March 2010 Scottish expedition

Sun, 21 Mar 2010

Dear Linda

Thanks for the e-mail.  This is also for my mountain blog and to test out
the effectiveness of the city council's 3G experiment for agile workers
like me.  Not that I'm working; just being very agile!  Skip what is of no
interest like the route detail I'll describe, below.

This work laptop with its Vodaphone 3G connection is working remarkably well, albeit a little slowly.  On Fri eve I had a signal strength of 3 bars out of 5 but this morning, in front of a hot coal fire in the magnificent Ledgowen Lodge Hotel, it has gone up to 4 bars.  This is in Achnasheen,Wester Ross miles from anywhere but probably at 1,000 feet - with its own rail station, village hall and the most Rolls Royce of public toilets all in the one building.  I've just had coffee and will have a two course lunch to justify the warmth and comfort I am enjoying in the hotel that I could not resist returning to.  Tomorrow, I'll try another two Corbetts a little further down the road in another 7 to 8 hrs walk and climb.  The weather is good but very little sun, patches of blue sky and one very brief shower an hour ago.

Yesterday, Saturday, was cloud over the higher summits to the N but
improving visibility as the day went on.  The previous day, Friday was so
windy that when I lifted the car bonnet to check oil and water, I had to
steady the bonnet to stop it crashing down onto my head - and this was at sea level in the huge Inverness Tesco car park!

Back to yesterday; I saw no-one else all day; made use of the first class
Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve mountain trail - the like of which I
have never seen before - to get up on to the plateau.  Two booklets and
stone cairns interpret the geology,  natural heritage and wildlife that you
walk through.  My failure to study the map led to a most inappropriate
route up the second Corbett that, too late, I discovered was completely
guarded by crags and scree.  My route took me diagonally up the huge E face of scree and out on to the summit ridge to the S of the crags above the scree.  My return took me down the orthodox route through the scree to the col and, then, a much pleasanter walk over high but level ground to eventually gain the mountain trail.  Even then, I didn't bother to check the map and took the longer half of the circuit back to the car park.  The tendon stood up well and, so far, no limping.

7 family members who own the hotel live here, I've just learnt on the
conducted tour I've had round the rooms on the ground floor.  The house was finished in 1905; wooden framed, double glazed windows were fitted last year.  There is a bunkhouse and chalet on the estate.  The bunkhouse is £13 ppp night.  The hotel seems to get well used.

Now for my lunch in the bar!

Love

Sounds as though you have had quite a memorable start to your holiday! Hope your foot is coping with the pace. Been to a Passover dance celebration this morning at Oasis church 5 ways, then to mum and dads for lunch and to start clearing out their loft. Made soon good progress amid the thick dust!

Will visit Steve tomorrow afternoon. Hope you get a better night's sleep
tonight. lots of love, Linda xx

Fri, 19 Mar 2010

BRIGHT LIGHTS AND A VOICE IN THE BLACKNESS OF THE NIGHT!

19 March - climbed Ord Hill, N Kessock on the Moray Firth. Iron Age hill
fort on summit; then onto the cluster of dwellings, a village pond and a rail station that doubles up as the village hall! This was the mighty
hamlet of Achnasheen with its fine public toilets and 2 or 3 Kw fan
heater that was blasting out the heat that I promptly switched off! Earlier, visited fine hotel in Birnam nr Dunkeld of 'Macbeth' fame for coffee, then wash and shave after a night sleeping in the car. A sleep that was interrupted by a bright light shining all about me like a Damascene conversion. It was two eager young policemen with their torches.

"What's your name and where are you from?"
"Tim Weller from Halesowen in the West Midlands", satisfied them. "I'm just having a night's sleep on my way north for some hill walking and cycling. You know that you have signs on the main road saying, 'Tiredness kills. Take a break'?
"Have you been drinking?", said the one.
"Certainly not", I retorted indignantly. "You're remarkably conscientious
in checking parked cars."
"Yours was reported as possibly abandoned" came the reply.
"Sorry to disturb you", one said on leaving.
A public spirited motorist had rung the police, would you believe! I had parked in a country lane about 25 metres from the A9 trunk road, late yesterday evening. No sooner had I arrived, than the first or second of only four or five cars that passed me all night phoned the police!