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Posts Tagged ‘west highland way’

Ghlas Bheinn – what a difference a few months make!

Posted by admin on June 23rd, 2016

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.

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A long hot day in the Blackmount

Posted by admin on June 12th, 2016

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.

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A day exploring Beinn Toaig in the Blackmount, West Highlands

Posted by admin on March 17th, 2016

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’

-o-o-o-o-

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A very short walk on the West Highland Way

Posted by admin on February 20th, 2016

Walking the West Highland Way from end to end isn’t really for me, although I can certainly see the attraction and see why so many people each year set out to complete the full route…….it really does go through some amazing scenery.  We tend to walk short sections of the path, often on the way to or back from one of the many hills and mountains that rise on either side of it.

West Highland Way

Loch Lomond from the slopes of Connich Hill

If you read my blog a few weeks ago, you know that I am hoping to put together images of 12 paintings that are based on or around the West Highland Way and last Monday, wanting just a short little walk, we decided to have a wander up the small steep Connich (Conic) Hill that rises above the southern shores of Loch Lomond.  It’s a magnificent little hill giving fine views across the loch and north to Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps and as such I thought it might be a perfect place for the first painting in my West Highland Way collection.  I’ve walked this hill on a couple of previous occasions, but never worked on any paintings after these trips.

West Highland Way

Connich Hill

So then, on Monday last, Nita and I travelled up to Loch Lomond with the aim of walking this wee hill, taking a few photos, doing some sketching and maybe making a couple of sound recordings.  Well, that was the plan anyway!  What we hadn’t taken into account however was the fact that it was the school half term and when we arrived at the base of the hill, there were a lot of families who had had the same idea …to walk this wee hill and enjoy the spectacular scenery under almost clear blue skies.  We normally tend to wander off of the main paths and visit the places less popular with other walkers, and so the volumes of people making their way up the West Highland Way footpath to the top of Connich Hill, were somewhat over-whelming!

West Highland Way

Ben Lomond from below Connich Hill

By the time we had reached a point about three quarters of the way up, both Nita and I were gritting our teeth and we stopped to sit down and look at the views  ….with our backs to the crowds!  It was just so noisy ….which was fine as it was great that so many people were enjoying themselves ….but it wasn’t for us.   To make matters worse for us two grumpy old folk, a couple of local farmers were rounding up sheep using one of those four wheeled vehicles, ….and shouting a lot.  Then just as I thought things couldn’t get any noisier on a hill, one of those powered flying triangles came over, swooping and gunning its engine!  That was that, we decided not to bother going on to the top and after examining the map, noticed a footpath making its way back down to the road well away from the WHW.  We took it and within ten minutes we were out of reach of the voices and had the hillside to ourselves. ….phew!  It was beautiful and the short descent made for a very enjoyable last hour.

West Highland Way

Loch Lomond from our quiet descent route!

I didn’t get any sketching done and certainly no sound recordings, but we did see some great views and colours and I may get something in the way of a painting out of our short day.   In all honesty, I’m sure I used to be just as noisy when I was young and walking the hills with my dad ….now I’ve turned into him ….I’m one of those grumpy old men too!

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‘Squall, on the edge of Rannoch Moor’

Posted by admin on January 23rd, 2016

355 'Squall, on the edge of Rannoch Moor', Acrylic & Pastel, 2015, 30 x 30 cm

‘Squall, on the edge of Rannoch Moor’, Acrylic & Pastel, 2015, 30 x 30 cm

Price £675

As anyone who reads my blogs will know, we walk bits of the West Highland Way quite regularly…..usually to get to or back from a hill.  I’m hoping this year to put together a series of paintings based on views from, or above this famous long distance path.  I have a number of works already completed that could be included and this painting is one of them.

It is based on a view we had as we were walking back along the WHW between Ba Cottage and the Glencoe ski centre.  We had  been walking the hills to the west of the path and were at the end of what had been a long day when we saw this heavy shower moving towards us across the edge of Rannoch Moor.

The painting is one of ten works  currently showing in the Winter Exhibition at The Biscuit Factory in Newcastle upon Tyne.  The exhibition runs until the end of February so do call in to see it if you live in the city, or are visiting the area.  There is so much to see at The Biscuit Factory that it makes a great day out.  I hope you can get along to see this painting.

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A snowy Saturday in the Southern Highlands

Posted by admin on January 23rd, 2016

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.

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West Highland Way Work – a plan for the future

Posted by admin on December 10th, 2015

I’ve never walked the whole of the famous and hugely popular West Highland Way long distance footpath, but over the last sixteen years Nita and I have walked much of it.  We’ve walked sections of it at a time, usually in the winter when the weather up on the tops is too wild for high level trips and have used the path many times to reach or get back from the foot of a hill.  However you walk this path in a continuous trip from end to end, or as we’ve done, in short sections, there can be no argument that it takes a fabulous route and passes through some superb scenery.

scottish landscape paintings

‘East from Ba Cottage, first light’

This year we’ve used the WHW on several occasions to reach hills.  In the spring we followed it south along the eastern shores of Loch Lomond for several kilometres before climbing steeply up the hillside and heading up to the lonely little summit of Cruin a’ Bheinn.   Couple of months ago we used the path once again to get to the base of Beinn Odhair near Tyndrum and only a few weeks ago we once again set off along it’s well trodden surface, this time heading for the wee hill of Ben Inverveigh.  Back on a really fine day day, we followed it up the famous Devil’s Staircase opposite Buachaille Etive Beag, before leaving it for a fine wander along the ridge.  All of these walks gave fabulous views both on the path itself and from the hills surrounding it.

scottish landscape paintings

‘The Buachaille from the Devil’s Staircase’

Over the years I’ve created quite a number of paintings and drawings based on views we’ve had from or above this famous footpath and I’ve decided that it would be nice to put together a selection of work based on my experiences of the path.  It will mean visiting the sections we haven’t been on before and revisiting other sections, but it’ll be a damn good excuse for doing so ….if ever I needed one that is!

scottish landscape paintings

‘A damp morning, Buachaille Etive Beag, Glen Coe’

There’s a lot of work to be done but when the paintings are complete I’m hoping that I’ll be able to produce a collection of West Highland Way cards and prints from them and maybe even produce a book.  First things first though, more walking, more painting.  Heck, it’s a tough job isn’t it!

scottish landscape painting

‘From the eastern shores of Loch Lomond’

-o-o-o-o-

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‘Winter afternoon, Beinn Dorain’

Posted by admin on November 13th, 2015

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

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

I recently had an enquiry about this painting and, as it is several years old now, I decided to get it out and have a closer look at it.  I did the painting after a fabulous winter walk up Beinn Dorain near the Bridge of Orchy.  This view looks from its false summit across the wee ridge to the summit proper.  It was a cold and clear day with large patches of icy snow lying around.  I seem to remember my mate Guy and I sitting for rather too long up here, just taking in the peace, quiet and beauty of the place.   As it turned out, we did head back in time ….just.  It was getting quite gloomy as we made our way back down the final slopes to the West Highland Way and the Bridge of Orchy station.  I guess that one of the reasons I love doing these paintings is that they bring back many memories.

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Refuelling!

Posted by admin on September 6th, 2015

I’m late writing this blog again and am sat in my studio this Sunday with Sea Sick Steve blasting out!  Suffice it to say ….I’m the only one here at the Courtyard so far today…. I might get some complaints otherwise.  Oh well, sometimes its great having the music up loud and in a strange way it can be almost as relaxing as being out in a wild and quiet location.

I think I’ve needed a bit of both of these to be honest, after what has been a very busy and quite stressful last week.  It’s been a good one though and very enjoyable too …but I needed a break at the end.   Our plan had been to get up at 5am and drive up to Glen Coe to walk Stob Dubh, one of the Munro summits of Buachaille Etive Beag.  Trouble was that by the time we got to Thursday evening both Nita and I were completely shattered and even the thought of walking in what must be one of Scotland’s finest mountain ranges couldn’t cut through the weariness.  But we did need to get out and Nita suggested we head back to Beinn Odhar near Tyndrum.  It’s a regular in our hill walking diary as it makes for a great half day but with plenty of steep and ‘up’ to give the legs a short but sharp work-out.  It also had the advantage that we didn’t have to drag ourselves out of bed until 08.30!

View from Beinn Odhar of the old mines

From the old mine workings on Beinn Odhar

Have to admit we hadn’t checked the weather forecast for a couple of days but had seemed to remember that there was a nice splurge of high pressure lurking somewhere close to Scotland and so imagined we’d have fine weather.  We did, but not in that clear blue skies kind of way we had expected.  By the time we were driving along the shores of Loch Lomond it was dark and threatening rain and a good number of hills had cloud shrouding their tops.   It was, however, a rapidly changing scene and in the hour it took to drive the remaining way to Tyndrum we’d had a bit of almost everything from bright sunshine to heavy bursts of rain.  This was to be the story of the day.

Part of the enjoyment of a half day in the hills is that you have time to stop for coffee and a snack before setting out and we did just this at the very popular watering hole that is The Green Welly.  And then we were off, heading up the West Highland Way for a kilometre or so before turning off this popular track and making our way up the steep grassy slopes of Beinn Odhar.  There is no messing with this hill.  You gain height quickly and the views behind you are always impressive.  On Friday this meant a stream of fast moving dark clouds passing by at about 850m and the summits of the larger hills regularly disappearing and then re-emerging into bright patches of sunlight.  For me, this was perfect and I felt a painting coming on almost as soon as we gained some height!

View from Beinn Odhar

From the slopes of Beinn Odhar

This is the hill that has old mine remains high up on the slope and it never fails to amaze me to think that people used to trudge all the way up there  before starting a day’s work.  As we picked our way through the rocky outcrops marking the mine workings the cloud descended and it was time to get the water and wind proof gear out ….suddenly it was cold with that very definite hint of winter being just around the corner.

View from Beinn Odhar

Landscape patterns, from the slopes of Beinn Odhar

We reached the wee loch tucked under the final steep and boulder covered slopes leading to the summit and decided to sit and enjoy this incredibly peaceful spot.  We’ve been here many times before and this really is one of my favourite places in the Southern Highlands.  It is so unexpected and despite this being a Corbett it is a rarely visited spot.  I guess we sat sheltering from the wind and occasional drizzle for about 50 minutes…..just watching the clouds come and go.  This really was a perfect place to re-fuel.

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A big little hill

Posted by admin on April 11th, 2015

Several years ago Nita and I spent a long day walking right around Ben Lomond, rather than climbing right to the top. It made a fascinating walk as once we’d left the main paths and descended around the “back” of this hugely popular hill, we saw no-one. What we did see though, was the very rugged nature of this side of the hill and it was a really worth while trip. On that day, our route bought us back to the main Ptarmigan path via the broad grassy ridge leading north across a high col to a small rounded top called Cruinn a’ Bheinn. At the time I remember thinking that it would make a fine view point but we never got around to going over there.

April colours, Loch Lomond

April colours, Loch Lomond

As you know, Nita and I are trying to regain our hill fitness after our long lay-off and we decided to tackle some of the smaller hills to start with. A couple of weeks ago we had two fine days over on the Luss Hills and having both survived and enjoyed these two trips, I got out my copy of Andrew Dempster’s “The Grahams” and had a look to see if there were any Grahams we’d over looked in the Loch Lomond area. To my surprise I found Cruinn a’ Bheinn which I’d completely forgotten about since our trip around Ben Lomond and which I’d never even suspected was a Graham!

Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond

So then, with a gap in what has been a very busy work schedule of late, we headed for this “wee” hill yesterday. The book reckoned the shortest way to its summit was from Inversnaid on the east shores of Loch Lomond. This requires a lengthy drive to get to it but in almost perfect spring conditions we drove the final 15 miles from Aberfoyle to Inversnaid gawping at the beautiful views over the lochs, woods and hills ….sometimes bright under the clear blue skies and at other times shrouded in banks of mist. Wow, it was quite a stunning drive.

Cruinn a's Bheinn and Ben Lomond from the boggy col

Cruinn a’s Bheinn and Ben Lomond from the boggy col

To get to Cruinn a’ Bheinn, involves a two and a half kilometre walk south along the WHW before picking up a big estate track that climbs very steeply up the hillside above the loch and crosses a broad and wild col. With the narrow WHW path needing a lot of concentration to negotiate with my fuzzy eye it took quite a long time for us to reach the track heading up Then, as I say ….it was up hill…..very up hill.

The views were very fine though so our numerous stops were well rewarded. Eventually as we neared the top of the steep and the track started to make its way across the col, we got our first view of Cruinn a’ Bheinn ….and more is the point, of Ben Lomond. Quite impressive with all the gullies filled with snow.

Loch Lomond from the WHW

Loch Lomond from the WHW

From this point, it’s a case of leaving the well made track and heading directly towards the hill over very boggy and rough ground. It was surprisingly hard work but not as hard as the 300m pull up to the summit of Cruinn a’ Bheinn …which was very steep in places. We finally reached the small summit cairn four hours and fifty minutes after setting out, but it was well worth while as the views to Ben Lomond were fantastic. Even from two kilometres away, Nita could see lots of folk at its summit…..and yet we had our little hill to ourselves.

We got back to the car a little over nine hours after setting out, which was somewhat longer than the 3-4 hours mentioned in the guide book! Oh well, I feel somewhat better about this after just reading a report on-line, written by a chap who climbed this hill with some friends…. and wrote that he reckoned Mr Dempster must be rocket powered as it took them 7 hours to do the walk. So then, nine hours for a chap who is registered as blind ….can’t be too bad ….especially as I had to stop to try and record the sound of a Golden Eagle calling high above us. That’s my excuse anyway!

Thoroughly recommended ………. how ever long it takes you.

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