Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

If I  was a sun seeker, I wouldn't have been crossing Loch Linnhe for my first visit to Ardgour on the day after my ambling around Morar. In retrospect, I'd have been better off staying on the eastern side and confined my attentions to the western end of Glen Coe because that is what seemed to be catching the sun that afternoon. Sometimes, going for a walk means foregoing some sun.

However, with the unsteadiness of the forecast ahead of my trip up north, I was more than glad to have the weather staying as dry as did. In the end, someone seemed to have hit the rain by night switch, as Rob McElwee put it on the BBC weather bulletins that I caught while up there, but they also seem to have knocked against the one for extensive dark clouds too. As it turned out later in the day of my Ardgour tramp, they made sunshine very spotty and there was very little where I was even though there were plenty of blue holes in the sky.

The grey layer that lay over Loch Linnhe as I crossed on the Corran Ferry was without a crack though. Being a foot passenger, I had nothing to pay and was on and off again without fuss. The cloud cover stayed next to impervious as I shortened the A861 on the way to Sallachan at the foot of Glen Gour with a diversion around by Clovullin. Mercifully, traffic was limited to infrequent bunches of cars going towards and from the ferry but the road walking was its usual self from the point of view of my feet. Though they weren't to be seen at their best, distractions abounded with the hills at end of Glen Coe showing off snowy tops when the clag left them. Casting an eye down Loch Linnhe revealed some brightness in the sky if not what lay beneath it.

It took me just over an hour to reach the end of a right of way leading to Strontian. That wasn't where I was bound though and I contented myself with an out and back hike beside Loch nan Gabhar and the River Gour in Glen Gour. A stony track replete with many puddles was what lay underfoot with the waterproofing of my boots really being put to the test. Given the torrents that the month of November brought to us, this hardly was a surprise so I just got on with my walk, avoiding any sections of water that looked too deep.

If quiet immersion in hill country is what you are after, then Glen Gour offers it in spades at this time of year but I cannot see it ever getting crowded, to be honest. The prevailing lack of sun meant that I left imagining the possibilities as I passed the loch and gazed into the hills beyond while wondering if they were attracting dampness. As I was to discover, they were but it was no heavy downpour, more a consequence of mixing hills and unstable air. At the time that I met the damp air, I was pondering the idea of turning around because I wanted to leave some time in Fort William for attending to a few matters that evening. That dampness wouldn't have stopped me going the full twelve miles to Strontian but I had no such ambitions on a day when darkness was due around 15:45. That is not to say that it wouldn't be an idea for later because I'd like to see these parts on a sunnier day anyway.

It was when I was retracing my steps to tarmac that I spotted those blue breaks in the grey cloud and that parts around Glen Coe were being spotlit. There were some attempts made at capturing these with my Pentax DSLR but they don't seem to pass muster now that I look at them. It's always worth having a go but I prefer to share photos that I think others will enjoy. By the time that I was crossing the River Gour at Sallachan, those bright spots had gone and I was left spying the red glow from further south as I trod the A861 between occasional short bursts of traffic and caught the ferry back in good time.

Having gotten annoying hefty soakings on walks in Argyll, I wasn't too mournful about the lack of sun and was only too happy to be introduced to Ardgour on a largely dry day. Saying that, I'd like to experience the area on a day with more sun and would be more than happy to make a longer visit of it. That only would be fair after all the times that I passed it while journeying up and down the A82 on the other side of Loch Linnhe. Now, why have I done that for so long?

Travel details:

Stagcoach Highlands service 44 from Fort William to Corran Ferry and back.

A freezing drenching is the last thing that's going to put you in the mood for a trip away but, when plans have been set in place and you feel the need for a getaway, train tickets do tend to get collected from ticket machines at local train stations. Those tickets were for an overnight ride on the Caledonian Sleeper from Crewe to Fort William and I booked a berth this time around to increase the chances of getting some sleep; I needed a lie down after my overnight return journey from Aviemore in August so the matter was higher up my list of priorities than it otherwise might have been.

After an imperfect night's sleep, I arose just north of Bridge of Orchy and opened the window to be greeted by the sight of snow-topped hills and clear skies. In that respect, it was to be very different to a similar journey that I made in January 2006 when snow was a very rare sight. With the sun struggling to get over the tops this time around, there was little scope for photography from a moving train though I did try some experiments when things got brighter, more for my own information than anything else.

Though a change in the weather was forecast, my arrival in Fort William was greeted by a certain chill in the air. It was a classic frosty morning with clear blue skies and the unmistakable signs of an overnight ground frost. The plan for the day was to pop over to Morar for a short visit but there was some time to go before the midday train and I used it to stock up on necessities and to make use of the photographic opportunities offered by the well lit hills surrounding Loch Linnhe.

Mist and low cloud did fill some of the glens and a bank of grey cloud approached from the southwest until it was on the point of blocking out the sun when I got on the train that was bound for Mallaig. Before I got to Morar, that train was to pass through fog as it passed Loch Eil before gaining height to allow views over Glenfinnan and Loch Shiel under cloudy skies. After that, it was onto the empty wilds surrounding Loch Eilt before meeting the coast again at Lochailort and shadowing it loosely until my stopping point. This wasn't countryside through which I never had passed before but it's enough years ago that my memory of travelling from Mallaig to Fort William with a stop in Glenfinnan on a grey August day. The experience of the smokiness of the Jacobite steam train that took the first part of the way is ingrained in my mind but the continuation on a ScotRail diesel must have been unremarkable because I haven't much recollection of that at all.

There were some remnants of blue sky remaining when I alighted at Morar's train station but the breaks weren't sufficient to allow for anything more than hazy sunshine and the cloudy barrage was to be completely effective within an hour of my arrival. In the month of December, it is difficult to see how the village could be anything other than a quiet backwater but their is a hotel here that was closed for the winter. Having limited time, I constrained my ambitions to an out and back stroll by Loch Morar. Before that, I popped upon a minor summit possessing a cross as well as fine panoramic views over both Morar Bay and Loch Morar. On the day, I might not have seen either at their best but what I saw was good enough to bring me back again should a suitable opportunity arise.

Eventually, I brought myself down from that unnamed hummock to continue my way to Bracara on the northern shore of Loch Morar. Though it would not be my usual choice, road walking was to be how I was going to spend those few hours around Morar. There was a tempting track that would have taken me away from tarmac and on to Loch a' Bhada Dharaich by the banks of Allt an Loin but cursory investigation had me stymied by an an old Land Rover Discovery dumped on the track next to a dwelling house and on what seemed an appealing route up to that point. A winter's afternoon might not have made the best timing for further poking and I stuck with following the banks of Loch Morar as far as the mood would take me. One of the necessities acquired in Fort William was a Petzl head torch and the possibility of extending the walk with a return in darkness did entertain me but sense took hold (saying that, thoughts of encountering Morag, the monster reputedly dwelling in Britain's second deepest loch, weren't the deciding factor but thoughts of rain needn't have deterred me) and I was back in Morar for the 16:11 train to Fort William, where I was to be based for the weekend. That was after taking a deviation from the outward route that took me around by the River Morar, Britain's shortest river.

While awaiting that train, a spot of sign reading was doable in the declining light and walking ideas are shared like this too. All that I did on my short outing was to make my acquaintance with the area and there's much more to explore. Less adventurous wandering is on offer by the lochs between Morar and Mallaig with deeper immersion available beyond Brecorina on the shores of Loch Morar. All in all, it makes a fertile hunting ground for walking ideas without recourse to day outings to places further afield.

While I was mulling over the option of a week based in Mallaig this past summer, my mind was fanning out to such spots as Knoydart, Glenfinnan and the Small Isles. After my short outing to Morar, I see no need to spread myself far and wide like that and it might be better too because spreading yourself too thin can dissatisfy too. Even if the future is impossible to predict, I cannot rule out the possibility of a return. Who knows where that longer summer break that tends to happen every year might take me?

Travel details:

Arriva service 38 from Macclesfield to Crewe and ScotRail Caledonian Sleeper from there to Fort William. Return train journey from Fort William to Morar.

Having managed to engineer a getaway when it suited the mood, I am back. Looking at various forecasts before I headed off on a Sleeper to Fort William could only leave one with the impression that everything was very mobile and that it was best not get hopes up too high. In the end, the weather wasn't unkind with the rain only coming by night while I was up north. Yes, there was a lot of cloud about but anything has to be better than constant driving rain and bright frosty sunshine greeted me on my arrival in Fort William.

Friday saw me ending up having a poke around Morar and that was following by more walking in Ardgour the day after. These were the sorts of places that were in mind last summer when I was forestalled by the prevailing weather and plumped for Aviemore instead. In fact, all sorts of thoughts are emerging regarding destinations for future outing, even a putative longer summer one. Of course, it's early days yet and a lot can change in the meantime but it's better to have something in mind so as to avoid getting confounded by options as was the case those few months back. For one thing, a recent spot of photo gallery refreshment reminded me that I haven't been on Mull for a while. A crossing from there to Ardmurchan. Then, it is possible to imagine an itinerary taking places such as Glenfinnan, Morar, Mallaig and the Small Isles. However, those imaginings might need some taming so as not to be going on a mad gallop through countryside that deserves a slower approach; that was what had to happen for my Western Isles escapade last year. So much for all that armchair scheming, it's back to the practicalities of the present that I must go and I'll park this line of thought until I get to telling more about those wanderings, something that I'll try to get in sooner rather than later.

It had to come as it often does at the start of November. Temperatures fell on a Sunday night after a fairly pleasant day that saw me fail to get out into the open air as I would have liked. What followed it was a day that mixed fine crisp winter sun and typical November misty murkiness. Some may say that it's still autumn but the weather feels like winter even if trees retain the last leaves after some stormy interludes. A lunchtime walk had me surveying what's left of the golden shreds after the Indian summer that came to us in September and October.

Apart from the chill in the air, November brought us some unsettled weather too and that seems set to continue; we may be in the midst of a lull at the moment but something more dramatic lies ahead of us if forecasters are right, and they are far from infallible. Thus, it is somewhat timely that The New York Times has brought us an article concerned with the avoidance of hibernation. The activity at the heart of it may be running but the same malady afflicts those who explore the outdoors world so it's interesting to read another take on the subject, especially given November's habit of bringing grey murky weather with it.

It is tempting to retreat to virtual explorations on one's PC when it looks not so alluring out of doors. Nevertheless, that can have its place too and might even result in putting you out over your activation energy barrier to enjoy what abounds at this time of year. In recent weeks, I have been sprucing up old members of my online photo gallery. The ones of Skye are as good as done until I get to adding to that collection from a day's walking over Ben Tianavaig last year. Lochaber has come next for a spot of improvement and Argyll hasn't escaped either with an old print taken by the shores of Loch Etive seeing an attempt to better it with a new scan and subsequent Photoshop work; there's a knack in keeping things realistic, a line on the wrong side of which I don't want to find myself.

The trouble with all this tinkering with old photos and is that it consumes free time like it's going out of fashion so a short session can gobble time that was set aside for other things. That's what happened to me on Sunday but it has its benefits too. Looking at those old photos reminds you of places where you haven't been for a while. For instance, I now think of that photo of Loch Etive as an less than sharp specimen and wonder about a return visit. In the past, I have played with the idea of a two day walk from Taynuilt to Glen Coe or vice versa with an overnight stopover at a bothy. Nothing has come of it so far but the idea of revisiting Loch Etive and passing along Glen Etive for the first time makes the notion attractive. If the weather was to play ball, then it would be even better.

While on the subject of a wandering mindset, there are places in Lochaber to revisit. Loch Treig and the Grey Corries fit in here and there's what's around Corrour too; the idea of disembarking from a Sleeper to walk to Fort William has come to mind from time to time. More civilised spots like Loch Lochy and Loch Arkaig also beckon. Mind you, a spot of bicycle hire might be an idea for the latter pair because progress along the Caledonian Canal as it rounds Meall Bhanabhie can seem so slow as to be infuriating. Still, this is a nice part of the world that should be traffic free and the distances involved make bicycle travel look the more useful. For long distance travel on foot, there's the Great Glen Way of which I have sample only a little and it would take me by Loch Lochy on its way to parts that have yet to host my footfall.

Continuing the theme of exploring pastures new, there's around Mallaig too with some introductory possibilities from Morar to gain a sense of what lies about there; it is remote country too, replete with possibilities around Loch Morar and Loch Arkaig for the more adventurous. It's been a few years since I ventured around by these parts while en route from Skye to Oban and the only stops were Mallaig and Glenfinnan. With the options already described and others like Knoydart and the Small Isles within reach, it is perhaps small wonder that the summer excursion that eventually took me to Aviemore could have taken to towards Mallaig instead. In the end, I decided that it was better to try for a time when weather would have been more suitable for showing off the landscape at its best. Nevertheless, it is good to have such a scheme in mind, for the sake of avoiding indecision if noting else.

Having skirted around it, I suppose that Skye well deserves a longer mention. That walk from Elgol to Sligachan may not get repeated after seeing my surroundings bathed in the sort of light that would have been in order for a week based in Mallaig. However, there are other paths to follow and other parts to savour. Glen Brittle is but one of these and a spot of cycling might be in order given that's how I got about on my first visit to the island. It's never any harm to see new sides to an old favourite.

With all of these, what really hits me is how well peering at old photos can act as a muse as well as being an uplifting distraction from any greyness that is about. It is tempting to say that shortening days curtail the possibilities but I am minded to convert the delights of afar into experiencing what lies on my doorstep. Making use of the latter may set me up for heading further afield yet. In a way, it's amazing what indoor inspiration can achieve so long as you don't spend all of your time lost in the reverie and fail to get out at all. After all, November isn't always murky and December's bright moments should not be missed either.

One thing that is easy to forget is that the British mainland is not aligned along the Greenwich meridian but at an angle to it. One of the effects of that state of affairs is that Edinburgh and Manchester are nearly lined up in a straight north-south line, even if shadowing the coast and finding a line of least resistance through any hill country means that your route gains an elbow and that certainly is the case if you travel by train. Travel on the East Coast Mainline also veers away from what might be termed direct with the result that the journey time between Newcastle and Edinburgh is of the order of 90 minutes.

The cause of this being brought to my attention was my pondering a short getaway that arrests any decline into end of year torpor or, better still, punctuates it so much that it is stopped in its tracks. During these episodes of plotting, eyes are cast over maps and that's when it came home to me that I was next to immediately north of Donegal in Éire when I was on South Uist last year. What really made this plain were the similarities in the predicted weather for Wicklow and Mallaig for the coming weekend when I last looked on Metcheck. However, you do need a longitudinal west/east split to make this kind of thing plain, especially to make it dawn on you for the first time. Of course, a split can be north/south or any other combination too as the weather enjoyed on my trip to the Western Isles was to prove.

As regards my plotting, that is a work in progress so things are in a fluid state. The good thing about that is that I wouldn't be ruling out the possibility of a short Scottish escapade if it makes me an offer. After all, when you fancy rupturing a continuity that feels like a rut, taking yourself somewhere else for a little while is just the thing. If the everyday clutter can be left behind you and there is a chance of a fresh start, it works even better. For me, this is what the long break around Christmas and New Year does every year but once a year can never be enough. In fact, it is for that very reason that I want to disembark for while from the juggernaut that could land me on the doorstep of that much hyped season before I know it. Letting life carry you along is too easy so clearing some space and time to force a restart as well as allowing those batteries to be recharged only can be a good thing.