Auchtertyre Hill,Lochalsh.

Everyone else was heading for the Kintail hills and despite endless cajoling on my part I couldn`t get anyone interested in nipping over to Skye.Just as well.It started raining the minute I crossed the bridge.!

Called in at the chemist in Broadford to get some distilled water for my car battery.In the few minutes I was in the shop the rain stopped and it froze instantly turning the pavements into a skating rink.Nevertheless I took a chance and headed up the single track road up Glen Arroch hoping to bag Beinn na Seamraig and Ben Aslak from the 500 foot level.The rain progressively turned to big snowy flakes and bearing in mind Alistairs warning regarding the timing of the gritters hereabouts and my low profile tyres I turned round,not without difficulty,and inched my way back down to the main road and headed back to the mainland towards the better weather.

Auchtertyre Hill was now the objective.Foolishly,the lure of a 500 foot start up the Lochcarron road was enough to override my common sense with regard to the snow conditions.The only parking place was taken up by what looked the local stalkers truck and I had to return a mile or so back down to the road.

This meant that I now had to traverse Maol Beag and Meal Mor before reaching the Marilyn.Waist deep snow in the drifts between the hills had me cursing but once Auchtertyre came into sight I knew I had it licked as a nice ridge climbed steadily up to the summit and looked like I could link up a few snow blown rocky patches.And so it proved.1 1/2 miles roughly and 1,300 feet of ascent took nearly 3 hours.

Although the weather was good in general it seemed to be a matter of chance as to how lucky you were.There were other club parties on A`Ghlas Bheinn and the Five Sisters whose day was blighted by cloud and deep snow whilst a mile or so across the road Neil and Craig enjoyed cracking weather doing the Forcan Ridge.

The Five Sisters early in the day.The road at the bottom of the pic is where I parked.


Close up of the Sisters.....



Beinn na Caillich over on Skye makes an appearance.....


A boat makes it`s way towards the Sound of Sleat with Mallaig and Ardnamurchan in the distance...


Maol Mor,the hill I had to come over, and Sguman Coinntich lurking in the background...


Torridon was spectacular in the sunshine.....Beinn Alligin....


Zoomed shot of the Skye Bridge.....



A trig to bag.....


Five Sisters in better weather later in the day....


A close up....


The weather and snow conditions on the Five Sisters that day.Photos courtesy of Scott...

The Lake of Menteith Day.

After the deep thrash on the moors above Greenock I didn't fancy another lonesome snow slog so soon.Didn't really know where the hell I was going this time (Alex still working nights again) but sometimes these can turn out the best of days because they are spontaneous in nature and so it proved.
Took the back roads to Fintry then went a walk over the Kippen Muir from the high point of the B822 looking for interesting views.The wildlife was suffering in this weather,a dead crow beside the road then a dead sheep half covered in new snow,legs sticking out like all those ungathered climbers on Mount Everest.

His mate was still alive though and still had eyes to watch me taking this picture.Trudged back from here following sheep tracks though the snow for this other classic, often overlooked,favourite on the same ridge. Stronend.A great hill done from Fintry through the beautiful grounds of Culcreuch which has a nice tearoom and bar built into the dungeon in the castle.

A third picture of Fintry landscape presented itself near here.It was a glorious freezing day and I would soon be back at work so I was intent on enjoying myself in perfect conditions.

The sheep here had their hoofs the right way up I was pleased to see.
Next drove on and parked in Callander.It didn`t have too much snow here on the streets but boy was it icy.The overspill ( summer) car park could have passed for an ice rink.Put the crampons on five minutes into a romp up Callander Craig,the steep wooded escarpment above the town which is one of my favourite easy walks.Been up this dozens of times,still enjoyable as it has so many different paths.Raced up" the craigs" the left hand edge route up to the summit.From here you can walk to Bracklin falls and then down to Callander again by several routes.
Didn`t do this today as it would have been too dark for pictures by the time I got there.

Chatted to a couple of women on the summit then suddenly realized that it was turning into a fine sunset and I was too far east to capture it.Damn!
Raced down the way I`d come, still on crampons, and was down at the car 10 mintues later.Knackered!
Where to go? I didn`t have much time.Trundled off and headed for the nearest western spot I could get too before the best colours faded.
I must admit I`m baffled by sunsets.I know the basics,light refraction,ice crystals, dust etc but as to how you can predict a good one in advance and what colours it will be is still something of a mystery at this point.Still, not a bad effort.

Arrived at the Lake of Menteith just as the best colours were starting.With no room left to park,spaces taken by skaters and locals I made fast work with the spade to dig a slot for my car then it was off onto the ice to join the lucky few watching one of the best sunsets of the year.

It was such a vivid colour my normally ok camera couldn't really capture it in its true glory.It had more subtle colours in it as well, not just red and yellow.

There were loads of folk out on the ice , walking in the distance even out to the island in the middle.Skaters,families with kids, other photographers.Brilliant stuff.

The next night as luck would have it I was getting my messages for a change in Clydebank when I noticed it was going to be an equally good sunset here.I rushed down to the Clyde at Clydebank College to take this pair of pics.

There is a nightly unheralded wildlife spectacle that occurs here in winter.Everyone knows about starlings at dusk but seagulls fly in every morning up the Clyde from their roost out in the open sea near Dunoon to feed in the parks and gardens of winter Glasgow then fly out again each evening.If you stand on the Erskine bridge at dusk you can see thousands of V squadrons fly over.An amazing sight.I now don't grudge them stealing greedily from the swans and ducks when you see how hard their journey is every day.


P.S.I`ve found its better to keep walking from one end and back purposfully if you are up on the Erskine Bridge of an evening.With its sad history of jumpers off this incredible man made viewpoint if you linger in the one spot too long you may get a visit from the police asking what your intentions are.

New Years Day.Dunrod Hill and Scroggy Bank.

After enjoying the film Transiberian picked from a bunch of new DVDs I received at Christmas my butterfly mind was inspired by Woody and Emily's mishaps and adventures in the snowy wastes of a Russian winter on the legendary chug chug.I decided there and then to seek out my own winter adventure.Due to not wanting to face any retail park(they shut for 2 days!Dear god its the end of the world!) during the absolute mayhem of the festive break traffic I had only a half tank of petrol so wanted to keep it fairly local but still adventurous!
The nearest icy waste I could think of was the Loch Thom wilderness,an area I,ve always thought of as somehow Siberian even in summer due to its empty and barren widescale views.

This was taken in summer when I first showed it to Alex who was impressed such a large beautiful area so near Glasgow (in the distance) could exist without him knowing about it.The munros!the munros!
Set off and arrrived in Greenock Then took the minor moor road up onto the high uplands,good clear tarmac giving way to snow covered tracks past the powerlines.
Luckily it was a flat road which I knew had no steep surprises as I doubted I could climb it in these conditions. It was the worst road I,d been on yet, not a single car passed on the way to Dunrod hill.It was the only time I,ve thought an off roader may be useful.
Arrived at Cornalees bridge car park without mishap to find a few cars there.Most people seemed to have come up from the Inverkip road.
Parked and had a swift romp up Dunrod hill then decided I had time for a thrash across the bog to Scroggy bank with its twin metal multimedia towers.
This was hard work as no one had done straight across this since the snow landed.Big tussocks and piles of new snow gleefully pouring into gaiter less boots and socks.Eventually arrived at Scroggy Bank for a nice view back.
A few polar bears would not have looked out of place in this landscape.It was well below zero.
Met a few folk on the land rover track back down to the car.This area in summer is worth a visit. It has superb cycling on a network of land rover tracks, one of the best skirts around the loch Thom and Gryfe Reservoirs to the B 788 then along the higher Streets of Greenock to Overton and back along a decent track to car.Years ago, in the days when nobody bothered, you could cycle the cut itself but its now a funded Ancient monument so its walk only I,m afraid.The problem with all these official bodies is they ring fence off the more maverick things people enjoyed without any hassle or disturbance then advertise and get far more people into an area than it used to get.I used to cycle the cut often and see no one at all now its a lot more popular though still worth a visit.Same can,t be said for the poor wallabies on Loch Lomond who I used to hang out with many an evening over in my Kayak.
Back at the car still had time for a wander along the cut where I met people pushing a pram through deep snow and also this. Not bad for what was available in the surroundings.


Incidentally Loch Thom was named after the civil engineer Robert Thom who designed this waterway/aqueduct to supply fresh water to Greenocks mills and houses.As ever the folk who actually carved out the trench with the most basic of tools lie forgotten by history. There is a similar interesting project by the same engineer in Rothesay which is worth a look.
Back at the car took the quick road down to Inverkip which was surprisingly steep and icy.Lot of traffic still coming up this way which was a problem as the passing places were buried under snow.Loads of uphill reversing and muted curses after the third attempt to get down against the tide of 4 by 4s.
Back down in near night time Greenock stopped and had a wander in Coronation park ,Port Glasgow as the Christmas Lights were cheery here.I,ve always liked the way these three Towns here climb up the hillsides like concrete Christmas trees themselves.

Had a final stop once over the Erskine Bridge to snap the Auchentoshan distillery as they always have a nice show of lights for Christmas.

Edinburgh.The White Volcano.

Phoned up Alex.He`s still on night shift at work but had the day off and had said he might be up for going out if he felt OK.Not surprised to find he was knackered and had a cold.Having seen the forecast and set my sights on a snowy Arthur`s Seat I was not too disappointed at this as I did not want to miss my window of opportunity for another year and knew he wouldn`t go.His attitude is typical of most people in the climbing clubs however that dismiss hills under a 1000 feet especially if its in the middle of a city.That misses the point as this hill is certainly worth every inch of its height and is up there with the classic mountains of Scotland for views and exposure.
Knowing Alex he`d probably talk me into walking miles up a deep snowy featureless doorknob to bag his 100th trig. I do miss his input for interesting hills as we complement each other being into different aspects of the outdoors but on this occasion I was happy. No wind,blue skies,Loads of wee matchstick models unknowingly running around for photos.

However I`m getting ahead of myself as first I cut off the M8 to go up the Glasgow Necropolis when I noticed an inversion burning off GlasgowGgreen and the Gorbals area.A stroll through the tombs and crypts led me to the top just in time to catch the mist boiling off the high flats.

Worth the detour up this ancient graveyard just to watch this for 30 minutes along with a group of Japanese tourists.
Because of this delay I arrived in Edinburgh around twelve noon but that was plenty of time.Parked at Duddingson car park beside a frozen loch (poor wee birds) and marched up the hill.I was soon on the ridge line with fantastic views opening up over the city.
Don't laugh but I put my crampons on at this point and kept them on my feet for the next four hours back to the car. It was really icy up here, thousands of eager feet turning every path into a burnished mirror of glass.How more people aren't hurt or killed up here in winter conditions is a mystery to me.Its harder than most Munro's as you would not get this level of ice anywhere else bar a waterfall.A large percentage of the folk going up were tourists with street shoes,happily struggling upwards to the slippery summit with nothing to stop them if they went over. At least I had a trekking pole.



Came off the summit down the steep zig zags which were not far off a grade one ice climb still seeing folk clinging to every frozen grass handhold as they made their way up. Amazing stuff.


Having descended here before in winter I was very glad for my jaggy feet, every steep step downwards plastered in ice.
Salisbury Crags came next following the very edge of the ridge along the line of cliffs looking down on the Radical Road below.


Even this was covered in ice and hard going.Great views over the capital on what was my best ever day up here.This ancient volcano always seems a lot higher than its 800 feet suggests.
Before it was banned folk used to climb on this cliff escarpment. A great photo in an old climbing book always inspired me of gentlemen climbers roped together on Great buttress with the tenements of Edinburgh far below. Magic stuff.

Met loads of people from all over the world up here and stopped frequently for a chat so it was quite sociable.A full traverse of all the satellite peaks followed taking in the views from the best positions.It was such a great day I just didn't want to go down yet climbing back up towards the summit again.


But eventually it started to get dark and the last of the folk headed down towards a warm home.


Back at the car headed home myself towards Glasgow, mood music drifting from the speakers. On a whim I went up the Necropolis again in the creepy dark for the views of the city lights but it wasn't what I expected. OK but not that great.Got far better lights in my local car park getting my messages.



Getting right into night shots now.But wont bore you with too many.


And so to bed.

P.S. Alex had the cheek on the phone to say this blog`s gone right downhill in his absence.Three weeks without an interesting summit trig or fundamental bench mark in sight.Far too many pictures taken above housing schemes and monuments for his liking.What`s wrong with that boy!Ah well I try my best.Besides I`ve promised not to bag any more trigs he`d like to do so my venues are somewhat limited.

A West Coast Christmas Tour.

Christmas Eve actually.My birthday.Hip Hip Ho hum.Another year nearer the soil.Would I stay in today and tidy the house,do the dishes or fix the garden gate? (Get real!)
Didn`t fancy a big day though but it looked good again,thick mist and icy outside.My kind of day for a west coast bimble, trying to capture the magic of the festive season.Stayed fairly local at first heading for the Gleniffer Braes,all the favourite areas in my tick list popping into my head as being good for a snap or two.
Saucel hill above the centre of Paisley however looked so good as I passed I stopped off there first for a run up to the trig.I know this hill well as its on two of my favourite bike runs from my house,cycle tracks to Greenock and Irvine pass here.Always good on a summers day walking the bike up here for a view over the home of St Mirrins bairns.

There is also an interesting old town trail on the hill right above the town.Paisley has always suffered in some ways by being too close to Glasgow to really shine out in its own right though I suppose it also has an upside.


Next stop was the" car park in the sky".There are good walks from here.The best being east along balcony trails through Robertson and Glen park with its surprising little necklace of mill ponds then over the Brownside braes to Barrhead and back.Return higher up via the two reservoirs.

Didn't stop here long as the inversion was a bit on the skimpy side and I had another bright idea.

Off to Barcraigs, where else, for a walk round the reservoir in the snow.Was not the only one out as a young fox was looking for its lunch in front of me.

Plenty of bird life out on the water.

Most people don't know about this place but for views its a wee treasure.Few places to park though.
Thick cloud was building up over the Glasgow area when I got back to the car so it was time to head further west.

This was the biggest surprise.Never seen Castle Semple loch look like this before.Plenty of families out on the ice near the edge but only a few brave skaters in the middle. In the old days, before health and safety, they pushed something big and heavy out ....if it and they sank it was not thick enough for a bonspeil yet.Happy days!


Had a good time here as it was the first place that really said" festive season" out loud to me.
Perked up and headed for Castle Hill above Largs, one of the best viewpoints on the west coast and really easy to reach.

Stayed up here quite a time talking to a local walker and watching as the sunset turned from yellow to red as it sank lower.Nice chat with a fellow enthusiast of the outdoors.Told him about a hill walking club in Largs he hadn`t heard of before.Its good to help :)

Took the coast road back as I thought it would have less snow in the dark than the way I`d come,skirting past Wemyss Bay and Greenock.Getting really dark by now.
As a last treat to myself on my birthday drove up Lyle hill above the town.


Years since I`d been up here after dark with the locals.Favourite spot in days of yore for night time activites of one sort and another.Forgot how good it was,Truly stunning with boats big and small out in the Firth of Clyde.



Also where the Free French sailed from during world war two.Fantastic monument.Always liked it.
Its a bit dodgy up here sometimes.Its a shame because its one of the best night time views in Scotland.If this was abroad it would be a major tourist attraction at night.It`s not even lit and is black as pitch for anyone brave enough to leave the car here for any length of time at night.Spent a good while up here but always within sight of me trusty motor.
A grand birthday present to myself.