard and unlike us, the cat decided it wasn’t a day for venturing out! The forecast had, I thought, indicated a dry start with the rain developing as the day progressed ….it looked like the forecast might be back to front.

Nita and I in the rain at the Bonnet Stone

Nita and I in the rain at the Bonnet Stone

The rain fell all the way over to Fife and when we started the walk at a point below West Lomond, the hill was well shrouded in mist. But, the Lomond Hills aren’t just about big views from the top. Neil had already told us that these small hills had some really interesting features and he had planned a route to take us past some of them.

The first, which I think is called the Bonnet Stone, is a crazy natural sandstone sculpture that sits low down amidst grassy fields full of sheep and their lambs. From a distance I found it difficult to judge just how big or small the outcrop was, but my jaw started to drop as we got closer and I realised that this was a very big sandstone outcrop indeed. The actual Bonnet Stone looked a bit like a very large mushroom and apparently it is possible to clamber up onto it, but I gave that a miss and made do with standing on another lump of the huge outcrop. Neil had told us we’d visit three caves on the walk and tucked underneath us was one of them. It was a perfect place to get out of the rain for a late breakfast!

Nita and Neil at the summit of Bishop's Hill

Nita and Neil at the summit of Bishop’s Hill

The haul up to the summit of West Lomond was pretty steep and we were soon into the cloud and, as we got higher, the wind. The summit wasn’t really a place to stop for long and a quick couple of snaps later saw us heading off down hill, with the wind and driving rain at our backs. It was an equally steep descent but on easy grass and as we emerged from below the cloud we could make out some breaks in the weather off in the distance.

On the side of bishop's Hill

On the side of bishop’s Hill

Neil’s plan was to head over to the summit of Bishop’s Hill and then back down to the col before returning to the car via a fabulous glen carved out through the sandstone by a small stream. The breaks we had seen in the distance did tell of better conditions and as the rain stopped the cloud level lifted and we got our first views of West Lomond…. a large lump of a hill that might make for an interesting drawing or painting. In other directions we could see Loch Leven, East Lomond and further away, the Bass Rock. We had a longer stop at the summit of Bishop’s Hill before doing a small detour to see a very impressive pinnacle that stands as part of the craggy side of the hill.

West Lomond from the col

West Lomond from the col

The walk back through the sandstone carved glen was equally impressive and a detour took us up to an elegant waterfall and a couple more caves. This time we didn’t need their shelter though and a late lunch by the side of the small stream saw us sitting in the sunshine for a few minutes.

The perfect lunch spot

The perfect lunch spot

This really was a fine walk and this is an area I’d like to return to in slightly better weather. Our walk ended with a visit to Neil’s parents who live close by and who made us very welcome and treated us to a fine meal before we headed back to the wet west! Many thanks to them for the fabulous Fife hospitality and to Neil for taking us on such a fine walk through his local hills. It’s always great going somewhere you’ve never visited before.

Big space

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

‘On Rannoch Moor’

203 'On Rannoch Moor', Acrylic & Pastel, 2011, 76 x 23 cm

‘On Rannoch Moor’

 ‘On Rannoch Moor’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2011, 76 x 23 cm

We had wonderful views out over Rannoch Moor last Saturday as we were driving home after our holiday in Assynt.  I could have happily stopped and gone for a wander but time was pressing and we still had a couple of hours to drive.  Even so, it’s great to know this wonderful landscape is so close to us and that we can get to see it and explore it whenever we have a day free.  We’re hoping to get up to this area again soon as there are a number of hills we would like to visit while the long summer daylight is available. …..hopefully this will lead to some new paintings. 

Back from Assynt

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.