The Bus meet this month was to one of the best hill walking areas in the Western Highlands, with great weather to match! 23 people (including 8 guests) took advantage of the clear, dry conditions and will undoubtedly have had one of their best ever days in the Scottish hills? First off the Bus was AndyB, Fiona, Bob and Natacha who enjoyed a traverse over the Corbett, Beinn Loinne. There was just enough wind to keep the midges away, as they complained of arriving a little bit too early at the Cluanie Inn! David began a little bit closer to the Inn as he made his way up the undulating…
July 2014 Car Meet: Glen Strathfarrar
Sunday, 20 July 2014 O.S. Map: 25 Due to a historically low turnout of members at this time of year a car meet will take place instead of a Bus Meet. The venue on Sunday 20 July 2014 will be Glen Strathfarrar which, for those who have not been to this area before, is the Glen west of Struy on the A831. You can get to Struy either via Beauly to the North or Drumnadrochit/Cannich to the South. 1/2km West of Struy Bridge is a locked gate at Inchmore. Car owners give their details to the gatekeeper at the cottage before being allowed to proceed up the Glen (access by…
May 2014 Bus Meet Report: Dundonnell
It was a damp dreich day for the Bus meet to Dundonnell but thankfully the weather was not as bad as predicted, and we certainly did not see any animals walking around in pairs?? Only 13 members and 4 guests turned out for this meet which normally offers a variety of walking options, although it was probably not a day for a full traverse of An Teallach. First off the bus was Andy who began his traverse of the 4 eastern Fannaich Munros from the dam at Loch Droma. After ascending Beinn Liath Mhor Fannaich it was a case of navigating through the cloud to the final Munro of An…
June 2014 Bus Meet: Kintail
Sunday, 15 Jun 2014 O.S.Map(s): 33 Est. time of arrival: 09.30 Time of departure: 17.30 Leave Elgin: 07.00 Some of the finest hillwalking in Scotland can be found in the Kintail area, with the South Cluanie Ridge and the Five Sisters offering spectacular traverses. These can be as long and hard as you like, as there are several opportunities for early escapes if time is running short. Alternatively you might want to try the impressive Forcan Ridge with its excellent scramble leading up to the Saddle. Staying on the bus to Morvich will allow you the choice of A’Ghlas-bheinn and Beinn Fhada or a low level walk to the Falls of Glomach, one…
May 2014 Bus Meet: Dundonnell
Sunday 18th May 2014 O.S.Map(s): 19/20 Est. time of arrival: 09.40 Time of departure: 18.00 Leave Elgin: 07.00 Another popular venue in the Northwest Highlands. The big objective here is An Teallach, comprised of two Munros, Bidean a’ Ghlas Thuill and Sgurr Fiona (and lots of Munro tops). There are several routes of ascent: One directly from Dundonnell and another from Corrie Hallie up to Ghlas Thuill are straightforward; a longer route from Corrie Hallie via Sail Liath offers enjoyable but exposed scrambling. Worthwhile alternatives to An Teallach in the Dundonell area are Sail Mhor, an ascent of Beinn nam Ban (Marilyn) or a low-ish level walk into Shenavall bothy and…
April 2014 Bus Meet Report – Assynt
Natacha, Tansy, Chris and David enjoyed a superb day out on Conival and Ben More Assynt. Dry and sunny weather allowed for a pleasant walk along the river Traligill which was followed by a decidedly sweaty climb to the bealach. From there, they followed the rocky ridge to the summit of Conival where they had a quick snack before making their way to Ben More Assynt. A soaring eagle was spotted; they enjoyed uninterrupted views to Ben Loyal, the Beinn Dearg group, Assynt hills, Fannichs… We arrived back to Inchnadamph with over an half an hour to spare and finished our sandwiches by the river Traligill, while being serenaded with…
March 2014 Bus Meet Report: Spittal of Glenshee
After picking up members (and guests) in Elgin and Forres we deviated from our normal pick-up route, via Nairn and Inverness, to instead pick up members in Grantown on Spey and Tomintoul. As well as being very scenic, the drive over the Lecht road and along the road from Corgarff to Crathie was ‘interesting’ in a large bus, especially the crossing of the bridge at Gairnshiel. On reaching Deeside we continued on to Braemar where we dropped off George before continuing onto the Glenshee Ski Centre. To quote Heavy, “with really bright sunshine and lots of the snow gone, the moors and Cairngorms in the distance looked magic. We were…
April 2014 Bus Meet: Assynt
Sunday 20th April 2014 O.S.Map(s): 15 Est. time of arrival: 09.45 Time of departure: 17.00 Leave Elgin: 07.00 Assynt has an impressive array of outstanding mountains: Ben More Assynt, Conival, Canisp, Quinag, Cul Mor, Cul Beag, Breabag, Suilven, Stac Pollaidh ……. The rock in this area is predominantly gneiss, on top of which sandstone hills have weathered to create some of the weird and magnificent shapes typical of this region and on a clear day, this is an area where you like to linger as long as possible. In addition to the excellent hillwalking in this area, there is some good scrambling on Quinag (Sail Gharbh, East Buttress – Grade 3),…
February 2014 Bus Meet Report – Torridon
George and Ken: leisurely stroll and return along coastal path. Glorious sunshine and spectacular scenery, all hills in sparkling sunshine. Two otters spotted and photographed by Ken cavorting in the sea (otters not Ken). Retired to Newton Cottage for tea and drams. Corinne, Ros, Andy, Malcolm, Graham, Bill, Tom, Alastair and John: the next time Andy posts on the Facebook group, ‘if anyone wants a nice gentle stroll on a February afternoon’, we’ll all be tempted to ignore him. 26 – no sorry – 27 km later and nobody needed to go on the Rosemary Conley Hip and Thigh diet after we had pulled our collective legs from 6 foot…
March 2014 Bus Meet: Spittal of Glen Shee
!!!!!!! PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE !!!!!!! Glas Maol to Creag Leacach in Winter Sunday 16th March 2014 O.S. Map: 43/44 Est. time of arrival: 10:00 am Time of departure: 17.00 pm Leave Elgin: 7.00 am PLEASE NOTE: The bus will pick up in Elgin (7.00), Forres (7.30), Grantown (8.00) and Tomintoul (8.30) only. Members from Inverness or Nairn wishing to attend this meet should join the bus at one of the above points. Owing to some grumblings from members about Mullardoch providing few options at this time of year, the Committee has listened to concerns and agreed to change the venue of the meet. The bus will now park up for…