SCOTLAND
March 1998
Anna Blackburn
Owing to a combination of unforeseen circumstances, a two-week trip to the Alps over
Easter was cancelled (let's hope Tom's broken leg mends properly in time for an Autumn
trip) but, nothing daunted, Ian and Anna decided to salvage something and set off for
north-west Scotland instead.
The overnight journey through the Highlands was enlivened by many kamikaze rabbits
, hares, and deer, all of which flung themselves at the car, necessitating emergency
stops and similar evasive action. We arrived at the Applecross peninsula at 6 am in fog
so thick we could not see the edges of the single-track lane, and realized we'd crossed
the highest point only when the road started going steeply downhill. In these
conditions there was no point in hitting the mountain immediately so we got out the
sleeping bags and had three hours kip in the car.
By 9 am the cloud had begun to disperse, revealing glimpses across the sea to Skye.
But we turned west, heading for Sgurr a' Chaorachain and the Cioch Nose: a
Bonington/Patey route of 1960, on page 23 of Classic Rock, and a worthy tick for the
log book!
Finding the start of the route was no problem but things soon got worse: even though
we'd managed to forget food and water we seemed to be carrying a lot of gear (well,
the day did start pretty cold and damp) and a big rucksack certainly throws you off
balance! For a route description of a worthwhile day out, see Classic Rock. Sadly,
neither this nor the guidebook warn that the top of the route is far from the top
of the climb! One can descend a little then climb an intimidating wall - but we
thought we'd seek an easier route by traversing left across a gully and round a
corner. A big mistake - we ended up on soaking, slippery turf above a long drop,
with another, worse, wall above. We were obliged to rope up again and tackle this
in pitches. (Probably a new route!!) Once we were off the turf this climb turned out
to be enjoyable, though a knot in the rope caused Anna to do 40 feet unprotected
which was quite interesting.
At the top of this section there followed five more summits, each separated from
the next by ravines of varying seriousness. This would not be a fun finish in the
dark, but we were back at the car before dusk - enjoying the scenery we'd missed
in the clouds hours earlier.
The next stop was Ullapool youth hostel, situated on the edge of Loch Broom, where
we had a rendezvous with some members of Manchester Uni Hiking Club (three hikers
and several Euro-students who had come along for the trip). The first morning dawned
bright and sunny and whilst MUHC went off to do some H, we drove a mere three miles
to Ardmair's roadside crags. This turned out to be a great climbing place with steep
and overhanging sandstone cliffs, which provided us with a thoroughly enjoyable day
including challenging cracks and those rounded, hold-free, gritstone-type route
finishes. There are many E grade routes here (not that we climbed them) and clearly
the potential for many more to be put up. It's also a brilliant venue with
idyllic surroundings, ace views, accessibility; and yet deserted because of
its location. Definitely worth a return trip to Rossshire.
We nearly didn't get out of Rossshire because Ian's car broke down again. With
a knackered clutch and the ability to drive only in second or fifth gear we limped
into the Perth Citroen garage. After receiving the repair estimate, we limped out
again, and Ian got under the car with the tools.
The rest of this trip was spent in Glendoll, at the northern end of Glen Clova,
14 miles from the nearest shop (Kirriemuir). Only four miles from the nearest pub,
but this was closed owing to the power in the glen being off!! A glance from the
window at 7 am saw four inches of fresh snow and more pouring out of the sky.
This was to continue all day. No chance of rock-climbing, so we set out with the
hikers to conquer a couple of Munros (the Euro-students stayed in the YH playing
board games).
From Glendoll we walked through a silent forest, no-one else around, not a single
footprint apart from that of the odd small animal. Leaving the treeline we found a
completely white landscape through which we made our way to the lower reaches of Coire
Fee. This we climbed via a steep, snowy gully showing traces of ice at the top. It was
of course cold and windy and, on the summits (Mayar, 928 m and Driesh, 941 m), very
windy. (No views here in very low visibility.) The snow was anything up to thigh-deep,
very wearing to get through, and it reduced the MUHC ex-president to crawling! I'm
happy to report that the (relatively) aged members of the HCC proved themselves to be
considerably fitter than the students, despite their youth....
Carapaces of ice and snow melted into our clothes as we descended to the treeline.
Unfortunately, since there was still no power, there was no drying room facility! As
a result we were "obliged" to spend most of the next day - one of teeming rain - in
a pub in Forfar, watching the Grand National. Ian won the sweepstake of course! The
local pub reopened as the electricity was restored, so we had a few Orkney Ales and
some live music that night.
The Bottom Road out of the glen was deeply flooded and the Top Road not much better
as we negotiated it the following morning. Sadly, we did manage to get out of the glen.
I had hoped to be trapped by snow and floodwaters for another week or so (not to
mention the knackered clutch, in spite of which we managed to make it back to Sunbury
without AA assistance), but it was not to be. I shall just have to plan a return trip
for another time.