The xmas 2017 bus meet comprised a walk along the Speyside Way followed by a meal at the Grant Arms hotel in Grantown. Thirty seven members attended the meet, most of whom partook in some pre-dinner exercise. Some might question what a “mountaineering” club is doing ambling along the Speyside Way. Well, firstly, this is the xmas meet and so it’s all about the social; and secondly, this is winter, and the Speyside Way can pose a surprisingly tricky obstacle to the unprepared. As was discovered when the first batch got off the bus near Tormore Distillery. The challenge was the three metres of sheet ice that lay between the…
Christmas Meal Bus Meet, Dec 2017
Date: 17th December 2017 Route: Ballindalloch to Grantown-on-Spey (Speyside Way) Pick up times: Inverness (8:00), Forres (8:40), Elgin (9:00). Arrival: ETA Ballindalloch (turn at Cragganmore Distillery): 10:00 Return Journey: Grantown (Dep 19:00) – Inverness – Forres – Elgin Cost: Bus fare is £15 and the cost of the meal is £25, which includes a glass of wine. This years Christmas walk is part of the Speyside Way from Ballindalloch to Grantown-on-Spey. Details of the walk can be found on Walkhighlands. The coach should arrive at Ballindalloch at approximately 10:00. The coach will then go round to our destination (Grantown-on-Spey). The walk is approximately 14 miles and should take between 5…
October 2017, Bus Meet Report, Glen Carron
First of all, a warm welcome back to the club for Dale. So, 16 members headed off for Glen Carron knowing full well that the weather was not going to be kind. The remnants of the Caribbean summer hurricanes were heading to the west coast of Scotland on the Sunday afternoon. So, with this in mind several members opted not to go up high. A new bus driver, Matt, needed some guidance on how to pronounce some of our Scottish hill names and villages. Anyway, his sat nav got us safely to the main drop off points on time. First off the bus, at Achnasheen, were Ray, Malcolm, Tom, Diane,…
September 2017, Bus Meet Report, Laggan
A dry day with some low cloud on the Munro tops saw 18 members, 2 new members, 1 guest and 6 LDWA members set off for Loch Laggan. So a big warm welcome to our new members Sean and Sarah. First off the bus at Kingussie was the LDWA group (Rikki, Mick, Bea, Sally, Carrie, Jenni) and John. Their objective for the day was an 18 mile traverse of the Badenoch Way and Speyside Way from Kingussie to Aviemore. They managed to fit in a tour of Ruthven Barracks before enjoying a coffee and cake stop at Loch Insh Café. Some speedy walking ensured that they were back in Aviemore…
October 2017 Bus Meet to Achnasheen / Glen Carron
Date: 15th October 2017 O.S. Map(s): 24, 25 Estimated time of arrival: 09.15 Time of departure: 17.15 Leave Elgin: 07.00 The bus will go past the Achnasheen junction and travel down the A896 to park up for the day at Coulags (OS 25, GR962452). The refreshment stop will be at the Ledgowan Lodge. The main drop off points are Achnasheen, Glen Carron, Craig, Achnashellach and Coulags. Routes from Achnasheen: 1a. Fionn Bheinn (Munro) approx. 4 hours 1b. Fionn Bhein + Meall a’Chaorainn (Graham) approx. 5 hours Routes from Glen Carron: Moruisg (Munro) + Sgurr nan Ceannaichean (ex Munro) approx. 5 hours Carn Breac (Graham) + Beinn na Feusaige (Graham) approx. 5 hours…
Bus Meet October 2017: Laggan
When: Sunday 17 September 2017 Where: Creag Meaghaidh / Loch Laggan (Bus will park at Laggan Dam) Leave Elgin: 7.00am Est. time of arrival: 9.45am Time of departure: 17.00pm Cost: £15 The bus will park at the Laggan Dam for the day but can go on to Fersit if required in order to access the circuit of Stob Coire Sgriodain and Chno Dearg. To the north of the dam lies Beinn Teallach and Beinn a’ Chaorainn. Getting off the bus at Aberarder for Creag Meagaidh is always a popular choice on this meet, it can be climbed via the path going up to the “window” or as part of a…
August 2017, Bus Meet Report, Clachnaben and Mount Battock
First of all, a warm welcome to some new members on this meet- Dianne Watters and Rob and Annika Acheson. This venue was a first for a bus meet – Glen Dye, with the intention of tackling Clachnaben and Mount Battock. 21 members on the bus, with various pick up points – Inverness, Forres, Elgin, Lhanbryde, Keith and Huntly (is this another first for the club?). Despite the mid-week weather forecast of a hurricane storm hitting Scotland on Sunday – a last minute change to the weather forecast on Friday meant that we had glorious sunshine all day! After a long bus drive, along some winding country roads, most of…
August 2017 Bus Meet – Clachnaben and Mount Battock
Date: Sunday 20 August 2017 Map(s): Ordnance Survey 1:50k maps 44 & 45 or 1:25k OL54 Est. time of arrival: 10:00 Time of departure: 17:00 Leave Inverness: 7:00 The first pick up point is Inverness at 7:00, followed by Nairn at 7:20, Forres at 7:40 and then Elgin at 8:00. The bus should arrive at the Bridge of Dye car park at 10:00 and will park there for the day. You need Ordnance Survey 1:50k maps 44 and 45 to cover the start and summits. Alternatively, the 1:25k map OL 54 covers all the routes. There aren’t many options for alternative hills – so the routes are either Clachnaben, or Clachnaben plus Mount Battock,…
June 2017 Bus Meet Report – Torridon
On 18 June, 28 Members, Guests and LDWA Members set off from Moray on a sunny Sunday morning. The forecast was pessimistic, but spirits were high as the party headed towards the iconic hills of Torridon.. First off the bus a few miles before Kinlochewe, George, Drummond and Ella headed north to climb Beinn nan Ramh returning via Leckie and Heights of Kinlochewe. They got back in good time for a refreshment at the Kinlochewe Hotel. A large group disembarked at Kinlochewe. 4 stalwarts undertook the long slog to Slioch (Malcolm, Jan, Maggie and Dawn) and just made it back to the bus in time (but to late for a…
June 2017 Bus Meet – Torridon
Date: Sunday 18th June 2017 O.S.Map(s): 19/24/25 Est. time of arrival: 9:45/10:00 Time of departure: 17:30 Leave Elgin: 7:00 The bus will park for the day at the Beinn Alligan car park. The first drop off point is at Kinlochewe (at approximately 9:30) giving time to tackle Slioch, a considerable day out with a pub finish – once I’ve checked the time that the pub will be open on time! I remember tackling Slioch on a previous bus meet and being rewarded with meeting my first herd of mountain goats. The next drop off point will be the Beinn Eighe/Liathach car park (at about 9:30). This gives the option of…