Here I am at Tarfside, communing with JJ, on a warm, sunny afternoon after a walk over Mount Keen. It's arguably not a real 'Wild Camp', as we are in the village field, near a public toilet, but I've deemed it appropriate for inclusion here. Unusually, I have no photo of my tent!
The previous two nights were spent at Thornbank Cottage in Braemar, and on Ballater's excellent campsite, both good spots.
On the second of three weekly strolls with Graeme around Wilmslow, the two of us started off across Wilmslow Golf Course, which during Lockdown has proven to be an excellent amenity for local people. (Empty today.)
Graeme's 'local' is was The Oakwood, with good food and beer. Covid has put paid to that, and this place may be a permanent casualty of the virus.
Friday 30 March
Julie left for home on a day when the weather forecast wasn't really matched by the actual weather.
The rest of us, me, Andrew, Dave, Barry, Pam and Paul elected to climb Conival and Ben More Assynt. We enjoyed a good day despite cloud above around 600 metres. No rain, and not too windy.
My Munro book tells me it's the fifth time I've been up here. We met a Bulgarian couple who followed us until they got fed up with our slow pace, but then they mistook Conival for being Ben More Assynt's summit and without realising failed to bag that.
Otherwise just a couple of people seen today. In the claggy conditions Andrew proved that he has mastered using his GPS; I must get more practice.
Paul has learnt some bird sounds and identified greenfinches in the woods. A stonechat chatted nearby. Barry just about kept up - he is amazing at 75.
Start - 9:10; Conival - 12:25; lunch break 20 mins; Ben More Assynt - 13:45 - 14:00; Conival - 14:55; Finish - 17:40.
Our
route - 18 km with 1600 metres ascent, taking 8½ hours
Then a fish and chip supper, followed by queasy feelings overnight.
Saturday 31 March
Dave, Barry, Andrew and I had a good journey back home in bright sunshine all the way - 8:40 to 17:30 ~ 9 hours.
Thursday 29 March
Cooler and clearer today after rain.
Julie and I took bikes from Black Bridge to Lubachlaggan then walked up Beinn a' Chaisteil, a Corbett, whilst Pam and Paul enjoyed Cul Beag, and Andrew, Dave and Barry had a good day on a Graham - Beinn an Eoin. The latter found that hill a real challenge.
We spent the day under the cloud level - ideal for Corbetteering as all Munros were in clag.
Julie was quicker today, both cycling and walking, so I didn't have any long waits. The cycle in to Lubachlaggan was against the wind along a mainly tarmac track with a significant hill before the descent to Loch Vaich. We passed a busy but jolly farmer, and lots of very clean sheep and highland cattle.
Half an hour from Ullapool to
After a 15 minute break, we started up a faint stalkers path - fairly easy going even when we left that at 500 metres or so to head directly towards the summit, reached at 12:15. Very barren and dry up here.
Good views until the cloud came in.
We then allowed ourselves to be blown in 45 minutes from Beinn a' Chaisteil to the southern peak, Meall a' Ghrianain. Quite windy here - my Rab vapour rise jacket proved excellent.
A mountain hare passed just in front of us.
A steep and sometimes boggy/tussocky descent got us quickly back down to the old farm at Lubachlaggan, and a lovely cycle ride out with the wind behind us, though a stone did rip the wall of my new rear tyre!
Our
route - 25 km with 950 metres ascent, taking 5¼ hours (including 16 km on bikes, taking 1¾ hours)
Back
to finish off our veg, with some rather old salmon steaks from the butcher, who
wasn't really interested. Very disappointing - all the good stuff goes to
Meanwhile Martin Scoular, who had been going to join us, texted to offer his apologies for absence due to a cold.
Wednesday 28 March
With a poor weather forecast, and Sue and Phil leaving today, we had more sausages (Olde English - the Black Pudding ones had a bad effect on Dave yesterday) before all seven of us (in two cars - sadly the two extra seats for the Espace are at home) went on quite a long drive to Badrallach via Dundonnell on another lovely sunny day, if hazy.
Lots of sheep on the road.
We enjoyed a there and back walk to the jetty at Scoraig - a place with no services but with 70 inhabitants. It was a very good path to this crofting community that is about 5 miles from the nearest road (or a quick boat ride).
We chatted with a crofter with a long white beard. He was going to plant some early potatoes. Met a couple returning from visiting their mother.
Nice long tea stop on a warm rock. The crofter was pleased about the muddy path now having turned dusty. Green spotted beetles crawled along the path.
The Old Lighthouse had been moved to Scoraig, displays placed inside, and a new bench made of bricks with input from each member of the community. Excellent.
9:30 - left Ullapool; 10:20 - start walk; ~11:30 - 20 minute break; 12:40 to 13:20 - lunch at Lighthouse; 13:40 - pier; 15:30 - back at the cars.
Light rain on the return walk, later than forecast, was the first of the week.
I boosted the local economy by buying 'Hostile Habitats' (a newish book but already scarce to obtain) [there's a 2018 edition of this classic tome - Ed], and 'The Everest Boys' (Bonington's era of Everesteers), before being banned from the kitchen whilst Dave made tea (heated soup, pasta carbonara, fruit salad) which was excellent.
But then football.on.TV took over, so Andrew and I escaped to Pam and Paul's abode and watched the first 'Apprentice' programme of the current series.
Our
route - 17 km with 400 metres ascent, taking 5 hours
Tuesday 27 March
It dawned bright and clear, and not as windy as yesterday, so whilst Pam and Paul went up Quinag, the three old timers (Barry, Dave and Andrew) went for an amble on Cul Mor, and Julie, Phil, Sue and I drove to Oykel Bridge for a bike ride to Seana Bhraigh (Sue and Phil), and Carn Ban (Julie and me).
Julie proved to be a rather slow cyclist (I had reservations about many aspects of her bike that I won't go into here). Anyway we all cycled from a 10 am start (9 am from Ullapool), up Strath Mulzie. After a while some low cloud (high pressure cloud) that had blocked some views evaporated away to leave us in warm hazy sunshine for the rest of the day.
Sue and Phil abandoned their bikes at a big inflow to the
On the way up we had seen a group of six, who appeared to be walking out, perhaps from the bothy.
We continued on to a bothy by Loch a' Choire Mhoir, where the bikes had to be abandoned, but it had taken less than 3 hours for the 12 miles to this point.
We lunched, then headed on up past frogs and a lazy lizard.
Around crags etc, a 450 metre steep ascent that took 1¼ hours. At the top of our main climb we got a call from Sue - they were on Seana Bhraigh summit. We still had 2 km to go.
Make that 3 km - we went past strange peat haggy things - to the wrong summit. After retracing to the correct place (checked by GPS) we lazed for a while, then at 15:30 we started down the hill.
Back at the bothy by 16:45, then a further 2 hours back to the car on the bikes. (A bit longer for Julie, who went the wrong way!)
It was a beautiful evening and had I been driving back there would have been frequent photo stops. But the old timers had the Espace, and by the time I stopped Julie it was almost too late.
Wildlife up high included a number of unidentified birds and geese, and a pair of wagtails. Lack of cycling shorts made for a sore bum.
Mishaps on the ride were minimal, just a few chain incidents.
A quick shower then a slow seafood platter at the Argyll finished a good day.
