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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Sunday 21 May 2017

21st May to 28th May 2017: Walking Holiday in Glencoe


A week long walking holiday based in Glencoe, Scottish Highlands. 

Walks to suit all and plenty of local attractions in an area of spectacular scenery. Over 20 people have already signed up.

Contact Robin robin-AT-segulem.com for full details.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Walker

The link to contact Robin is broken for Glencoe week. Could you post an alternative contact?

Thank you, Luisa

Walker said...

It is not a link. You retype the address replacing AT with @ (an anti-spam measure). Does it then not work?

Thomas G said...

midge forecast..."44.8 million of the beasties per every resident of the area", see more here: https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/dundee/422566/dundee-experts-warns-21-billion-figure-2017-midges-double/ , and let's hope for a late start to the 'season'.

Thomas G said...

N=7 early arrivals went on a warm-up walk today (2 others explored Glencoe village).
Weather: w=rainy-to-lunch-then-dry-with-moderate-wind.
Pap of Glencoe (Sgorr na Ciche) at 742m, more or less straight from sea-level, was the target, the steep ascent first through mossy wood, then tussocky hillside, followed by prolonged scrambling, far more than the guide book suggested (the top 200m height meters basically).
Far views to the bigger mountains around, and down the loch to the sea and Ardnamurchan peninsula beyond, were the reward.
More scrambling on the descent. Happy belated return to sea-level and more shopping for the week ahead.
Congratulations to our first time scrambler, who overcame the toughness of the walk to survive, knackered but in good spirit.

Thomas G said...

Monday 22nd
Blackwater Reservoir from Kinlochleven
24 walkers on this, with 3 others walking it with a later start, i.e. n=27.
W=dry-initially-than-drizzly-than-hard-rain.
5 opted for a longer version, up to Loch Chiarain bothy and from there across bovgy hillsides to Loch Eilde Mor and back down to Kinlochleven.
Thoroughly drenched but happy campers everywhere...

Thomas G said...

Tuesday 23rd
Walk 1 Buachaille Etive Beag 11 km, 1100m heigh gain, n=15 (est).
Walk 2 Buachaille Etive Mor 13,5 km, 1200m height gain, n=6.

The group split to conquer the two 'Herdsmen of Etive', both incorporating steep ascents from the off, in the case of Walk 2 up a boulder-filled gully, mostly along an engineered path. Four tops on this walk, 3 of which were reached in the w=dry-with-banks-of-passing-clouds, rain set in at the fourth top and stayed with us. This, the most easterly mountain that we will tackle, offered views across Rannoch Moor, down Glen Coe and out to Loch Etive. We also spotted the other group on their ridge, halfway through.
A grade 1 scramble over rock slabs on the descent could be avoided.

Thomas G said...

Wednesday 24th
Excursion: Lismore Island (castles, a broch, a museum, lanes and footpaths), n=16.
Walk: The Hidden Valley (Coire Gabhail), n=9, w=low-clouds-occasional-drizzle.
The heatwave has yet to hit the Highlands, so a low level walk was selected with an option to extend onto the Bidean nam Bian ridge. 5 walked the simple out and back, 4 started then aborted the route to the ridge as the clouds just we're lifting, and explored the valley end with lots waterfalls and a pretty gorge.
Some entertaining scrambley bits, a fording of a raging river via stepping-stones, plenty of waterfalls, and the extremely atmospheric Hidden Valley. A very good day under the not so walk-friendly conditions.

Thomas G said...

Thursday 25th
Excursion: Mallaig by (Diesel) train from Fort William, n=5.
Walk 1: Ben Nevis by the Tourist Track, n=5.
Walk 2: Bidean nan Biam via Hidden Valley, n=3.
Walk 3: Ben Starav from car park in Glen Etive, n=12.
W=sunny-and-hot-with-clouds-lifting-by-lunch-everywhere.
Apart from a snafu at the start, this was the perfect walk: a beautiful drive down the glen, a boggy start (preventable, see below), a steep ascent umded the scorching sun, some light scrambly bits, stunning far views (Ben Cruachan, Ben Nevjs, all of Glen Coe and Glen Etive, an (avoidable) scrambley ridge, a scenic valley descent, bluebells in full splendour, in woods, on the road side, in open fields, by the river, shrews, orchids, frogs, cuckoos, gurgling streams. For me - the perfect mixture. Tough but stupendous.
The snafu: leaders and sub-leaders had not taken map-reading seriously in the beginning due to a clear path, but missed the fork to the bridge across the river (the first one we encountered all week that proved to be hard to ford), when realising this, half took the jumping across slippery boulders option, or waded, the other half walked back down to the bridge, the chief leader got divine retribution by falling into the river while recceing a better fordable route fof the other half.

Thomas G said...

Friday 26th
Excursion: waterfall trail, ferry to Ardnamurchan peninsula, another trail, beach and café, n=8.
Walk 1: Pap of Glencoe, n=2.
Walk 2: Aonogh Eagach from A82, n=2.
Walk 3: Hidden Valley from/to Clachaig Inn, n=3.
Walk 4: Beinn a'Beithir from South Ballachulish, 10km, 1100m ascent, n=11. W=a-scorcher.
Steep ascent through lovely forest (although plantation) along engineered paths, to a bealach, from where 1 took in the additional Munro Beinn Dearg, up to the summit at 1001m, from where stupendous views across the whole area covered this week. Descent with some route finding challenges and a very steep slope, but all fine.

Thomas G said...

Saturday 27th
One car load off to Mull and Iona for the weekend.
Walk 1: Hidden Valley, n=6, 3 all the way to the waterfall viewpoint, 3 not.
Walk 2: Grey Mare's Tail waterfall from Mamore Lodge car park near Kinlochleven. Plus scenic drive into Glen Etive, n=3.
Walk 3: The Two Passes (Lairig Eilde and Lairig Gartain) from the A82, 400m ascent, 13km, n=5, interesting low level walk over two passes,a good choice for weary legs.
Walk 4: Meall a'Bhuiridh and Creise from Glencoe Ski Centre (White Corries carpark), 1000m ascent, 10km. Out and back walk to 2 Munros, starting under the ski lift, while there was a mountain bike race going on along the steep artificial course, part of a 6 race Scottish Championship. There had also been the start to a 3 day, 300 mile cross Highland mountain bike race earlier in the day, so the car park was chokka.
The forecast thundery heavy downpours never materialised, so w=dry-with-passing-clouds-with-some-drizzle-later.
Quick hit munro box tick, as the car park and is at 360m, low gradient ascent once past the ski paraphernalia, up to 1100m, down to a saddle and back up to Creise's summit. We cheated a bit by taking the ski lift on the way down for the last 300-odd height meters (£5). Then off to the splendid café.

Thomas G said...

Sunday 28th
Le Grand Dèpart.

Anonymous said...

A huge thanks to Robin, John L, Thomas G and Karen G and also to the car drivers who have made walking in the most lovely and remote
parts of the Scottish Highlands a reality and a success.

Thomas G said...

a (rather large) selection of my photos have now been uploaded to the site