Friday

David Treagus left his house at 5am to meet Babs and Maggie for coffee at Tarvie, near Garve. They were up and down Little Wyvis in two hours. According to Babs and Maggie the “weather was atrocious”, but David only describes it as “wet and windy”.

Evelyne and Debbie went to the RSPB’s Forsinard Nature Reserve. They went up the tower for a view of the landscape and then somewhere else, but the drunk spider that crawled over the pristine pages of the new Big Red Book left an undecipherable trail.

Bob and Fiona walked up the river from Dunbeath. A great walk taking in mixed woodland, broch, gorge, chambered cairn and much more. “A great afternoon, despite all the rain and bracken”.

The rest of the party arrived on Friday evening and hatched plans in the lounge of the Helmsdale bunkhouse. A fine place with very smart ensuite dormitory rooms.

Saturday

From the Moray coast, Morven appears as a splendid “volcano” on the northern horizon. Only 60km away as the crow flies, but a lot farther by road. So the opportunity to ascend this iconic mountain appealed to many of the Moray Neaps. The northern party comprised Babs, Maggie, Blair, Bob, Fiona and Alison (also joined by Steve from Thurso). Most folk returned via the same route, but Bob and Fiona added in the little hill called Smean. Weather was a bit windy, but mostly dry (better than forecast).

Simon approached Morven from the south. He parked at Berriedale and then biked up the track to Wag, a sheiling at the end of the estate track. A slightly longer approach, but an e-bike whisked him effortlessly to within 3km of the summit. He made it to the top within 5mins of the northern party.

Adrian Marsay went bike touring (that’s where Patch the dog pulls Adrian along on his bike) in Dunrobin woods. Patch then took a well-earned rest while Adrian went solo up Ben Bhraggie and the downhill mountain bike trails.

Dan got a lift to Berriedale and walked back to Helmsdale along the John o’ Groats trail. It’s signed and obvious in most places and fortunately someone had trimmed back the worst of the bracken. “I stopped at Badbea to look at the abandoned village dating from the times of the Highland clearances. A little further on, the Ousdale Broch was well worth a look. Closer to Helmsdale I spent some time fossil hunting on the beach. Had a look around the village and then went back to the beach for more fossil hunting with Debbie.” Been meaning to do this trail for a while, so that’s one tick… plus a dozen on my legs… plus another dozen discovered on Sunday… and a few “bonus ticks” on Monday.

Evelyn and Debbie walked north from Helmsdale along the John o’Groats trail and then went fossil hunting. The shore here is known for its fossil coral (found some!), fossil wood (Dan found some!) and lots more. There were even several rocks with very cleanly made holes about 20mm diameter and 50mm deep. A bit of Google research revealed these holes are made by modern-day boring bivalves (very interesting!). Well worth a look.

David Treagus and Justin went on an “epic mountaineering” trip to Dingwall to watch the football (Ross County vs Montrose)! Where they bumped into fellow mountaineers, Drummond and Ella. “The walk from the bus stop to the stadium was too far without refreshments, but a few stops along the way staved off dehydration”.

Sunday

Dan and Simon kayaked from Helmsdale to Berridale. “A rugged coastline with steep cliffs, a few very small inlets, and a splendidly leaning sea stack. The southwesterly wind pushed us up to Berriedale in no time at all. This, combined with a southerly swell (where did that come from?) and some reflected waves off the cliffs added a bit of “excitement”. Arrived in time for lunch at the Berriedale tea room – if it had been open. Fortunately, the Timespan Café in Helmsdale made a good Plan B.”

Adrian Marsay “limped up Eldrable Hill”. A mighty summit of 416m AOD overlooking Strath Kildonan.

Evelyne, Debbie and Justin went for a walk up Fyrish Hill near Alness to have a look at the Fyrish Monument on Sunday. “It was a good short walk with good views of the Black Isle, Cromarty Firth and Beinn Wyvis. The monument has been made recently made well known by the TV show The Traitors, as the result the hill was extremely busy with fans of the show. Unfortunately, no sacks of cash or golf were to be found on the hill!”