Just visiting.............

For a long time I've harboured a desire to visit the Islands off the west coast of Scotland so when I saw an advert for the Harris Mountain Festival I made a decision to go along. There was no charge for the walks offered and there was a good deal on accommodation at the Scaladale Centre. Travel wouldn't be a problem - I could use my bus pass to get to Ullapool then use the ferry as a foot passenger to Stornoway.

I dreamed of blue sky, golden beaches and wild mountain places. Mmmm!

The travelling was a doddle although the grave warnings of gale force winds sent me running to Boots to buy some anti-travel sickness pills for the ferry - boats not being my favourite way to go - especially those that go up and down and round.......

While waiting for the delayed ferry in Ullapool I took one of the pills and then watched a couple of harbour seals popping their heads up in the bay - obviously also waiting for the ferry to arrive.

There was a good deal of up and down and round but I kind of dozed my way through it all. I was briefly fascinated by my co-travellers. Two ladies knitting, a group playing cards and others laying flat out on the seats covered by coats, sleeping. I suspected they may have been the frequent travellers.

{Finally arriving in Stornoway - the bus station}

{Heb Hostel, Stornoway}

Stornoway was wild, wet and windy but I found a warm welcome at the Heb Hostel. The next bus towards Tarbert wasn't till the next day - giving me time in the morning to take a different bus to the standing stones at Callanish. It was an awe-inspiring place so I spent quite a long time wandering around the stones, although by the time I came to take a couple of pictures there were quite a few people doing the same thing making it difficult to get just the stones in the frame.  Eventually I hid from the wind in the cafe hugging a cappuccino until my bus back to Stornoway was due.

{Main circle of stones at Callanish}

{More standing stones at Callanish}

When I finally arrived at Scaladale there were two other walkers already staying for the Festival. A stroke of luck for me as I discovered that moving around on the island without a car was going to be really difficult. Both of the ladies came from Yorkshire and I thoroughly enjoyed their company during the few days we shared. One of them was interested in the TGO Challenge and has since emailed me to say she's ready to send off her application for 2014! I feel like a missionary.....

I had a short walk up behind the Centre, with great views between the showers over Loch Seaforth. The sudden squalls were accompanied by strong, cold gusts of wind.

{The Scaladale Centre}

{Information board behind the Centre}

{The view from the top}

The walk the next morning was advertised as an 'Eagle Walk'. The assembly point was the car park at Bhiogadail, not far from the Centre, and I had been prepared to walk back along the road to it but gratefully accepted a lift from my two new friends. Quite a big group set off and we scanned the sky for Golden Eagles. The ranger led us to the bealach and then up hill to a small top over looking Loch Langabhat. The storm was still lingering and despite the wind we did get a couple of good sightings of large birds of prey.

{Bird watching....}

{View of Loch Langabhat}

The evening was spent in Tarbert listening to the first time Chris Townsend had delivered his Scottish Watershed Walk talk. Brilliant photos, but the route itself looked very hard.

Until I met the ladies with their car I had been going to miss the thursday walk as there was no way to get there on a bus. Fortunately I was delivered to the start point which was beside the beach at Scarasta. Without a path and sploshing through some very wet pools, the group climbed to the top of Meabhal. There were great views from the top and a trig point for the young ones to play on!

{Trig point on Meabhal}

By the time we had had lunch and descended back to the beach car park the sun was out. At last the blue sky and the golden beaches!

{The beach at Scarasta}

On the way back to the Centre we took a detour to the beach at Losgaintir, wandering through the dunes, looking across the sound to Taransay.

{View from Losgaintir beach}

The beautiful weather didn't last long and by the next morning the heavy mist, wind and rain were back. I ditched plans for the hill above Tarbert and took the bus all the way to Leverburgh. I had planned to walk along to the old Chapel and get the later bus back. Getting off the bus was difficult, the wind was so strong it nearly took my legs from under me. I wandered about for about 8 minutes, then, as the original bus was still there, I hopped back on, to the amusement of the driver and went back to the Centre!

{Windswept Leverburgh}

Next morning I made my way back, eventually, to Aberdeenshire - where it appeared to have been a lovely sunny and warm week. My island adventure was done.

Till the next time.................................

Wet, Wet, Wet......in Glen Dye......

{The Dream.....Clachnaben..}

The Reality............

The forecast was correct - there was wind, rain and poor visibility but Seven Aboyne Stravaigers ventured forth.....the spirits weren't dampened but everything else was! Puddle jumping and sploshing along we reached the Charr Bothy which we found, thankfully, open, where we ate lunch. We enjoyed a 'show & tell' entitled 'My Waterproofs and how they have kept me dry/let the water in'. On the way back to the cars we covered topics such as 'How wet are your feet?' and 'I think I need a new jacket'. There were several 'river' crossing moments on the track and some conversations with wet sheep. The ascent of Clachnaben will have to be attempted at a later date........

{Hastening back to the car-park....}

{Sharing stories....}

{On the map there's a bridge here....}

14 km but no views!

Loch of Skene

This week's walk was on the Dunecht Estate and Marion was in charge. The past few days our weather has been very wintry but this morning the temperature rose again, turning the snow into slush.

Parking was at the main gate entrance to the estate and we set off to discover the underfoot conditions were a lethal mixture of slush and thick ice. It wasn't long before a halt was called and a good number of us raked in our rucksacks for various 'spiky' footwear. The majority (including me) produced Microspikes and we wore them for the rest of the walk.

The route included a couple of cattle grids and a climb over a locked gate - not easy with the spiky feet! However, undeterred we stomped along until we came to the Tower Lodges.

As the battery in my camera was still on charge at my bedside (oops!), I had to take today's photos with my phone. That means the views look a trifle dark and grey but atmospheric nonetheless.

{Approaching the Tower Lodges and gates}

Once through the gates there was a fine view of the Loch of Skene. It was still half frozen with geese wandering about on the ice. One or two were swimming and the sun was mostly hidden behind some approaching low cloud.

{Loch of Skene}

My picture makes the towers look quite spooky and as it happens there is a story about a ghost hereabouts. An unfortunate carriage driver and his carriage and horses were drowned after attempting to drive across the frozen loch and are reputed to lurk about around this area. We didn't see him. But we did meet a man who was trying to spot a black swan on the water.

{The Loch information panel}

{One of the lodges}

We wandered back along the path and found a great place for lunch. There were fallen trees to sit on and a great view of the loch. Sadly as the rucksacks were opened so did the heavens and it began to rain. It got heavier and heavier, diluting coffee and making sandwiches soggy. We gave up. Packed up. Stood up. The rain stopped!

{On the march again}

The next part of the walk took us along a forest track and past the big house at the centre of the estate. It's a great view but the trees were a bit in the way of a good photo. I expect that in summer the house is hardly visible at all.

{There's a house in there somewhere......}

The rain started again as we reached the back of the house and the spikes were removed for the last stretch on the now wet and muddy road.

{Dunecht House in the rain}

The Viewranger stats give me 11.8 kms. Really enjoyable - despite the rotten weather and full marks to the Microspikes!

{Final view of the day}

Too much weather.............

I suppose we could blame global warming but the weather certainly hasn't made up its mind this week - Summer? Spring? Winter?

{Photo taken at the beginning of the week....NB sunhat, no jacket, good shadow...}

I had planned a week of trying to catch up with my fitness routine for the Challenge. The weather had its own idea of course and yesterday's walk was less than pleasant........

{Rain, rain and more rain..............}

I did complete a couple of hours mostly looking at my feet, and managed to keep dry in my Paramo Velez trousers and smock. At one point I noticed the rain was getting rather sleety so............there was no surprise when I looked out of the window this morning!

{Photo from my window this morning....}

No walk today then - over-the-ankles deep wet snow is rather off-putting!

Perhaps some hoovering and floor-washing will be enough...................................

Better indoors today............with some new gear to review........

I think it started raining heavily sometime during the night but it hasn't stopped yet! I keep looking outside to see if the thick white cloud has lifted a bit, but it hasn't!

{Rain glistening on the patio furniture}

Time for the gear review then!

I was very impressed by the number of walkers I've met recently who have started wearing lighter, open-type trainers, even when carrying a rucksack and having long days out. My old trainers are well past their best and never did have a good enough sole for serious walking so I did a bit of research and came up with these.

{My new trainers}

My Keen boots have definitely been the most comfortable footwear I have ever used for hiking. They are quite warm in hot weather being made of leather and a full boot type height. I had a good idea that Keen would be a good way to go for a pair of new trainers.

I bought a pair of Keen McKenzies which are advertised as a cross between a sandal and a shoe. They have a kind of sturdy mesh top with synthetic filled in bits, and the usual Keen sturdy toe protectors. The laces are not tied but pulled and tightened with a plastic thing. They are lovely and wide to fit my spade-like feet. I've worn them around the house, for a few shopping trips and for one more serious walk. So far, so good!

{Close-up of the lacing system, and the mesh}

The soles are extremely grippy, even on wet rock. Because the sides let in a lot of air, they are also very cool to wear. My feet hate being hot, when they tend to swell and become very uncomfortable. This seems not likely to happen when wearing these trainers. They may let in some grit but that's not too great a problem.

{Showing the sole, and rubber toe bumper}

I have been wearing them with short walking socks.  I went for a size larger than I might usually get for a trainer, which enables me to wear the thicker sock without any tightness.

Nothing to complain about then? Only one thing, the insoles that came with the shoes are soft, pathetic things that gave me no support at all. I have replaced them with new insoles, specially for walking, which support my high(ish) arches and cushion my feet a bit.

{Keen McKenzie trainers with replacement insoles}

The walk I did was up into the forest here where I have often ventured before.  The ground was very dry, sandy and a bit loose, but there was no slipping. A light shower of rain made some of the rocks wet, and still no slipping. Even walking down the steep incline back home there was no discomfort or slipping. I wasn't carrying a heavy rucksack but that's not unusual for alpine day walks. The temperature was around 25 degrees but my feet stayed cool and comfortable. Any water droplets from some wet undergrowth dried off very quickly.

I'm impressed so far. Anyone else tried these, I wonder?

The bloomin' heather....

AT LAST I'm back home (although it won't be for long as we'll be off to France very shortly.)

To celebrate all good things I took myself off for a walk in Glen Muick. The heather was beautiful, purple and lovely, and the green was all very green and luscious....

{Heather blooming at Glen Muick}

I walked through the puddles and wet peat, clambered through the waterfall, and eventually arrived with a little panting at the Dubh Loch. Just about the same time as the rain returned in force! I had planned to eat my sandwiches by the Loch but it was just too wet so I headed back and as I descended the rain eased a little so they were consumed hurriedly beside the path.

{Dubh Loch - down comes the rain!}

{Back towards the carpark}

A pair of hunting buzzards overhead, some deer quietly feeding down by the river and the constant noise of falling water then I was soon back at the carpark.

But with a smile.

My first time...........

......looking for a geocache!

I discovered there was one in the wood behind us here so I joined and found out the co-ordinates.

Setting off between the heavy showers this morning I spent about half an hour trampling about in the undergrowth - falling in bramble bushes and fighting my way through bracken taller than me. I have several large scratches (first lesson learned, never do this in shorts!) despite wearing some old jeans. I've also got a few itchy bites from the insects in the wood BUT I found the illusive plastic box. I opened it and was genuinely surprised to find a motley collection of broken key rings, badges and toy cars as well as a small damp notebook to sign (which I did). I left my little Ikea pencil in the box.

As an interesting aside I also wore my new Keen boots. This was their first outing in wet grass and muddy puddles and although my legs were wet my feet were not. I'm liking these boots more and more...........

Rosie (who came with me) thought I had gone completely mad and kept nudging me with her nose and barging me to get a move on. Easy for her, she could run under the bracken. I decided not to try that.

There are another couple of caches hidden in this area so I might take a look for those in the next couple of days.