20 members, including Grampian LWDA members, were on the bus for what was expected to be a “damp” day on the hills around Kintail.
First of all, a big welcome to Dottie who joined the club today and a big thank you to the LWDA members who made the numbers possible for this bus meet to proceed.
First off the bus, just before the Cluanie Inn, were Dave and Andy. Andy had intentions of wandering up the glen to the Alltbeithe Youth Hostel and Dave was going to tackle Am Bathach and Ciste Dhubh. Andy was surprisingly disappointed that the rain was not as bad as forecast. Dave thought he was going to enjoy some “peace and tranquillity” on the hills – but obviously a lot of road traffic noise still carries up these hills. However, as the weather front moved in, Dave did get to enjoy the clag and lack of views that most of us experienced in the afternoon.
Next off the bus, were Lennie, John and Kath at the Glen Shiel Battle memorial to tackle the Brothers – Aonach Meadhoin, Sgurr a’Bhealach Dheirg and Saileg. A warm welcome back to Kath – 4 years since your last outing with the club. On a positive note, Kate commented that the fine mist provided an “atmospheric” feel to the hills.
The next stop was the “Saddle” car park, where Gordon, Malcolm, Stewart, Susan, Maggie, Dottie and Jan got off with high hopes of tackling the Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine. With the afternoon weather forecast in mind, it was already in our mind that the Forcan Ridge would have to be left for another day. So, a pleasant walk up the path, followed by some map and compass work before stopping at the Bealach Coire Mhalagain for lunch. Limited views from the summit due to the mist/rain but we still managed to see 2 crows circling over the ridge.
The last group, and the final stop of the day at the Morvich car park, saw John, Jenni, Mark Graham, Bill, Kathy, Pete and Jake tackle the traverse from Morvich along the Affric way and back to the Cluanie Inn. This group appeared to get the best of the day’s weather with almost no rain and clear views. Plenty of time for some great photo opportunities along the way with a pleasant lunch stop at the Camban bothy followed by a little river crossing – before reaching the challenge of the boggy path back to Cluanie. This was the last group back to the pub stop given that they had to cover 26/27km in just less than 8 hours. More precise details can be obtained from John regarding ascent/descent and average speed.
Very little wildlife reported from all groups – however, we did have to stop on the journey up and back to allow a large group of pheasants time to safely cross the road. So, some “googling” when I got back home to find out the correct name for a group of pheasants. It turns out that there are several names for a group of pheasants – perhaps this could from a discussion group on our next bus meet to Assynt (details of which will be posted on the clubs website and Facebook at the beginning of October).