A Glen Etive Weekend. Scottish Mountain Photography.

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A weekend about five weeks ago saw myself, Alan and Alan's friend Alexander take a trip to Glen Etive, which is a side glen off the more famous Glen Coe. It's been several years since we'd been down it and the main change seems to be more signs up warning visitors not to have fires or park in passing places. You used to be able to wild camp down Glen Etive in several locations but there was a problem with anti social behaviour and rubbish left behind so the opportunity for camping along the glen has definitely decreased. You can still do it but it does look harder to pick a spot. Like everywhere else in Scotland tourism seems to be on the increase and parked camper vans ( very popular nowadays) outnumbered tents by around ten to one in the various laybys. We ended up going right to the bottom of the glen around the head of Loch Etive where we did find a grassy spot for around a dozen or so tents. Buachaille Etive Mor, above. 1022 metres.

The weather was not that great on the day we arrived with the cloud low over the mountains and occasional showers of rain. I used to really enjoy Glen Etive decades ago and it is a spectacular glen if you are just sightseeing or bagging Munros but like most of the Scottish Highlands, unlike the Lake District, there's not that many scenic easy low level walks to be had.

I could only think of one and we did it the next day.  This is the landrover track that crosses the River Etive via a bridge going to Glenceitein House and a couple of man made private fishing ponds. 

 A view taken from the bridge. Some deep pools exist on the River Etive and some fine rocky sections where the river has carved and sculpted the rock, popular with sport kayakers using stubby craft cable of dropping into said pools without damage.

Between rain showers we stuck the tents up at the head of Loch Etive before it got dark. My euro hike tent is around 20 years old so myself and Alexander got fairly wet during the night in our tents as it rained heavily for most of it and water got in. A soggy experience. Alan was OK and stayed dry.

On the plus side we woke to a beautiful morning with clear skies and fantastic reflections. A photographers dream. Ben Cruachan here. A Munro at 1126 metres. The floating pier for forestry log removal.

I was out the tent early getting some shots before the light changed. An hour can make a real difference, or a light wind springing up over the water surface, ruining any reflections.

But our luck held.

Hillside reflection.

A lone kayaker with Ben Cruachan in the distance. Loch Etive view. This is an hour later and the crystal clear reflections have dissipated. 

I was also keen to photograph the Etive Slabs, a former club rock climbing venue from a couple of decades ago. Although they don't look that steep here.... they are when you stand underneath them, requiring ropes and an ability to climb VS or above. Something of a nostalgia trip for me as I thought back to previous visits bagging all the Munros here or ascending Spartan Slab. VS.

This is me soloing the East Coast sea cliffs near St Abbs around 2009 and I can tell you now I'm definitely not the same guy. Back then I was confident in my scrambling ability even though a slip or fall would probably mean hitting the sea and certain death. Approaching 70 years of age I would never dream of doing this now... or of willingly attempting any of the Munros again. I happily accept I've passed that stage. 

And I'm content doing lower level stuff. We did a couple of easy valley walks here but as I said there's not really a lot to do in Glen Etive if you are not rock climbing, kayaking, swimming, cycling or Munro bagging. 

But the scenery is good. A waterfall here on Ben Starav, 1078 metres. Must be 30 years since I last climbed these Munros. Still a glen loud with cuckoo's calling every spring. On another low level walk we passed a couple of mountain bikers wheeling their bikes over rough ground, travelling beyond the pier down the trackless western side of Loch Etive. Unless there's a new track completed not on my old OS map at least 6km of tough trackless walking with bikes until a track appears next/again at Barrs or one high up in the forest. Not a journey I'd pick to do, even 30 years ago. A lot of tough walking... with a bike to manhandle. Then many miles of up and down forestry track to eventually reach  Bonawe and a decent tarmac road again. I did a similar route down a different sea loch  at Glenfinnan many years ago on a bike and had to admit I was bored and frustrated most of the way. Looking down the full length of Loch Shiel from the Glenfinnan Monument to Glen Hurich it always looked so wild and magnificent but the landrover track constant roller coaster reality down the loch shoreline proved otherwise in an age before electric bike assistance and I was very glad when it ended. It was also unexpectedly industrial with a lot of timber extraction going on when I did it .... log lorries and wood piles dotted everywhere along the track.

A silver mountain... or just the way the sunlight is hitting a wet stream bed. I remember a cracking walk up these exposed slabs in the late 1980s and a great deep narrow gorge ascent to reach Stob Coir'an Albannaich, 1044 metres. Two memory episodes that feel as distant and remote as any past life.

Curved Ridge. Another past life memory of dozens of different trips here. Numerous rock climbs in sweaty humid heat. January Jigsaw. Agag's Groove, North Buttress, Or hot sunny bone dry days.... or frost and heavy snow winter ascents. Solo or roped up with various mountaineering partners, most long gone by now. To me at least. A climbers mecca.

Passing place signs. Thanks to Alan for the driving as I was free to take these photographs.

A rock tower in Glen Etive. Been up this one as well.

Swallows on a wire.

Emperor Moth at the campsite. It you ever wondered what the cuckoos feed on when they are over here from Africa it's fat juicy moth caterpillars. I noticed a lot of folk, having motored down the full length of the dead end road to Loch Etive and our campsite only spent five minutes here looking around then headed straight back up the single track road again. a round stop- start trip of close to an hour, depending on volume of traffic/campervans coming the other way. 

Luckily it wasn't too busy when we did it.

Motoring back down Loch Lomond side. Thanks to Alan for the driving and the idea to come here for the weekend.

  

A Greenock Port Glasgow Circular Walk/ Cycle Ride.

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Port Glasgow Shipyard Workers Sculpture; Above. On a trip a few months ago we met a girl in passing who informed us, (Alan and myself) that you could walk or cycle from Port Glasgow to Gourock along the shorefront. This was news to us both and as we are always looking for new walks we decided to do it. Alan also wanted to see the McLean Museum in Greenock so we included that as well.

We parked in Coronation Park in Port Glasgow next to Ferguson's Shipyard and beside the iconic new male pride sculpture, see above.  No one is better at hitting.... or fixing things... than a man... with a big hammer....

When I studied an OS Landranger Firth of Clyde Sheet 63 map of the area I worked out a circular route as we obviously had to return to the vehicle after the waterfront walk. Port Glasgow is like the Beverly Hills of Scotland :) the way it clings to its steep slope like a limpet and I've always wanted to wander straight up from the car park in this photo, above, through the various houses. Alan is not that keen on visiting housing estates however ( I love them, always have :o) so we compromised by going up Clune Brae instead (the A761 from the roundabout near Newark Castle) then up through Boglestone steps to reach the 75 cycle track/ walkway.

 

Good views can be had of the failed Port Glasgow estate and ruined church around Robert Street which has been semi abandoned for over ten years now although a few folk still live in it.

Another view of the church. Woodhall in Spring. I've always been fascinated/intrigued by Woodhall and the three Inverclyde towns in general since the late 1960s, exploring them in my teens, alone or with friends, and they still draw me back today. Part of the reason for that is the way the houses climb up the hillsides, even vaulting sheer cliffs at times, as if the rugged landscape and vertical challenge was just a slight inconvenience to planning a town layout on an uphill slope. Walking or cycling up the A 761 highlights that perfectly.

Although a steep climb we soon reached the cycletrack/walkway and from there, heading west, across Greenock, it was mostly flat or downhill.

Both of us had cycled route 75 years ago but reached it then via the higher moorland plateau, descending down towards it from an inland hill route. You can reach it via Boglestone Avenue  however as it passes through the Port Glasgow Industrial Estate, some of which is lying empty.

 Unlike the cycletracks /walkways around my own area of Glasgow, which are increasingly well used, post covid, we only noticed two cyclists, one jogger, and two other walkers along this entire balcony trail path. A rare joy compared with 70 cyclists, 40 walkers and 30 joggers over the same distance elsewhere. It meant we could really relax on this path without constantly looking over our shoulder for anyone else approaching at speed as shared paths, when too busy, tend to annoy all users rather than benefit them. ( or maybe I'm just an old  grump :o) I mention this because it is such a rare occurrence these days. It never used to be that way....but Port Glasgow/ Greenock is not yet a fashionable location for a day trip.. or cycle ride... it seems.

In places good views can be had of the Greenock waterfront below. At Lady Octavia Park/ school this 75 cyclepath/ walkway takes a dip downwards so this was our cue to walk diagonally down to the roundabout near Gavel Point/ Ratho Street crossing the line at the Railway Station.

This brought us out here at the waterfront. Good views. Going further west along the waterfront you arrive in Greenock town Centre...

 And the Beacon Community Arts centre and cafe. (parking here) Ocean Terminal, The Custom House, The Swimming Pool, The Cinema, George Wyllie, Scottish artist exhibits all found here.

Custom House area.

Two art centre/ museums at the waterfront plus this one near the sheriff court and council buildings ( limited parking around Watt Street) 

This was the one Alan wanted to visit and I was glad he persuaded me to enter as it was much better than I thought it would be. Loads of exhibits and some good stuffed animals over several floors and rooms. I've been in several small town museums recently but this was the best of them.

Outdoor area of museum.

We then visited the docks in the other direction as they are quite extensive. East India Harbour, Victoria Harbour, Great Harbour etc.  Before Glasgow eventually managed to  straighten out and deepen the shallow and sand bank prone River Clyde in the mid 1800s large sailing ships had to unload all goods here or in nearby Port Glasgow then transport said goods by overland wagon along poor roads to the impatient young city. Which greatly benefitted both towns here but severely hampered the growth potential and earning income of landlocked Glasgow. It was a situation that had to be fixed, despite the expense and time required to do so. Also the industrial Revolution, in large part enhanced by local Greenock engineer James Watt, had kick started metal constructed steam-powered then later diesel powered ships and Glasgow would have been left further behind. No shipyards lining both banks of the River Clyde without a deep water channel leading straight into the heart of the growing metropolis. And no one million population by the 1930s either as people flooded in for the cornucopia of heavy industry jobs.

This was one part of the Greenock docks neither of us had been in before and the reason for the walk. 

Usually a few interesting ships docked here... sometimes a dozen or so... a lucky dip.

Unfortunately once you reach the Titan Crane, seen here, you have to detour hard right onto the main road (East Hamilton Street) to bypass a boatyard and warehouses for a km or so until you regain the waterfront.

Which brings you down to the marina from the other side... but was a dead end... so more backtracking then East Hamilton street pavement bashing again... ( this would be better cycling rather than walking...) as we found this long street section tedious on foot.

Until you reach the Port Glasgow section again and regain the shore front.

Two colourful murals beside a shorefront Garage/ warehouse in Port Glasgow. A fishing life.

Personal memories of Benbecula, an island in the Scottish Outer Hebrides... we were informed by the owners. Three separate murals here in total.

It was a fairly weary and footsore two walkers that returned to the vehicle just before the rain came on which is why I'm suggesting a pedal bike might be best for this particular route if doing it.... but you can walk it if reasonably fit and active. Or you can just stick to the Greenock Docks, The Beacon Waterfront area, and the various museums  and Greenock's self guided Town tour, including Well Park which sits directly above the unmistakable and soaring Victoria Tower. Cowdenknowes Reservoirs, Greenock Cemetery, and the Coves Reservoir area next to Inverclyde Hospital are all also worth checking out on a different walking tour. Greenock....far  more interesting things in it than you might think.  

A Pitlochry Weekend. Moulin To Fish Ladder Trails.

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I got dropped off by John near the Moulin Hotel, mainly because it was quieter to stop here than in Pitlochry itself. He was off to do his hill of choice which left me a few hours to explore the local area. Moulin Hotel above.

Without any preparation in advance at all I trusted to luck that I would find a path here and Serendipity did not disappoint. Almost immediately an info board and sign showed a path across several fields then up through woods to the Black Spout Waterfall. So I followed that.

It must have rained a lot recently, before our visit, as the fields here were still notoriously boggy.

Black Castle was just a ruin so I squelched on across ankle deep green sward to a better, drier path. 

Views were fairly good though and the path soon improved.

Some nice art work on a house.

A view of Ben Vrackie I think.

Moulin Path info. Hard to get lost and easy to follow.

Looking back at Moulin.

Snowdrops in February.

Crocus carpet.

Track in woods. It was at this point, after seeing the waterfall ( I've seen hundreds over the decades and it was ok but not exceptional) I descended towards Pitlochry then came across the pitch and putt hut... and spotted Atholl Palace on its hill, above me. See last Post.

After visiting the palace and grounds I wandered back into Pitlochry again and thought I'd visit the Dam, The Fish Ladder, and Pitlochry's famous theatre.

Ceramic cow at Pitlochry dam.

Pitlochry Dam and Fish Ladder. The only only time I've explored here was in the 1980s and it was quiet then and free. Now it's very busy with tourists, even in winter, the car park was crowded yet had paid parking bays so I was glad I wasn't driving as getting a spot anywhere might have been tricky. It also looked like it was contactless only payments, my pet hate nowadays, along with people booking things in advance rather than just turning up on the day, so I was delighted to see the town's public toilets still accepted cash through a tiny 2 inch wooden door. So cute. Long may that charming oddity last.

The path runs beside the fast moving and deep River Tummel with Loch Faskally above the dam feeding this impressive flow of water. Further down a period metal suspension bridge crossed this river to allow pedestrians to reach  Pitlochry's famous Festival Theatre which has attracted both UK, European, and North American A list actors/ actresses, writers, and directors for its annual programme of events and plays due to its stellar reputation, despite it's fairly off beat location in the Scottish Highlands. 

Part of the theatre complex here, above, I assume. As I was watching my time to meet up with John at the arranged spot I didn't cross over to see it.

Loch Faskally and Dam.

A small but attractive public park space in Pitlochry.

Winter heather.

Walking back uphill near Moulin I was picked up by John again and we both had a good day doing stuff we enjoy outdoors. Him, a hill walk- me sightseeing... on this occasion.

Some photos on the way back down the road. Stirling Castle viewed from the north.

Passing Stirling Castle on it's cliff top location.

Wallace Monument on a nearby hill close to Stirling. Thanks to John for the weekend trip, the bothy night, and the driving. I really enjoyed it.

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