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Loch Ossian | Scottish Landscape Art - Scottish Landscape Paintings

Posts Tagged ‘Loch Ossian’

Staggering around in the dark!

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

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

From Turnhouse Hill

From Turnhouse Hill

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

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

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

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!

‘West, above the Blackwater Reservoir’

108-west-above-the-blackwater-reservoir-acrylic-pastel-2009-76-x-23cm

'West, above the Blackwater Reservoir'

‘West, above the Blackwater Reservoir’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2009, 76 x 23 cm

The forecast for the weekend is for a little bit more winter.  I thought therefore that I’d have one of my wintry paintings for the current work of the week.  I did this piece a few years ago and it’s based on the view we had from Leum Ulilleim.  This is a 906 m hill that lies just to the SW of Corrour Station on the West Highland line.

I had been with a group from the local club staying at the bunkhouse at the station and on the Saturday Guy and I headed for Leum Uilleum.  It’s quite a prominent hill from the station and makes for a good circuit.  We had a day of bright sun and very heavy snow showers and it was quite an exhilarating day for me …being the first proper winter walk I’d done.  As we stopped for lunch at a low point on the back of the hill, the clouds broke to give this wonderful snowy view out over the Blackwater Reservoir.  It didn’t last too long though and by the time we’d plodded our way up to the neighbouring top it was snowing hard again.  We finished our day though under almost cloud free skies and even had time before catching the train home to walk over to the end of Loch Ossian.