Join us at the base of the mighty Buachaille Etive Mor in the Laggangarbh hut. I hear someone might be completing their munros this weekend too. Plenty of munros, climbing and walking in the area. Cost is £15pppn. Currently, we are full but there should be plenty of options to camp. More detail on the hut can be found here: https://www.smc.org.uk/huts/lagangarbh To sign up, please email David.
Gwen Moffat certainly left an impression on us all and for the second book club of the year, Gwen has inspired us to get outside. Our next book club will be on the 25th of June and it’s going to be outside, in the Cairngorms! At the height of summer, we’ll pick a walk to a picturesque spot on the Cairngorm Plateau where we can set up for an evening with Nan Shepherd. For more information and to sign up for updates on the meet, please email Lauren. “In this masterpiece of nature writing, Nan Shepherd describes her journeys into the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland. There she encounters a world…
As it is Easter Sunday, this location avoids some of the busier roads, has adequate parking, easily accessible, and provide options for all but the hardened Munro bagger. Park in the Cromdale car parking area on the west side of the A95 at Cromdale. Google maps start point https://www.google.com/maps/search/57.3389,-3.5379/ Some opportunities for a social coffee/drink afterwards in Grantown. The Cromdale Hills are rather boggy in places with two massive hilltop cairns with extensive views and several historical sites of interest. If the weather is poor a walk along the Speyside Way is an option with lots of trails in the adjacent woods. The A95 itself is quite busy but some…
“Scotland’s favourite bunkhouse”. A great base to explore the Knoydart peninsula. Hopefully the old forge will be back open too after takeover by the community. £20pppn. Details of the bunkhouse are at https://knoydart.org/knoydart-bunkhouse/ You will need to get a ferry across. If you’re interested in more information and would like to come along please let our weekend meet coordinator know David Treagus. An excellent blog post from a previous trip is here: https://moraymc.org/2015/04/02/march-2015-weekend-meet-report-inverie-knoydart/
The first time the club has been to Lewis for over 10 years! Otter Bunkhouse is near Uig, A perfect location for some classic Lewis scrambles, and if the weather is non-conducive, you’re next to the Abhainn Dearg distillery. £20pppn, the website is https://www.otterbunkhouse.com/page2 Currently, this meet is full, but please message the weekend meets coordinator David Treagus for more information.
Colin Cowie started the weekend with an impromptu swim in Loch Affric, before kayaking westwards. He records “paddled in Friday, was blint [sic] by sun in eyes”. The small waterfall between the loch and the cottage curtailed further progress upstream. Others walked or cycled in, followed a little later by Ben, Wendy and Jake in the 4×4. The weather on Saturday was good and a lot of folk had their eyes on Mam Sodhail. Despite Spring making progress in the valley, Winter was still very much in control higher up and so the summit proved a challenging goal. Debbie Raymont scouted out the corries. Ben and Wendy ascended via Alt…
It’s official, book club is in Zoom for 23rd of March (2 weeks tomorrow – binge read time!). From inspiration from Heavy, we’ve picked Gwen Moffat’s, Space Below My Feet. If, like me, you’d like to learn a bit more about Gwen, then there’s also Heavy’s blog post and a short film called Operation Moffat. https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2022/03/operation_moffat-73002 Also a wee side note, Radio 4’s Woman Hours recently featured a discussion from two female authors (Helen Mort and Amy McCulloch) on their happy places – mountains, and their new books.It starts at 36 mins and worth a listen. Thank you to Joe Glennie for sending it to me. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0014xx9 At the end…
The location will be determined in the week leading up to the Sunday to allow flexibility with the weather and, in the Winter, the ground conditions. A location will be chosen to allow several different options for people of varying lengths and difficulties (and option to walk or tour if snow). Car share will be encouraged and organised. Please email Alistair to sign up. Final walk location will be decided by Alistair but here’s some potential walk ideas:Ladder Hills for Chapletown: https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/cairngorms/ladder-hills.shtmlScalan Chapel: http://portal.historicenvironment.scot/designation/LB8453Lecht Mine: http://registry.gsg.org.uk/sr/sitedetails.php?id=4482
The committee is planning a special day to introduce potential new members to the club on Sunday 8th May. It will essentially be a bus meet to Kingussie and Newtonmore but a bit more involved, with planned activities that new folk can join in with, such as climbing at Kingussie Crag, hillwalking in the Monadhliath and low level walks, culminating in drinks and nibbles at a local pub. The idea is to introduce people to the club – to club members and activities. It would be great to have plenty of friendly club members there, including volunteers to be a part of each activity on the day. Please save the date and help to spread…
The weather promised “sub-optimal” conditions all weekend so Joe managed to make the most of the bearable weather. Recently having succumbed to bagging fever he managed both Ben Challum and Ben Mheadhoin before arriving at the Alex Macintyre Memorial Hut in Ballachulish. With 70mph gusts forecasted for the Saturday, no bold routes were planned on Friday night. The “baby buckle” (Buachaille Etive Beag) was in order for Adele, Adrian, Sheena, David and Minnie. Despite Adele being adamant they should leave at 2200 for the supposed weather window, 12 hours later they left. Adrian realised he had an appointment with his van half way up, and Sheena decided a walk along the A82…
