Cowal Peninsula Weekend.Clach Bheinn. Lochgoilhead. My New Novel.

About a month ago I was invited along on an old pals outing when someone had the idea of a trip into a Cowal bothy which is situated in an isolated area of the Argyll Forest Park . I'm not going to name it on here as the internet has largely stripped away the mystery and allure of these often remote unlocked mountain huts. In the old days of my youth it was hard to find these places as their locations seem to operate on a "need to know" basis and we obviously weren't in the loop starting out so didn't need to know. Now most of the MBA ones are published on the internet which makes them far easier to find but takes a little of the sense of discovery away. Mark my words. Those who know where this is keep it to yourselves :o)

As John's car could only hold three bikes on its rack Alex ,myself and driver John headed up to Arrochar then continued on to the road end into deepest Argyll for the cycle in. This is Alex just disappearing round a corner. Every time I stopped for a photograph these two buggers belted ahead which meant I was left well behind all the way into the bothy. Being an action photographer is hard work on a bike as the action keeps going whenever you stop, hence the one bike photo as I never caught them again to capture any more. It's a good track for cycling though as it is not too up and down with good freewheels on occasion and great views over the forest to the Luss Hills.

This is Doune hill and Cruach an t- Sidhein, I think, which we climbed and posted a few weeks ago on the blog. It was looking down from here into Argyll that gave Alex the idea for this trip. Gavin and Scott also decided to join us on this adventure, coming up separately in another car, but at the last minute they chose to walk in as Gavin is not that keen on cycling.

The bothy with bikes outside. We travelled in on Saturday afternoon and this was a bothy we'd never been to before. This peninsula sticks out into Loch long and Loch Goil and is surrounded by pine forest at low levels but has an interior spine of rocky uplands with Beinn Reithe, 663 metres, The Brack, 787metres, and Beinn Donich, 847, being the highest peaks on the triangle. The weather was mixed with sunny periods and occasional heavy showers of sleet and snow but in the main we were lucky with the weather.

A sleet shower passing by travelling up Loch Long, Faslane in the distance. Alex of course was here to bag Clach Bheinn, the hill at the very end of the peninsula surrounded by pine forest but boasting fantastic views in all directions This is Alex enjoying the storm which passed by quickly over the Luss Hills but missed us.

Sunshine and blue skies followed but, as ever, the higher Munros were the last to clear of clag. A view over to Beinn Bhuidhe 948metres and a well known much loved Munro.

 Incidentally, after two long but enjoyable years hard graft writing a book about my hasty youth and  many intrepid adventures across Scotland and Europe the fruits of my labours are now complete and available on E-book Amazon kindle book shelf. Although it is an autobiography of sorts I didn't want to burden people with a dull read so it is very different from the normal type... part autobiography- part novel- part traveller's tale- part unusual love story.... and 100% original. It's a tongue in cheek comedy set in Scotland about a "fictional" hillwalking/ other sports club packed with (hopefully) interesting characters, funny stories, superb photographs, which illustrate each chapter and is similar to the style of this blog but totally different too as it's on a far bigger scale. All the chapters will be new to Blue Sky Scotland  readers- some may shock you- some may surprise you- some may offend you- but it will not be a dull read- Well...hopefully. Fingers crossed.

You can read the first couple of chapters for free and see how you like it although the really good stuff is further in as the characters and plot develop. If you enjoy it please give it a review- if not don't bother. If you hate it- please don't comment :o) Putting a book out must be like sending your child off to school on the first day, wondering if it will be embraced, loved, and taken care of or if will come back with teeth and hair and ears missing having been enticed to "play" with the bad kids beyond the CCTV camera range. Creative writing must also be one of the slim list of professions where you can work 4 to 7 hour days, every night and weekends, and not know if you are going to earn a single penny at the end of it. Two years, 1000 hours, and over 20 rewrites has gone into this book along with my heart, soul, sanity, and burnt out eyeballs, compared to a day ( 4 to 6 hours usually) for each blog post, so it should be good.  It's only £1.85 (UK pounds) or $2.99 (US dollars) anyway for 500+ action packed pages ( only 350 pages on Microsoft word) so well worth a punt. Cheaper than a scratch card although hopefully it will not go in the bin afterwards! You will not win any money but you may have a laugh. If you want to know what I got up to when I wasn't a decrepit old fart shuffling over pimples and was 100 times more adventurous and completely bonkers this is the book for you. Link Here. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Autohighography-A-Tale-Summits-Sinners-ebook/dp/B00JNAIGAO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1397422383&sr=1-1&keywords=autohighography.+bob+law

Click "view inside" on kindle  link photo for the free chapters preview. I will get around to a proper link afterwards on the blog and print on demand paper copies hopefully- if it sells!
PS. there is not a mention of politics in it as I was more interested in Munros then although chapters on kayaking, rock-climbing, caving, island hopping, skiing and backpacking across Scotland and Europe form a backdrop for various relationships, love affairs, desperate measures, unrequited hope,occasional back stabbing obsession, loads of stupidity and intrigue within the club.

I've known this particular group of characters above for decades so they should not be surprised by the contents as they feature in some of the later chapters and they already know I'm mad as a hatter anyway- though it's meant to be "fictional" of course.
Scott, Gavin, John and Alex enjoying a swally or two in the bothy.

 Hundreds of nights over the years have been spent in places like this. "The rest I've just squandered." to quote George Best.

Highland cattle enjoying the soft 'moist' highland landscape. "Is this summer now mummy?" The little calf asks ,up to its tail in mud.
 " Yes, the rains slightly warmer." she replies "It must be summertime on the Scottish West Coast."

 

Traversing back from Clach Bheinn. The snow in places was thigh deep, yet melted completely in other areas under a strong spring sun.

View over Faslane.

View down towards Lochgoilhead area.

Wider view of the district from Clach Bheinn.

Portincaple from above

 

Gavin and Scott walking back out to the car.

Tearoom to end the day.The Green Kettle where we had a refreshing "cup of tea" (or other beverages on offer.) Cracking bothy and the first for ages. In the old days we used to collect them like Munros and we would travel all over Scotland to bag them. We even went on far north bothy tours for several winters at New Year and had multi day epics wading through deep snow or over wild empty moors just to stay in a series of bare little cottages deep in the wilderness. Strange the weird things you get addicted to in life.