Bike Ride in the Pentlands

Yesterday I had in mind to camp in Glencoe then do a Corbett in Glen Etive today, but when I got up there the sites were full - even the more wild ones - and it was pouring down....so I retreated. I didn't fancy soggy ground, putting a new tent up for the first time in the rain.

Had a nice bike ride today though.

After this morning's thunder cleared it turned into a nice day.

I went up to Flotterstone then followed the path past the two reservoirs, through the Green Cleuch and down to Balerno, returning via the Water of Leith path and the canal. 2 hours.
After the Cleuch it was nicely downhill all the way and the path was muddy so I got well splattered and looked like a serious mountain biker.


Fun on a sunny day. As ever, movement and the hills makes me feel better! Just like Frank says.

More torrential rain tonight though.

Grey Corries - Stob Ban, Stob Choire Claurigh & Stob Coire an Laoigh

After something of a hillwalking drought in recent months - mainly due to work pressures - it was good to be able to see a good forecast and head north. The forecast had indicated that Friday would be better than Saturday so it was up early on Friday and north via the A9 and across to Spean Bridge, taking the quiet road to Coirrechoille Farm. The farmer was outside and I asked him if it was OK to drive further down to track past the closed gate. He said, in a great highland accent, it was fine but "If you have any respect for your car, you will drive slowly on the track."

He was right and it was a bumpy, pot holed track that led us up to a parking place. By the time we had got ourselves ready it was about 11:30. I was a bit concerned because this was going to be a long walk and I could see us getting down late at night, but we would have the daylight.

It was warm and windy, with a gusting wind driving down the Lairg as we walked in the 5 miles to the bothy. 5 miles....this was going to be a long one!

We took 5 minutes or so nosing round the bothy and I wrote in the book, before heading up on the north bank of the burn which came down from the bealach between Stob Ban and Stob Choire Claurigh. This was a visible path most of the way (unlike the risible one we were to be on later) only petering out near the bealach itself and pretty woon we were at the bottom of the north side of Stob Ban. From the bothy it had looked like a real pyramid of a hill but up at the bealach it seemed quite wee.

A path intermittently zigzagged up the scree to the small summit which gave great views off towards the mamores, glen coe, the Laggan hills, Schiehallion and more.

A few times on the walk in it felt like it was about to rain, but the cloud was passing over - high and harmless and now the main meteorological concern was the wind. "I wish someone would turn the fan off!" I was told. We did not linger on the top of this first munro for long but dropped down quickly sliding through the scree and back to the little lochan that lay in the bealach, regrouping before the climb onto the main ridge.

Accessing the ridge didn't seem to take much and we were soon up on the 1177m top of the second munro of the day gazing along an exquisite ridge, suspended high among some of the most spectacular hills, the terrain folded in sharp ridges to the south and west.

The walk along the ridge was spectacular. The wind at our backs, and the views absolutely stunning.

Too soon we reached the last munro of Stob Coire an Laoigh climbing again over another top before heading north along a grassy shoulder to the glen below, eyes pulled back every few minutes to the majesty of the ridge we were leaving.

This is where the length of this walk began to kick in. The shoulder was easy but lengthy, depositing up eventually at a small dam on the other side of which was the path we wanted. The guidebook had noted that it was not possible to cross at the damn but that the river was fordable a few metres upstream. By this stage I was not up to faffing around and walked straight through letting my feet cool on the remaining miles. It was a not day and I'd been wearing trail shoes anyway.

A track led us back to the forest and then we found the path - marked on the OS map as a dismantled tramway - which led finally back to the car. This path was crap - muddy and wet with huge clegs and flys buzzing round. They sounded heavy somehow, like helicopters. It was a long time getting to the end of this bit. The day was over, the hills climbed and now it became an endurance test to reach the car.

Anyway, after 9 and a half hours(!) it was back to the car at 9pm and a drive to the Great Glen Hostel (best in the Highlands) for a quickly heated curry....and bed.

A superb day. Wandering down at the end of the day - most of which I'd spent in quiet with my own thoughts - I was thinking just how much I love doing this. The beauty, the freedom, space and solitude. Unbeatable.

The Seven Hills of Edinburgh - Challenge

Somehow my hillwalking hasn't really got going this year (although there is now a weekend booked in at the start of July probably in Glenfinnan). When working on the elections I was either working at the weekend or was just too knackered to think about getting up and away early on a Saturday. Then I've been struggling to get going....

Didn't do much yesterday either - weather up north looked a bit dodgy and I had been out on Friday night. Today though I took the plunge and did something......the Seven Hills race here in Edinburgh. 14.2 miles with a total of 2200feet of climbing around Edinburgh's hills. There is no fixed course just a requirement that you need to visit each of the hills in turn, so the experts are always looking for shortcuts. It is an interesting race for that reason - you are not sure whether the guy you are following has a great route idea or is just lost.

I last did this in 2002 when I was running a bit more and was probably fitter for this type of thing. On Friday I saw it was on this weekend and started to toy with the idea of entering. Then, when I didn't do much yesterday I more or less decided to have a go.

The race starts on Calton Hill with a nice view of Arthur's Seat, the last hill, Edinburgh's own city centre mountain. After that it is

The Castle (esplanade)
Corstorphine Hill
Craiglockhart Hill (East)
Braid Hill
Blackford Hill
Arthur's Seat


I must have walked at least half of the course - all the uphills and then lots of times on the flat too - but I was happy to get around OK. It was warm and sunny toom, a really nice day.

After the castle there is a long trip out to Cortorphine Hill, where I got a bit lost on the top trying to find the checkpoint. Then it is back through different residential areas before a stiff climb up Craiglockhart Hill.

Arthur's Seat at the end was a tough climb and dropping back down towards Holyrood Palace and the Parliament, my quads were sore. It is a great race though - really friendly without all the hype that goes along with many races. The support round the course was great too, incluing one house in Nicolson Street where a guy was giving out water and a little boy was happily spraying us with a hose.

I was about 25 minutes slower than the last time I did it, but with the total lack of training, I was happy with my time. Well....not a total lack of training, just a lack of distance running.

I tried to keep taking photos on the way round, some of which are below:

Then thunder

A few minutes later the lightning started.

What a superb headline.

The Edinburgh Evening News pulls out a superb headline

West Cairn Hill 30 May

For a blog that is predominantly photos of my hillwalking this has been pretty quiet. I've been working too much lately - preparing for the European elections on this coming Thursday. When the weekend has come round I've been too tired to think about driving far.



yesterday we took advantage of the beautiful weather to head up into the Pentlands. We went to the quieter southern end heading up from West Linton and following the old drove road to the pass called Caldstane Slap. I have been follow the blog of a guy walking Lands End to John O Groats and he camped here last week having walked form Peebles so it was interesting to see where he'd been. He has now reached Laggan Lochs so is going well.

From there we went up West Cairn Hill - the highest point in West Lothian apparently.

The views were spectacular. The munros to the north were all there but so were the border hills and - looking west - we could see the wind farm on the Fenwick Moor. Glorious. Well the view was glorious but I am not a fan of wind farms. I'd rather have ugly power stations in the flat English midlands.

Lots of wild life too. Loads of lapwings, swifts, martins, oyster catchers.....and calves that looked like teddy bears.

Catch up

Another busy week at work, coinciding with some of the best weather this year! Looking out of the office window at glorious blue skies I was dreaming of the Northwest highlands....One solace was reading the blogs of others. This week I was enjoying M & G go for a walk - a daily update of a couple walking across Scotland on the TGO Challenge. At one point takin a break from whatever it was I was doing I flicked thorugh the blogs I follow and saw a photo they posted of where they were that morning - atop a fantastic Stuchd an Lochain. Lucky guys. I am enjoying reading their daily updates.

Wednesday evening managed to escape for a quick wander round below the Pentlands. It was a good evening. The sun took a long time to set and it was nice to take an easy walk through the twilight, relaxing for a while.



Today the weather forecast was dodgy again so didn't risk going north. Maybe it woudl have been OK, but I was tired and the idea of getting up and heading off just didn't appeal.

I am looking forward to this time being past at work. All I can see at the moment is the election. Work / life balance is way off just now and I'm too tired to do the things I really enjoy.

I did get near a moutain today though - drove round Arthur's Seat and was arrested by the view:

The Crags, the castle and the Edinburgh skyline. Not a bad place to live.

I need something more soon though.

Allermuir

I was knackered yesterday. I put in a few 11 hour days last week at work and come yesterday I couldn't get the energy up to do much so just pottered around and napped.

Tried to get to church this morning but got stuck in traffic for an hour. I'd forgotten that there was a 10K run round the centre of Edinburgh.

When I finally got out of the traffic I just headed for the hills and went up Allermuir from the back - starting at the old ironage fort at Castlelaw.

It was windy but nice weather. Great views out over the forth and a few hills were easy to spot: Vorlich, Stuc a Chroin, Ledi, lomond and some others.

It was nice to get out. Having these hills on the doorstep is a real privilege.