Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Stagecoach isn’t exactly flavour of the month in the Scottish Highlands right now. Their association with Scottish Citylink has resulted in changes, some for the better. In the background, there’s a potential takeover of the Rapsons group in the offing and West Coast Motors no longer run Scottish Citylink services. So, some suspicions of Stagecoach using Citylink as a stalking horse for moving wholesale into an area where they haven’t been up to now are understandable. Quite what the likes of the Competition Commision and the Office of Fair Trading will make of all this remains to be seen. In the meantime, West Coast Motors have launched services competing with those run by Citylink.

I first heard the murmurings of discontent on a trip to Lochaber in April and there was good reason: time was when two coaches were known to depart on a Citylink working at the same time if the number of passengers required it and that’s no more. In fact, I have have two experiences with 11:00 (formerly 11:20) departure to Glasgow from Fort William that rather makes me think that I should avoid using that service in the future. The first of these was last April and I was lucky enough to get on the coach. The second time around, I wanted to get on it at Tyndrum and found that it was full. There is a flip side to this, of course. For the summer at least, Citylink are operating a next to two hourly service between the capital of Lochaber and Scotland’s biggest city and it is virtually hourly in the afternoons. So, if we could change people’s behaviour so that the load is better spread, then the experience of getting ditched by a full coach would become a thing of the past.

In April, the extra services weren’t running and that brings me to perennial problem with the Highlands: the reduction in services during winter time. That means next to no train service on Sundays and the corresponding strain on coach services in the off season. In reality, there is no off season in Scotland with wonderfulness available to all every time of year; it’s just that the visitors often all turn up at the same time. Having been in Fort William of quiet January weekend, I know how quiet things can become but I still wonder if it would better to starting ensure that an improved public transport service started to operate from March on. There is a more extreme example of the shortness of the summer service period: direct coaches between Oban and Fort William are twice daily most of the year but for the Scottish summer school holidays when the service level is doubled. To my mind, that’s daft but I think that it has been the way for a good few years now.

On the subject of connections between Oban and Fort William, this year seems to see an improvement so long as you are willing to change in Tyndrum and don’t meet a full coach. That very same improvement applies to getting to Glasgow too, as does the caveat. Nevertheless, getting to the likes of Tyndrum or Dalmally for a walk has probably never been easier and I hope that’s how it stays. In fact, I would like all of the extra services to stay because of the limited train timetable along single track railway lines but their limitations are another story in itself.

After the Mayday bank holiday weekend, I promised to add a trip report for a day outing to North Wales but the combination of its being May and our having some decent weather have meant that my attention has dashed off elsewhere. It’s hard not to be tempted by the outdoors at this time of year with all of the colours that abound. In addition to the fresh verdant green of the new foliage, the list becomes a very long one. Here’s a cursory summary: the magnetic hues of the glades of bluebells, the white of hawthorn blossom and the catkins on horse chestnut trees, the yellow of the flowering gorse and the pink of the cherry blossom. There are more (that ever present invader, rhododendron, comes to mind) but what I have listed is enough to send you off somewhere when some sunshine is on offer. The result is that I have spent evenings in the outdoors near my home in Cheshire and another trek to Wales ensued. To cap it all, I have just spent a glorious weekend in Argyll and am kicking myself for not allowing an extra day for making even more of it than I did. Just catch Aktoman’s photos from his recent trek in the Cairngorms to see what I mean; it makes my exertions look minor in comparison and I wish that I had pushed the boat out more than I did. All of that means more trip reports so I’d better get cracking sometime. Of course, the trick is making the time but the weather looks to be damper over the coming days; that might allow me the time to settle the matter.

Without doubt, I have shared similar sentiments on this blog before but I’ll share them again: it never seems to amaze me how a honey pot walking location can blind you to other equally attractive places. On this occasion, it is again the delights of Lochaber and Skye that come to mind because, two weekends ago, I was enjoying a hike among the Arrochar hills in Scotland. Since then, I have pored over maps and the quality of the hill country really makes me wonder why I never explored the area before. A peek at any map will reveal a goodly number of useful paths and tracks through some accessible and fine countryside. Some offer ways to the summits of Munros and Corbetts and this presents me with the idea of ascending a top or two; I have yet to stand atop a Munro and this part of Argyll may well change that.

Returning to the subject of hill tracks, it was an inspection of ScotWays’ very useful Scottish Hill Tracks that set me up with some ideas for a trip, as it has for many of my explorations of Scotland’s wilder places. The old rights of way in these parts seem to offer opportunities for shorter days, a useful thing if you don’t have the whole day to spare. One such idea was a circular walk from Arrochar through Glen Loin before following Allt Coiregrogain up to Bealach a’ Mhaim and dropping down towards Arrochar between Ben Arthur (The Cobbler) and Beinn Narnain. The book describes it the other way around but I had my reasons for doing in reverse if my plans were to come to pass.

The forecast was for showers but I had my waterproofs with me and remained hopeful for some sunny spells so that I could avail of momentary glimpses of the surrounding scenery at its most resplendent. I suppose that I could have gone for hill country in the Scottish Borders instead because of a drier forecast but the idea of an earlier start was to override the idea. At 08:00, a Scottish Citylink coach dropped me outside the hotel in Tarbet and I couldn’t resist pottering down to the shore of Loch Lomond before continuing on my way to Arrochar. I thought that I was in for two miles of road walking but the idea of checking on train times revealed the possibility of following a good Forestry Commission path around the slopes of Cruach Tarbeirt instead. The first shower of the day came on me while I was on this track but it soon departed to leave very reasonable views across Loch Long towards The Cobbler and its ilk.

Within an hour, I had made my way into Glen Loin, a somewhat industrialised spectacle. For one thing, conifer forestry is very much in evidence there but what really attenuates the appeal is the presence of two processions of pylons through it. Conditions underfoot were sodden and the going would have been on the challenging side were it not for the presence of a good track, even if a spot of puddle dodging was in order. The reason was dodging those puddles was actually more nature consciousness than trying avoid getting one’s feet wet. I was being greeted with sights and sounds that were new to me and on a scale beyond my wildest imaginings…

The various pools and puddles were playing precarious host to a precious cargo: frog spawn. The sight is enough to make you shudder to think what devastation an errant boot or tyre might do to the frog population and the idea of pools drying out is no better. Being on the cusp of springtime, it was time for the creatures to do what comes naturally and they were everywhere, both on and off the track. Having one’s reverie interrupted by the primordial cacophony of bullfrog croaking is certainly an experience that I will not forget and it shows that you don’t need to watch BBC television to encounter life of the cold blooded variety.

That spot of wildlife watching shortened the journey up Glen Loin and I crossed Inveruglas Water near Coriegrogan to pick the reservoir track between Loch Sloy and Inveruglas. It was about this time that the dry morning interlude that I had been enjoying came to an end and a shower dumped its wares upon all that were out in it. Some had headier heights like Ben Vane but my sighting of the reduction in visibility on high might have made me reconsider my plans in the absence of the time factor that already had made me go for a lower level circuit than that which was originally in mind.

The shower soon passed and my gear was working well in the conditions that were experienced. The sun made an appearance to dry things a little and the hills were resplendent with a sprinkling of the white stuff having happened on or near the tops. I followed Allt Coiregrogan on its northern banks but, rather than staying on the track to ascend the slopes to the initially intended bealach, I crossed the burn and started to follow a track that was to take me back towards the shores Loch Long again. Another shower came and went while I was immersed in tree cover so that the landscape was bathed in bright sunshine when the views returned.

As time moved on, my mind was becoming ever more concerned with my getting home and I needed to return to lower levels first. A track traversing well up a steep slope is all well and good for the views that you get but getting down with an out of date map is another matter. The OS Explorer that I was using dates from 2001 and it very nearly misled me because the tracks had changed in the meantime; it’s getting rather tatty now so its replacement might be in order. A brief spot of fumbling got my feet wet but patience paid off in the middle of yet another shower when I came upon a well engineered path with plenty of switchbacks on the descent; some don’t appreciate such niceties as was evidenced by the shortcuts visible on the ground. The going was easy from here: follow the road around the head of the loch until you see a bus stop sign.

The showery activity was continuing with a vengeance now, so much so that it was becoming an irritation. The coach from Campbeltown turned up late but that wasn’t such a problem because it was the one from Oban that I had in mind. (That both stop at Arrochar within 30 minutes of each other is something that I consider a missed opportunity when it comes to providing a less sporadic public transport service.) Unusually for a Citylink service, I was left on the bus with my rucksack but I suppose that the driver didn’t want to go out in the middle of a heavy shower. As the coach continued to Glasgow, there was no let up in the rain so I reckon that my departure was well timed even if I left shortly before 15:00.

After a stop in Glasgow that allowed me to acquire a new pair of socks to facilitate a change to drier footwear later on, my journey home continued. It should have been a railway one of all the way but engineering works meant travel to Carlisle was by coach and two were needed because the first one broke down.Otherwise, I travelled on without any incident after a very satisfying day. The showers may have annoyed at the end and I may have barely scratched the surface of what seems to be a fascinating part of the world but gaining the lie of the land for future visits was well worth any effort. I hope to return.

It’s very human to look back at the turn of a year/decade/century/millennium/etc. and, this time last year, I took the opportunity to look over my travels in 2006. In the same vein, I now cast my mind back over the same sort thing but for 2007 instead. If 2006 was to be the year of seeking out pastures new, then 2007 has been a year largely taken up with following long distance trails into country familiar to me from a different angle and, more often than not, into country that I am visiting for the first time.

2007 was to start quietly with only one walking excursion in January. The weather didn’t tempt but for day when I went to Chirk for a trek to Llangollen that saw me hop over and back along the Wales-England border before picking up a small piece of the Offa’s Dyke Path and leaving that to get to Llangollen before nightfall. It was a case of something old, something new and put an idea into my head that laid the foundations for a walk later in the year. The long distance trail ethic that was to pervade my walking in 2007 had made an early appearance.

February built up the long distance trail trend with my exploring two trails. First up was the Pennine Way with a hike from Hebden Bridge to Littleborough giving me a feel for the moors above Calderdale. Walks along the Pennine Way, still unfinished business in 2008, were to pervade my outings until the end of April. My second excursion took me up to Scotland for the southernmost part of the West Highland Way: Milngavie to Drymen. This was also a case of going into countryside new to me and, like the Calderdale trot, it was to give rise to more excursions later on.

The Pennine Way hiking continued in March and it started again early in the month with a trek that saw me return to Calderdale for a walk from Todmorden to Burnley by way of both the Pennine Way and the Pennine Bridleway. This was followed up at the end of the month when I yomped from Haworth to Burnley.

My Pennine wanderings were set to continue in April and the first one plugged a gap in the itinerary from Edale to Haworth: Marsden to Littleborough via Wessenden Reservoir. It was to prove a claggy day until lunchtime, something that very much focussed the mind when it came to navigation. My next day along the Pennine Way was in clearer if blustery conditions. It also was to take me through some of the best countryside on the Pennine Way as I voyaged from Horton-in-Ribblesdale to Hawes. Rain was to beset me on my next excursion as I left Malham Tarn to head for Gargrave but I left the rain after me in Malham and things cheered up immeasurably as I was nearing my destination for the day. Those two excursions left a gap that was filled on a tramp from Malham Tarn over Fountains Fell and Pen-y-Ghent to Horton on a day that when it felt like summer.

I started May with another trip blessed by fair weather. After years of admiring it, I finally made my way up to the top of Skiddaw. Some may view the manicured lines of the "tourist track" that I followed as dull, I’d rather not scare myself with descents that are too steep so I well appreciated its gentler approach and I still found time to take in Little Man and Lattrigg as well. Next up in May was a trip that my memory reckons happened in July; it’s just as well that I have this blog! I made my return to Chirk for another stroll along the Offa’s Dyke Path, this time to Oswestry. Cloud predominated on the day so photographic opportunities were rare. Even so, it didn’t stop my having a good walk in countryside that was new to me. If I had more time, I would have dawdled more so it might time for a return. In walking terms, the month of May went out with a bang: a two day trek on the West Highland Way along the banks of Loch Lomond with an overnight stay in Rowardennan. I very much took a chance with the weather on this one but Scotland didn’t let me down on what is for me one of the finest stretches of the WHW.

June was to be a quieter month with regard to walking and the long evenings were allowing me to get out in the part of Cheshire’s hill country that is near me. These outings were to become a feature of the "summer". June soon became a sodden affair but I still returned to Rhinog country for a creditable stroll through a landscape that was anything but dry. The weather that we were getting was a foretaste of what was to come, making 2007 a year of two halves: one fabulous and one that returned us to reality. Alan Sloman was lucky to complete his LEJOG when he did.

July was for many a washout but I managed to get two decent Lakeland excursions out of the month. Both involved my heading to Windermere with the first being an over and back hike to Kentmere and the second being a trek to Staveley via Kentmere. On both outings, I enjoyed the fine scenery in excellent weather, something that must sound ironic to those sodden by the floods of 2007. Yes, water had accumulated underfoot but the worst difficulties, if any, were avoidable.

August saw me finishing two long distance trails and starting on another one. The first to be completed was the West Highland Way and that happened on my now habitual summertime stay in Scotland. That saw me complete of perhaps the noisiest stretch of the trail: that between Bridge of Orchy and Inverarnan and with some sun to enliven the views too. The other walking that I did during that trip was a soggy reconnaissance trip among the hills near Kinlochleven. The other trail completed was one passing not far from where I live: the Gritstone Trail. Hikes from Macclesfield to Congleton and from Eaton to Kidsgrove in pleasant conditions allowed me to bring my walking of the trail towards a good end. A final evening stroll was sufficient for me to walk the final short stretch around Bollington before I then walked home to my house. The bank holiday weekend at the end of the month allowed me the opportunity to start off the Rob Roy Way by walking from Drymen to Callander with an overnight stay in Aberfoyle. This got me into nice countryside that I hadn’t visited before and it seems more than worthy of a return.

After what must sound like a bountiful August, hillwalking activities were less prevalent for the rest of the year, even if I had planned not to have things slow down. September and November stand out as months when you could have said that I had gone into hibernation. October saw me head out for a local constitutional to take in the Autumn colour, follow streams in local hill country and visit the South Pennines for a hike lacking in any real progress on completing the missing link in my Pennine Way journey so far. In December, I decided to vanquish any sense of hibernation by another wander among the hills lining the Cheshire-Derbyshire border followed up by a fleeting unintended visit to the hill country of the Long Mynd near Church Stretton.

All in all, 2007 was another good walking year for me. Unless you lost out in the flooding (and I don’t envy anyone who did: hope it all works out alright for them), it would be a travesty to remember 2007 for its sodden summer when we had so much clement weather earlier in the year. As it happens, the continual greyness that pervaded nearly all of 2004 remains with me with 2007’s bright spots easily cause me to forget any grey bits. The proverbial question of what 2008 will bring does raise its head as it is wont to do; so also is the realisation that the future is not ours to see (we’re probably better off!). I never go in for big plans anyway but that doesn’t stop me having ideas in my mind for when the opportunities to explore them arise. We’ll see what happens…

Here’s something that I encountered on the web, as usual while looking for something else: Argyll Online. It looks promising and presents itself well as it endeavours to cover what is a large region of Scotland.