11th November 2007 - Tinto Hill - Report by Jean Hutton
A good
turn out for Tinto Hill and Alex, Charlie, Donald, Iain, Jean and Terry made our
way south to deepest Lanarkshire. It had been a hill race the day before so the
ground was rather muddy at the start. We made progress up the hill to the cairn
where we were almost blown away by a bitter wind. As we sheltered to have a tea
break a runner came up in shorts and made us feel ever colder. Wandered down via
Scaut Hill and back along the road to the cars.
28th October 2007 - Cnoc Coinnich - Report by Jean Hutton.
Bill and
Jean set off to Lochgoilhead to do the programmed walk. Discovered the A83 was
closed and we couldn’t get beyond Tarbet because of a landslide. Quick change of
plan and we drove up to Inveruglas to do either Ben Vorlich or Ben Vane. Walked
up the glen towards the hills where there were lots of guys up pylons in yellow
jackets. Wandered onto Ben Vane and met lots of people who were also unable to
get where they intended for the day, including John McKechnie, who was already
on the way down. Managed to dodge the rain till the last half hour and had a
good day to stretch the legs as neither of us had been out for a
while.
19th August 2007 - Creise - Report by Dave Barlow
Sunday 19th dawned bright and fresh after the previous day's monsoon. Jean
Hutton, Alex Gallagher, Hugh Moyse, Dave Barlow, Graham Sutherland, Bill Stevenson,
Charlie Rourke and Graham's new recruit Jamie all headed up to the White Corries
ski centre. It was a very cool day for August but the air was nice and clear and
dry - great weather for walking. Dave being an awkward sort decided to go to
Creise and do the scramble up the ridge and Bill was a reluctant accomplice.
Everyone else headed up on to Meall a Bhuiridh and all conveniently met up with
remarkable good timing on the summit of Creise.
The scramble up Creise was attention grabbing as
the holds were a bit tricky and a wee tad damp after the heavy rain but Bill
saved the day being such a well practiced mountain goat!! It was pretty cool
with mist just touching the summits but we marched on back over to Meall a
Buiridh and back to the car in a total of just under 6 hours. All in all a fine
day out. The views across to the Buachaille from the Sron na Criese ridge were
superb and also all the way down Glen Etive.
3rd - 6th August 2007 - Glen Shiel - Report by Stacey Hearl
Glen Shiel, Day One.
Stacey and Donald decided tae dae the "3 Brothers"
Aonach Mheadhoin, Sgurr a Bhealaich Dheirg and Saileag. The weather was wet and
miserable but the company brightened up my spirits... heh heh. Bill had advised
me that it wa a fabulous walk and so he was right! What a ridge! Despite the
weather we had good views to Glen Affric and beyond. We swiftly ate our soggy
sandwiches then carried on over Saileag. Then it was a super fast descent by
myself, mainly because my feet were soaking and I was desperately trying to
obtain signal to alert the lazier members of the club we needed a lift. (Willie
and Dorothy that is!) However, to no avail. We hoofed it for ten minutes before
some kindly gent picked us up and dropped us right at Ratagan Hostel's front
door. Cheerz!!!!!
Day Two.
Hill walkers sometimes affectionately change the
names of mountains to something amusing. For example, Bidean a Choire Sheasgaich
becomes "Cheesecake",
Luinne Bheinn becomes "Loony Bin", Ladhar Bheinn -
"Bin Laden" (apparently thats a new one) and so on....... So Today we decided
to go to A Ghlas - Bheinn - or as we called it - "A glass of Wine"!
Attending this walk were Stacey, Donald, Terry,
Willie, Dorothy and Sandra. We started off in fabulous weather up the side of
the Albhainn Chonaig which is a gorgeous wee spot. We had a tricky river
crossing before commencing our ascent. At the bealach we had a breather and sat
enjoying the view with 2 other parties of hill walkers across to the Glen Affric
mountains. When the drizzle started we trudged onwards and upwards to the summit
where we had fabulous panoramic views...
Then the descent to the Falls of Glomach which was definitely worth the
detour being the most spectacular waterfall I have ever seen! It was so high
that no photo could be taken that depicts the power and grandeur of it! Not to
be missed if your up that neck of the woods.
The walk out was however, soul destroying for us as it was long and mostly
on a tarmac road. And the biggest kick in the teeth was yet to come when we all
started hallucinating and seeing cars whizzing through the forest on the other
side of the river. Except we were not hallucinating... Turns out there was a car
park an hours walk away from where our car was parked that woulda saved us that
long,tiring, gruelling walk out!!!
Back to Ratagan for my traditional swim in the loch. Only had one taker to
join me in the baltic waters of Loch Duich. Mad mental Campbell... We stayed in
a maximum of 5 minutes then it was time to celebrate climbing A Ghlas - Bheinn
with several Glasses of Wine!
Day 3.
The Forcan Ridge..... Had to persuade ma wee mate
he was high enough to reach the hand holds. Probably quite irresponsible of us
since he's a wee shorty... U know who you are... So there was myself, Donald and
Terry making our way up towards what looked like a scary knife edge
ridge.
We were soon up at the plateau before the fun
begins when we stopped to eat our sandwiches. We had 2 bites before we were
forced to pack up and go as the midges were the size of
terradactils!.
The Forcan ridge was easy enough. Even Terry
managed without greetin. (For once!) Although we met a couple with a wee dug
wearing a harness who were cragfast. So the Dog Mountain Rescue service sprang
into action and clambered up to lower wee Eddy to flatter grounds... (I still
have the claw marks on my shoulders...)
It wasn't long before we reached the Saddle summit.
The Knoydart hills looked amazing!
When we got to Sgurr na Sgine we could distinctly
see Ben Alligin and the Horns. And Cheesecake. (mentioned in earlier report)
Then we had a lovely descent among the red, purple and orange heather. We kept
out eyes peeled for Dorothy and Willie who were descending the ridge to our
right from the South Glen Sheil ridge. And we all met up at the same time at the
car! How handy was that for going to the Kintail Lodge for cider.
Cracking!!!
8th July 2007 - Ben Cruachan - Report by Charlie Rourke
4 - 1 to me !!!
I arrived at the appointed time & place but imagine my surprise to find
even less people than the aborted Ben Vorlich expedition. Jean & I set off
anyway and duly started our walk at 10am from the Falls of Cruachan station. The
initial climb was through quite dense undergrowth (damn it - I forgot the
machete) but before long we reached the reservoir. We decided to do the Cruachan
Horseshoe so we headed along the west shore of the reservoir till we reached a
small cairn marking the path up to the bealach between Meall Cuanail & Ben
Cruachan. It was here that Jean spotted the Partridge family , sorry I meant the
Ptarmigan family. There were 2 adult birds and about 6 chicks - I tried to get
photos of them but they kept their distance and I wasn't wearing my glasses,
enough said. The summit was reached about 13:15 in cloud and rain but we decided
to press on, a good decision as it turned out because the weather cleared as we
made our way along the ridge to the other Munro, Stob Diamh. It was about 15:00
when we reached the top and I was just about running on empty. One last effort
took us up to Stob Garbh & then it was down, down, down the wettest,
muddiest hillside I have ever had the displeasure to walk on. We got back to the
car about 17:15 and were back home via Inveraray by 19:15, a long day but
ultimately rewarding.
What did 4 - 1 mean? That was the number of times we slipped & fell in
the sheugh !
24th June 2007 - Beinn a Bheither - Report by Jean Hutton
Five brave souls set off for
Ballachulish to tackle the Hill of the Thunderbolt despite the forecast. Bill
assured us it would be dry until the afternoon. We got to the car park in the
forestry and were met by the midges. In attendance were Bill, Terry, Alex,
George and Jean. We took the new path onto the hillside and met our first shower
of the day. After a scramble up the scree we got onto the ridge and climbed to
the summit of Sgorr Dhonuill. Great views in all directions with clouds flying
over the ridge. A clamber onto Sgorr Dhearg after lunch in a sheltered spot,
followed by a search for the new path down. We failed to find the path and had a
fight with steep, wet grass and fallen trees to get to the forest road. We then
found the foot of the path we had been looking for but could not see from above.
A short walk out on another new path then a stop for hot chocolate and coffee
before a good run home
13th May 2007 - Stuchd an Lochain - Report by Jean Hutton The
forecast mentioned rain and a small group gathered for the walk to
Lochan an Daimh. We split into 2 groups with Liz, Terry, Charlie and
Alex tackling Meall Buidhe while Stacey, Jean ,Tommy and Sammy selected
Stuchd an Lochain.
We
got up the steep path which was more like a burn onto the ridge and
Tommy thought the first cairn was the summit. A bit of persuasion and
bribery and the boys made it to the real summit. We had one shower of
hail on the way up and could see the summit of Meall Buidhe in sunshine
while we got wet but soon the tables turned.
This time I managed to see Lochan nan once the clouds passed over.
We
set off back down the path to the reservoir and eventually picked out
the others coming down their path. Sammy decided he was going to beat
them back to the cars and put on a sprint. There were no takers to do
both Munros so we set off for home via Killin.
29th April 2007 - Mamores - Report by Jean Hutton A 7 am start to make the most of a long day
in the Mamores. Bill, Campbell, Dave, Iain, Stacey, Terry, Charlie, Alex, Jean
and of course Rory, our 4 legged walker, set off for Mamore Lodge. We made good
progress to the lochan for our first break to gather strength for the uphill
climb onto Sgurr Eilde Mor.
We got back to the lochan for another break
and more suntan lotion andthe more
energetic of the group decided to add Binnean Beag to their walk. Campbell,
Terry, Stacey and Rory left for Binnean Beag and the rest of us followed the
path onto Binnean Mor.
The views were magnificent with blue skies and snowy hills.
Followed the ridge onto Na Gruagaichaen
then steeply down to meet the path back to Mamore Lodge for a welcome drink.
We managed to phone the other party before
we left for home and they were on the way back after their adventure on the
hills. The hot weather took its toll and it had to be a hot day when 2 of the
groups drinks supplies decided to leak in their rucksacks.
14th April 2007 - Arran - Report by Dave Barlow
Saturday 14th April dawned fine and misty with an
early start to Ardrossan. Attending were Iain, Jean, Eric, Dave, Donald, Willie,
Terry, Evelyn, Graham, Ben, Dorothy and Gordon.
Once underway some of us decided
to do Goatfell via Glen Sannox and North Goatfell while the rest of us decided
to try a new route from Sannox onto Goatfell via the Devils Punchbowl and the
Bastion. This was maybe not the best decision for a route as the heather was
very deep and the boulders very nasty (my ankle can testify). Once into the
punch bowl three of us decided to attampt to get on to the Bastion but were
foiled by steep slabs and heather and the lack of a path which is shown on the
map....hey ho! After beating a hasty retreat back into the punchbowl we stumbled
up onto the ridge at the other side which was much gentler and eventually made
it on to Mullach Buidhe. Once out of the heather the walking was much more
pleasant and the heat quite stifling for April. A pleasant stroll over to
Goatfell with some long lazy teabreaks ensued in the beautiful April sunshine
followed by a walk back to well earned drinks at the Wineport next to the Arran
Brewery.
A superb day despite my ankle and Graham's close escape from arrest
from wearing his trouser leg on his head........
14th April 2007 - Arran - Report by Ben Salmon
Wat a day, wat a day, wat a day, that’s the
message from the Goat fell group on this flippin brilliant day, in attendance
were Eric, Willie, Dorothy, Terry, Gordon, Donald and myself so… down to
Ardrossan at 7 to catch the ferry very relaxing trip to Arran with a fairly
hazy overcast letting in a very scenic sun rise.
Once at Brodick the group went
their separate ways and we made our way to Glen Rosa, then came the very long
walk in up to the Saddle when the sky began to break and we were indulged in
the heat (some suffering more than others!!!). The walk up the valley was really
easy going and relaxing with a very beautiful stream/ burn thingy going by us
and we saw something very cool, a 15 incher, adder that is . At the Saddle we
took a nice long rest and we parted with Eric and Donald.
Then up the big hill
thing which was the best part the ground was all rocks and skree with was dead
fun to climb up on, though also quite dangerous and when we got to the top all
we saw were huge big boulders called the giants footsteps and me and terry were
scaling them like there was no tomorrow (and there very nearly wasn’t at some
points), it was well fun. After that it was a quick wee jog up to the summit
were we joined up with rest of the Scotland’s population, it was
PACKED, no joke. A quick rest and then it was all down hill from there, apart
from the 10 minuet dip in the stream to cool our feet off!!!
After our long
journey back to Brodick and seeing the 4:40 boat leaving when we were just 10
mins away from it, we had a nice drink in Mac’s Bar then went to the chippy,
however, it was closed for refurbishment!!! So we waited and got the 7 o’clock
ferry back and then got home at 9 to a nice hot bath (which is a mixed blessing
when you’ve got sunburn ill tell ya.) but it was a great day I cant wait for
next year!!!
1st April 2007 - Tarmachan Ridge - Report by Dave Barlow
Sunday dawned to a very
promising start and we were not to be disappointed with one of the
clearest, sunniest days we have had for a while. In attendance were
Eric Anderson, Ben Salmon, Iain Craig, Ronnie Brown, Dave Barlow, Hugh
Moyse, Stacey Hearl with Tommy and Sammy, Terry McBride, Jean Hutton,
Campbell Boyd, Mary Irvine, Donald Brown, Bill Stevenson, Colin
Hamilton, Alec Gallacher and of course Rory our four legged friend.
There was a very pleasant cool breeze blowing all day but with warm
sunshine - absolutely perfect for walking. A very easy couple of hours
took us up onto Meall nan Tarmachan with Tommy and Sammy enjoying the
snow patches along the way. The views northward to Ben Nevis, Ben Alder
and over to Glencoe were suberb with a very close Ben More, Stob
Binnein and Ben Lui in the foreground to the west.
One very surprising
aspect of the day was the lack of tea breaks called by Mary -
considering the weather - I only counted two (thats me blacklisted for
next year!)
A very pleasant stroll
over Meall Garbh and Beinn nan Eachan ensued with the walk out over the
final top and back along the track to the car park. Special credit to
Tommy and Sammy for successful completion of a fairly tough day. All in
all about 6.5 hours followed by a very pleasant drink sitting outside
at the Falls of Dochart in Killin. We could tolerate a few more days
like these.......
18th February 2007 - Earl's Seat - Report by Campbell Boyd
Our walk in the Campsies took place in some very pleasant early
Spring weather --- sunny, clear but not too cold. This had been carefully
arranged by the Club Secretary since it was his birthday. We parked in one of
the many spacious car parks in Strath Blane and proceeded along a private road
until a track heading uphill led up to the foot of Dumgoyne. After a stiff pull
up to this prominent top we saw a tremendous panorama from high rise buildings
in Glasgow to the peaks of Arran and to Ben Lomond, the Crianlarich hills and
onto the hills above Loch Earn. We looked down onto the many villages that lie
to the south of Loch Lomond like Drymen, Killearn & Balfron. The view
clearly showed the transformation from Lowlands to Highlands. We then dropped
(or gingerly walked, depending on temperament) down the other side of Dumgoyne
until it levelled out and then started to tend eastwards to the summit of Earl's
Seat along more undulating terrain. From there more tussocky and trackless
ground was followed until we were back at the track that had led to Dumgoyne.
After a pleasant stroll we were back in Strath Blane and its friendly locals who
congratulated us on our parking abilities. This led us to head to the nearby
Carbeth Inn which not only admits dogs but even bikers and climbers. All in all
an excellent day even though we had not climbed a single Munro or Corbett.
18th February 2007 - Earl's Seat - Report by Stacey Hearl
What a fab day out with the Lyle Craigs Hill
Walking Club!
Stacey, Eric, Tommy, Sammy, Terrry, Dorothy,
Willie, Bill, Donald, Alan, Mary, Jean, Campbel, Gordon, Colin,, George,
Charlie, Ben, we all had a social day at the Dumgoyne and Earls
Seat!!!!!
Got to say that it was not the quietest of walks
but very enjoyable thanks to the companionship of 2 young men called Tommy
(10)and Sammy(6) who accompanied the adult era of the LC's... without a moan
or groan...
Good to have young company aboard!!!
Got tae commemt on the weather, it was very clear,
could see the wind farm and the bellshill chimneys...
Not the sort of chimneys u might see on the Aonach
Eagach etc!!!!!! Ha Ha..........
Whit is that Carbeth Inn all abvout? All right if u have a motor bike and greasy perm to
match!!
All in all, a fantabulous day was had by
all!
Stacey, Tommy and Sammy.
4th February 2007 - Beinn Chaorach - Report by Dave Barlow
A challenging day weather-wise was had by all - in attendance - Ronnie, Donald,
Graham, Jean, Bill, Charlie and Dave. A good track makes the walk-in to Beinn
Chaorach pleasant. Weather started dry with the tops in cloud. Gradual ascent up
the long south ridge of Charoach with increasing wind, dampness and lowering
temperature led to a very blustery visit to the summit trig point. Carried on
down the north ridge and across the very boggy bealach to reach the west ridge
of Carn Chreag. Most carried on to Carn Chreag and after returning to the
Bealach and down the glen were treated to some fairly heavy rain for a time. All
in all a good stretch of the legs with a well deserved visit to the Drovers
afterwards.
21st January 2007 - The Brack - Report by Stacey Hearl
Woke up 7am to Dark, Dreich Weather... But all that
changed upon arrival of Ardgartan. Terry, Jean, Stacey, Bill, Charlie, George,
Dave, Campbell and Rory were welcomed by clear
skies, nay wind, and crisp snow on the hills! Following a gentle warm up
walk through the forest, we donned waterproofs, fleeces hats and gloves in
preparation for the freshly lain snowy slopes. Fantastic!
It wasn't long before we were grateful to Rory the
Dog for breaking the trail up front as the snow got deeper and the slopes got
steeper. For our hard work we were rewarded to remarkable views all around from
the summit trig point. Inverkip Power Station chimney to the Crianlarich hills.
Couldn't be beaten.
A braw day with good company was rounded up nicely
with refreshments at the Inverbeg Inn.
7th January 2007 - Luss - Report by Dave Barlow
2007 got off to a great start today with a gentle
stroll around the Luss Horseshoe. Attending were Bill Stevenson, Terry McBride,
Hugh Moyse, Jean Hutton, Graham Sutherland, Eric Anderson, Donald Brown, Stacey
Hearl (with Tommy and Sammy), Dave Barlow and Ben Salmon. The day started well
with dry weather however it was not long before a gentle 50 mph breeze and some
light drizzle changed a couple of folks minds about continuing just before the
first summit. For the souls who carried on, however, things eased up a bit and
they were treated to the usual cracking views over Loch Lomond with some nice
picture stops. An enjoyable 3.5 hour round in total followed very well by a pint
and a bowl of soup in front of the coal fire in the Colqhoun Arms in
Luss.
