The delights of Durness are many and varied. Impressive sea cliffs rise from the waves while miles of sandy beaches stretch themselves out lazily for the warm turquoise colours of the shallow water to lap against them. Small rocky islands sit off the north coast, and further south many more islands dot the west coast, for this is of course where north meets west at the mighty Cape Wrath.

Further inland lie some classic mountains and it is to these that we are drawn to, especially when the weather is fine and settled as the Saturday of the MMC meet was.

Foinaven is a truly magnificent mountain. Almost as magnificent was the confusion that arose from a large group of people trying to organise an end to end traverse. Only after some had already left the campsite did it finally dawn on one or two of the group that some thought they were all going from north to south and some thought they were all going from south to north. Not to worry! With such a large group and mutual stubbornness it was good to split in two and have a friendly meet up on the hill.

Drummond and Ella sensibly avoided the confusion altogether by heading east to climb all the varied and assorted summits of Ben Loyal and return to Durness with plenty time for some evening drinks in the sunshine. Andy and Graeme went west from Durness, to climb the rarely ascended hills in the wilderness near Cape Wrath.

The south to north Foinaven group consisting of Fiona C, Bob, Fiona D, Alan, Janny, Sheena, Dan and Robert appeared to be in a hurry, scampering along the ridge with no regard to taking their time to savour the views, returning to the campsite at 8.30pm (almost mid-afternoon at this time of the year!) and apparently retiring to the pub shortly after.

Two of the group, Dan and Robert, even took a detour to climb Arkle en route, thoroughly enjoyed by both.

The north to south group decided to take time to truly appreciate the beauty of the mountain and coastal scenery of the area which is absolutely world class. The hill was gained by a long and gradual walk via track, path and two successive corries.

In the upper corries the group split, with Dougal, Jane, Jenny and Joe taking a scrambly route up the skyline and Helen and Sheila taking the less technical but no less difficult direct ascent by scree. As the former group gained height the scree slope that the unfortunate pair had to tackle looked steeper, looser and more unpleasant. A feeling of relief, tinged with a slight guilt, grew on the lucky trio as two tiny dots made their way ever so slowly up this moving mess of rock. Inevitably the foursome arrived at the top of this hideous scree slope first, via their pleasant roundabout route. The two steps forward, one step back scree climbers joined them in due course and a well deserved rest was had by all. The time was taken and a decision had to be made.

The six wanderers sat there, deliberating. By this time it was already well into the afternoon. If they were to continue it was clear that this was to be a very long day with a very late finish. But after such a long ascent it would be a shame to miss out on the best of the traverse. Onwards, of course!

Perhaps it is worth mentioning that this was Helen’s first hillwalk, apart from an ascent of Ben Rinnes. In retrospect maybe a long traverse of a big, rough, hard going mountain such as Foinaven isn’t the most sensible of introductions to the Scottish hills, but maybe this wasn’t the most sensible of groups.

The group pressed on to the highest summit, and shortly after met the group coming in the opposite direction. An opportunity was had for a chat and photo shoot, not to mention the appreciation that the south to north group was going to make the campsite first, probably by a long stretch.

The ridge continued, never flat, never easy, and with a final ascent that almost replicated the ascent from the corrie in that the steep direct scramble was pleasant, whereas the only way to bypass the technical difficulties was to traverse onto dangerously loose and steep scree and scamper desperately for the crest of the ridge.

On the summit two fellow hillgoers were encountered. They were appreciating the evening views before retreating to their high camp a mile or so to the west. When the weary Moray Mountaineers later passed their camp they were treated to a mug of mint tea each which greatly lifted the spirits and was very much appreciated. The long descent now began. By this time the sun was low in the sky and the group were treated to a magnificent sunset which could only be appreciated to the full from a position on high.

By the time the last level track was reached it had been raining for a while, it was dark and the final destination seemed to stretch further away with every step. Jenny and Dougal lengthened their paces and reached the car first, thoughtfully driving it back up the track to meet the rest of the party so that they could all return to the campsite earlier than they otherwise would have…

The group arrived at about 1am, a little wearisome. In fact, they must have been exhausted due to the fact that two Irish girls went to bed very shortly after returning to the campsite, not only with no dinner but after consuming NO BOOZE! Not to worry, though, Sunday breakfast for Helen, Jane and Jenny consisted of their planned Saturday dinner – a hearty chilli con carne and cider.

On Sunday an intrepid group of cyclists set off for a day in the hills as the following account attests:

“The Arkle-Foinaven massif provide such good scenery that two days in the same vicinity is no bad thing. So when Jenny L “whispered” something about a nice mountain bike loop in the shadows of these fine hills it was a no-brainer. The route took the four of us (Jenny, Sheena, guest Neil, and Dan) from the familiar car park on the south side of Arkle, eastwards almost as far as the Ben Hope road and then north west up Glen Golly, before a final descent from Bealach Horn back to the car.

It was a fantastic loop, with some fine descents, the occasional peat hag and a little up hill. The waters of Loch Stack provided a fine opportunity to clean bikes and bodies prior to the long drive home.”

Dougal, Helen, Jane, Joe and Sheila headed to the beach. They had a surfboard, just the one, but that was one too many and slight ripples on an otherwise glassy turquoise waters lapping against the white sands of Balnakiel Beach provided a lovely setting for a swim.

This was followed by a hot chocolate at the famous Coco Mountain where fellow cafe-goers Alan and Fiona were encountered, and then a pootle back down the road via Ullapool for chips and a stop off at the Coireshalloch Gorge.

Of course, the hills are not the be-all and end-all of mountaineering club trips. A fitting postscript is from Robert, who has been a recent welcome addition to the club for weekends away from his home in London:

“A slight diversion but Dougal pointed out to me that Ben Klibreck which I had climbed on Thursday is visible from Morayshire on a good day. Later in the week on finishing 18 holes at the Buckpool course in Buckie I was able to get out my map and compass and confirm Dougal’s tip! I then left the golf course and drove past the Seafield hospital where I was born.”

Author: Joe
Photos: Andy, Dan, JennyG, Dougal and Helen