Collected Musings of a Hill Wanderer

Having had a few days to catch up with a few recent issues of TGO, a realisation has popped into my mind: maybe basing myself somewhere on a trip away might allow me to get more from it, especially for those places that take a little longer to get to them. Using Dunoon as a base for exploring Cowal worked very well in 2011 so I need to spend a little time pre-assembling some designs so that they have some hope of becoming reality. Along with the wilder parts of Scotland, Northumberland also comes to mind with the longer travel times needed for getting there and because of my whetting my appetite for its hill country during the summer of 2011. Parts of Wales such as the countryside round about Brecon or the Heart of Wales railway line also come to mind as do the eastern fells of the Lake District in Cumbria and the Cairngorms in Scotland. Methinks that setting aside a little time to think these over might be no bad idea and there others that I could list here too but there are enough mentioned for now.

The end of one year and the beginning of another is as good a time as any to take stock of things. One of these that comes to mind pertains to loose ends outstanding in my hill wandering from the last few years. The biggest of these is the Pennine Way, along which I haven’t walked for a while, and it now looks like multi-day trips are need to add to the mileage already completed. The mention of the Pennine Way also reminds that unused plans exist for walking Derbyshire countryside too, both new and already frequented. Then, there’s the prospect of extending what I have walked of the Rob Roy Way and the perennial desire to savour more of what my home country, Ireland, has to offer the hill wanderer. Those should mean no shortage of trip ideas like what I felt to be the case at the end of 2010, at least until I started to catch up with then unread issues of TGO anyway.

2011 has been a busy year for me and my hope is that 2012 lets me out of doors more often though the future will decide that when it first becomes the present and then the past. After all, there’s hill country near Macclesfield that needs to be revisited and other possibilities may come my way. Unlike the end of 2010 when I felt that I had ran out of ideas, a year later sees me pondering a fair few options as the blog goes into its seventh calendar year although its actual birthday is at the start of May; 2012 will see the sixth one being reached. Any designs that I concoct may not be as grand as those of other folk but having a few of them manage to come to pass will more than do me. Hopefully, 2012 will turn out to be a good outdoors year for you, dear reader, too.

After last weekend’s bout of madness on the web hosting side of things, this place is more or less back together again. Along the way, there may have been a lot of poking around backups to get things sorted but there are also were reminders of places where I haven’t been for a while as various entries saw reinstatement. In some cases, I ended up asking myself if it really was that long ago when I last was in some areas. The Brecon Beacons is one such hill wandering destination that hasn’t been savoured for quite a while and Pembrokeshire and Perthshire fall into the same category as does Galloway. Maybe I should poke around here more often whenever I run out of ideas though the likes of TGO should keep replenishing them, especially as I am catching up with a few issues of the magazine at the moment.

These inadvertent reminders have had me recalling how things were when I first started out blogging and how far things have moved since then; those early postings were more pithy and there may a point in returning to a little bit of that, especially if it means that you hear from me more often. There was a lot of talk about motivation and hibernation even in those days and those haven’t gone away though interruptions by work and family life make their intrusions known too. In one respect, seeing what I have already written should stop me repeating myself too often but being confronted by unfinished business is another counterpoint to those occasions when it is too easy to say that I have seen enough of hill country. After you, there always are new sights to see even if it is different light falling on a familiar location.

On one occasion when I was out walking during my stay in Highland Perthshire last summer, some people that I encountered asked me if I was doing the Rob Roy Way. I think that they were disappointed when I said that I wasn’t. At the time, I had been walking from Kenmore and was nearing Aberfeldy, my final destination for the day and where I was catching a bus back to Pitlochry, the base for my visit. That meant that I was in a rush at the time but I did manage to make time to stop and share a few words with them. Nevertheless, I still had five minutes to spare when I reached the bus stop, not bad going.

Recently, in preparation for my most recent stroll on the West Highland Way, I bought a new OS Explorer 348; I know that the WHW is well waymarked but it’s better to know your exact position at all times. And a map is good for telling you what’s around you as well. However, on the top left hand corner of the map, there was another green dotted line: that of the Rob Roy Way. A spot of further investigation has revealed it to be a trail starting at Drymen and heading across the Trossachs on its way to Pitlochry. Along its length, it passes places such as Aberfoyle, Callander, Strathyre, Lochearnhead, Killin, Kenmore, Amulree and Aberfeldy. Between Killin and Aberfeldy, there is a choice of routes: one going round by Amulree and a shorter more direct course. The latter is described in the Rucksack Readers guide to the long distance path while the former is only described on its official website, a truly useful calling point for planning a trek on the RRW.

The trail has only been in existence since 2002, making it a mere youngster in comparison with the 27 year old West Highland Way. In fact, unlike like other trails, it has yet to be waymarked. That, and the fact that that mapping presented in my OS Explorer 379, dates from 2001, explains how I had been straying along the way between Tombuie cottage and Aberfeldy without realising it. And it hasn’t been the only section that I have encountered either. In 2002, I followed part of the RRW when I went for a walk up the slopes of Ben Ledi by way of the section between Callander and Strathyre, though it may be that this ramble pre-dated the RRW. Moving away from this somewhat accidental approach seems an appealing proposition. The key attractions of the RRW for me are its passage through the Trossachs and skirting of Loch Tay. So far, my walking in these areas has been limited and the RRW would take that forward a great deal and there is definitely much to commend the area.

Having paid it a fleeting visit last May, I decided that it was time to pay Pitlochry another visit. Last time, I left it in rain but this time I found it dry apart from a few drops late on Saturday evening. While the rest of the U.K. was sweltering in sunshine, it seems that Highland Perthshire was not feeling the full benefit of the sun. After a warm sunny day on Wednesday, it was a case of sun versus cloud. The former is good for photos but the latter is better for walking so long as conditions remain dry. On Thursday, I was in Kingussie where the sun made no appearance while it was out and about when I returned to base. Friday and Saturday saw the sun in and out of the clouds.

Overnight coach travel got me to Pitlochry for a four night stay that saw me explore the surrounding area. Wednesday itself saw me walk from Kinloch Rannoch on the shores of Loch Rannoch through the hills to Trinafour. Next day, I took myself off to Kingussie to explore its nearby hills, particularly Creag Mhor. On Friday, I managed to return to Kenmore on the shores of Loch Tay for the first time in nearly eight years. I then walked to Aberfeldy, again through the hills. The only fly in the ointment was an unexpected no entry sign to a farmyard, understandable on safety grounds, that made the journey longer than planned, not what you need when you are making for a bus back to Pitlochry. On Saturday, I focused my attention on Ben Vrackie near Pitlochry on a walk that also took in Killecrankie and the shores of Loch Faskally. As if to prove that mountains do make weather, Ben Vrackie got covered in clag when I was there and was anything but warm and summery. If anything, it was breezy and nippy on top: and I always thought that I was overcautious, I was well prepared for this. Things opened up and warmed up later on in my walk.

Unlike the last time, I left Pitlochry basking in sunshine with a cloud-speckled sky. However, like the last time, I left it wondering about a return. Despite all that I had seen, it was just a small sample of what the area held and I felt that I had only scratched the surface. And I encountered friendly people too. For instance, from Pitlochry, it is possible to get to Balmoral and Aviemore in the Cairgorms. Dalwhinnie and nearby Loch Ericht is another possibility. Also, revisiting places that I saw under a blanket of cloud in sunny conditions could be a revelation.

Another idea also holds its attraction: bringing or hiring a bike to explore the area. It is certainly bicycle-friendly and I was cycling around Loch Tay the last time that I visited Kenmore. It is also an idea that gets around the gaps in the public transport network in this part of Scotland and allows more intimate exploration of the area. Before I took up walking, it was the bike that I used to explore the countryside but hilly country and the need to carry/hire one convinced me of the advantages of walking. Maybe, a partial return to previous ways might be in order…

I don't have a car so public transport is an ever pervasive interest of mine. Links to relevant websites appear in appropriate sections of my website. It should come as no surprise then that curiosity recently took me onto the Perth and Kinross Council website in search of timetables and other info. There is good collection of PDF downloads and much more awaiting the curious on its transport pages. Interestingly, the council organises its website by audience: visitors, residents, business. Peculiarly, though, public transport information is accessible through the residents section. Having a link to it in the visitors section as well would be an extremely good idea.

Update (2008-07-17): The link above has been changed to point at the current location