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Posts Tagged ‘Victoria Bridge’

Ghlas Bheinn – what a difference a few months make!

It has all been work, work, and work these last few weeks and so it was great to have an excuse to stop for a couple of days last weekend.  Some friends of ours from Germany are over visiting Scotland for a couple of weeks and have hired a camper van for the duration.  On Saturday we drove up into the Highlands with them and did a gentle tour up to Arrochar, over the Rest and Be Thankful, past Loch Fyne and on through Tyndrum and Bridge of Orchy to Rannoch Moor.   Our visitors first few days in Scotland, spent exploring Edinburgh, were spent under cloudy skies and in wet conditions but on Saturday the conditions in the West Highlands were superb ….hot and sunny and the landscape looked at its very best.

vacation in Scotland

Andrea, Rudi and Nita on Ghlas Bheinn

Andrea and Rudi were keen to do some walking so long as it wasn’t a huge mountain hike and so our first thoughts were to take them for a wander along the Bridge of Orchy to Victoria Bridge section of the West Highland Way.  The path climbs a little but not much and reaches the most magnificent view point high above Loch Tulla…..we thought that this would be ideal.  And it would have been except that the annual West Highland Way race was taking part that weekend and as we arrived at the Bridge of Orchy…..the runners were passing through.  There were dozens of cars and vans and numerous people and stewards ….all very exciting but not the peaceful place we’d imagined we’d be able to show our friends from Germany!  We extricated ourselves, the camper van and our car from the mayhem and after a short re-think drove the few miles further on to the big view point on the road leading up onto Blackmount.

vacation in Scotland

Away from the crowds, a perfect summer evening in the West Highlands

We normally park here for our annual winter wander along the undulating little ridge leading to Ghlas Bheinn and this suddenly seemed to be the perfect solution for a walk now.  And so it was, with huge views and a good cooling breeze to keep the midges away, this short walk gave Andrea and Rudi a chance to experience a little bit of the Highlands off-piste as it were ….no paths and no other walkers.  For Nita and me it was great to see this familiar place under beautiful summer conditions with different colours and light.  We got back to the vehicles around half past eight in the evening and drove back to the Bridge of Orchy Hotel for food and refreshment ….a perfect end to a very enjoyable day.  My thanks to the staff at the hotel.  They must have been completely shattered by the time we wandered in at just after nine in the evening ….but they very kindly agreed to fix us some food despite us arriving after they had officially finished serving.  Great service and very friendly and if you are heading up or down the A82, this hotel is highly recommended.

A long hot day in the Blackmount

This time last week, (Sunday morning) Nita and I were making our way along the West Highland Way between Victoria Bridge and Ba Bridge.  You’ll remember perhaps that we walked part of this section of the WHW a few months ago when we went to walk Beinn Toaig.  On that occasion the skies were as free of clouds as last Sunday, but the temperature was somewhat different with snow and ice on the mountains above about 600 metres.  Our lunchtime spot that day was high up on Beinn Toaig and we were sat looking out over the lonely glen through which the Ba River flows.    It has big mountains on three sides and is also the home of wee Meall Tionail, the craggy little hill sitting at the far end of the glen.

photo of Scotland - Blackmount

‘A very warm walk in the Blackmount’

 It was to this small hill that Nita and I made our slow hot way last Sunday.  It really was hot too as we walked the hard rough surface of the WHW, even at nine o’clock in the morning, but the views out over Rannoch Moor and to the surrounding mountains were beautiful.  Not surprisingly there were quite a few other folk out plodding their way along this famous path although to be honest, I didn’t envy them the prospect of continuing all day on this hard unyielding surface of the WHW.  By the time we had reached the beautiful Ba Bridge my feet were already quite sore and I couldn’t wait to get onto the soft grassy path that leads up the glen towards Meall Tionail.

Photos of Scotland - Blackmount

‘A very warm walk in the Blackmount’

One of my plans for the day was to make some new recordings of water flowing through the various streams, but after this unusually dry period, even the Ba River had precious little water flowing in it.  The last time we were here back in April 2012 all the streams and rivers were quite busy ……this time it was like they were all taking a siesta.  But that said, we did in the end get some interesting and what should be useful recordings.

As we moved slowly up the glen we became more sheltered from the occasional breeze and it became hotter and hotter.  It was idyllic however and so incredibly quiet and peaceful ….just the calls of birds, the buzz of insects and the trickles of water ….no human sounds at all.  By the time we were at the base of Meall Tionail we decided it was just too hot to do the short steep climb up to its summit and instead sat with our feet cooling in the small  stream  flowing off the hillside.  It had several little pools, into one of which Nita had plunged her feet.  After a short while she let out a yelp and moved her feet, saying that something, presumably a frog, had touched her foot!  She couldn’t see anything at first though but after several more minutes she saw the culprit  ….. a quite large brown trout, who’s home the pool must have been!

Photo of Scottish Highlands - Blackmount

‘A very warm walk in the Blackmount’

The walk back was if anything even hotter and we took numerous stops where ever we found places with a hint of a breeze.  We did get back to the car eventually, about ten hours after setting  out in the morning and both of us with very sore feet, but it had been some day and it was great to get back into the Highlands again.

A crowd-less August Bank Holiday Sunday

On the West Highland Way, above Loch Tulla

On the West Highland Way, above Loch Tulla

Not wanting to miss out on yet more fine weather, Nita and I had planned to get out again last Sunday.  We’d both been working all day Saturday and so decided to have a day in the Arrochar Alps as they are a relatively short drive from Irvine.  Then, however, it dawned on us that it was the August Bank Holiday weekend in the rest of the UK and we reckoned that there would be a lot of walkers heading north for the long weekend to climb a few Munros.  The Arrochar hills are very popular at the best of times and so might have been a little too busy for me last weekend! I do like walking in quiet places although whether this is just because I’m so slow and get a little embarrassed when constantly being passed by other walkers, or whether it’s just because I’m an unsociable grumpy (almost) old man …..well, it’s debatable!  Thankfully, Nita similarly likes the peace and quiet and so we’re well matched.

From the eastern end of Ben Inverveigh

From the eastern end of Ben Inverveigh

So then, where to go?  A few years ago on a similarly fine summer weekend, we did the circuit of Meall Tairbh and Ben Inverveigh, the two small but rough hills near Loch Tulla.  On that occasion we’d parked in a very busy car park near Victoria Bridge but once on our way, we saw none of the other cars occupants for the rest of the day.  This then seemed the perfect choice for Sunday.

Rough ground, Ben Inverveigh

Rough ground, Ben Inverveigh

Although both the hills are only around 650m high they offer pretty rough walking on generally pathless slopes of grass, heather and rock.  This circuit over the two hills with the steep descent and re-ascent of just under 150 m makes for a good walk.  This time however, we decided to park the car at the Bridge of Orchy and walk the few kilometres along the West Highland Way to reach the start of the long broad ridge of Ben Inverveigh.  It means a slightly longer day but makes for a pleasant easy start and finish with the added advantage that at the end of the day, you are parked by the Bridge of Orchy Hotel…… perfect for an evening meal before driving home.

A lonely loch, below Meall Tairbh

A lonely loch, below Meall Tairbh

And well, yes, it all worked according to plan….just!   We’d been rather casual and had decided to leave a little later than normal in order to reach the Green Welly in Tyndrum in time for breakfast.  Then however, we found the main road out of Ayrshire closed at Beith.   We headed across to the old Glasgow road at Lugton only to find that this was closed too!!!   The sat-nav put us right but we must have spent a good half hour driving along small country roads before finally bobbing out in Paisley.   Still, this was not a problem as we had plenty of time and so after a relaxed if slightly late breakfast at the Green Welly, we drove the few miles to Bridge of Orchy and were walking by about half past ten.  It was however, incredibly beautiful with the air being very clear for a summer day.  The views were stunning and even I could make out some of the more distant peaks.  Of course, of course, we just had to keep stopping to look and take photos and so didn’t reach the summit of Ben Inverveigh until after 13.30.  Still, no problem, we had plenty of time!   We were still on course when we reached the summit of Meall Tairbh at about 16.45 but it did seem a long way back to the West Highland Way.   The final few kilometres to reach this famous path were over very rough and boggy ground but in the past we’d picked up a path of sorts.  This time however, we decided to head over to the river as Nita reckoned she could see a path along its bank that also led back to the WHW.  This in retrospect was not a good idea.  The ground was even rougher and wetter and our pace went from slow to almost full stop.  Time however did not stop and still short of the WHW by some way, we realised we were starting to get a little late.   When we did finally reach it, it was just after 19.30 and we still had the walk back to Bridge of Orchy to do in fading light.  Nita, who had already done her usual great job of guiding me, had her work cut out as we descended the rough track in what for me was very poor light.  Wow, quite a day and we didn’t see anyone from the point where we left the WHW in the morning to the point where we re-joined it in the evening!  It’s good to be sociable!