Two Kilts and 3 lungs across Scotland, Pt2

A bit more

Day 2:

It had been a comfy pitch, if a bit close to the road, but it wasn’t at all noisy. Apart from some nearby snoring….probably a deer. Maybe.

Up and away just after 9am - we’re on our holidays so we’re not rushing about.

Coos

The sky was again blue and it was quite warm. We were hoping that the weather would stay fine – but our suspicions were raised when we came across Noah’s Ark. 

I mean, I can’t see any reason why should such a craft should be built on dry land if not as an emergency refuge in case of flooding. I was careful to have my waterproofs close at hand….best to be safe and all that.

I was a bit away with the fairies, I’d worked hard to get organised for this trip, but failed rather spectacularly on a few fronts.

I definitely wasn’t up to par – I struggled to keep up with Mike, especially on inclines. Some of this was probably down to my lung problem, but lack of training / hill fitness was very apparent.

I’d reduced my pack weight – a lighter tent, less cold weather clothing, summer sleeping bag,etc. I modified my Exos58 rucksack by adding a significant amount of extra padding around the shoulder strap where it might stress the site of my recent surgery.

I found that I could walk using just one shoulder strap, that gave my R shoulder the odd break it probably needed – although I didn’t suffer any local discomfort.

Oh, and shreddies. I wore the wrong ones. They rubbed in exactly the place where you don’t want your shreddies to rub. Not nice. Fortunately I had another pair onboard, they were fine….if a little smelly after two weeks.

Back to the walk….

We continued NE-ish, via Taynuilt where I planned to buy stuff for lunch for the next couple of days. We lunched in a nice cafe, and then marched off towards Loch Etive … completely forgetting to buy supplies. 

It was now really quite hot, we called a temporary halt to proceedings at Inverawe where ice creams were deemed to be compulsory. And we played with a couple of dogs. 

On to camp in Glen Kinglass where we had our first battle with the midges. Fortunately Smidge and Citronella incense sticks kept the biting blighters at bay.

Our pitch had been a bit lumpy but as I was knackered I wasn’t too mithered.

It was still quite light at 11.30pm.

Cuckoo count: 2

Day 3:

I was woken at 4am with the sound of what I thought was light rain.

I stuck my head out of the tent to be met by a full-on midge assault!

By 8am it WAS raining, albeit quite lightly. The midges were still busy, my midge jacket proved an effective defence.

We were up and away by 9.40am, walking east along Glen Kinglass. The rain continued, getting heavier as the morning wore on. We lunched under a bridge – the only shelter we could find.

Eventually the weather improved and we continued to Loch Dochard – and a really beautiful spot to pitch our tents. 

A slightly iffy bridge

 

Brought to mind Aysgarth Falls

Sober newt. Probably.

 

We camped on the spit. Nice. Very very nice.

Our beautiful spot had signs of being used by ‘wild campers’ – debris, including a beer bottle (that we carried out), fire circles, and a general ignorance of LNT.

It was warm and a bit damp, but a gentle breeze kept the midges at bay.

Mike went for a swim….I put my feet up.

Dinner was another home-made, home dehydrated lamb stew – this has to be my favourite backpacking meal, it’s just so tasty.

 The paparazzi

Fellow Challenger, Ian Cotterill, last seen in the pub in Oban, passed by – he shouted out that the Bridge of Orchy Hotel had closed because of a Covid-19 outbreak – that will be difficult for a lot of West Highland Way walkers.

Brew with a view

Cuckoo count: 2

Day 4:

Woke to bright sunshine on the longest day, the Summer Solstice. I’d normally be up for sunrise on Alderley Edge, not his time though – I wasn’t even up for the 4.30am(ish) sunrise here.

A mix of footpaths, LRTs and tarmac took us to the Inveroran Hotel for lunch. This detour was needed because I’d neglected to buy supplies in Taynuilt. My penance for having to do the extra miles was to buy lunch.

Suitably fed and watered, we continued on our way, following LRTs along the north shore of Loch Tulla then to cross the busy A82.

 

We’d planned to camp by Gorton Bothy but a quite idillic spot presented itself, just ½km short our intended pitch: riverside (not always good in the midge season)glorious views, flat grass, and only a few midges.

This had been another tough day for me – I was more than a bit knackered – I slept well. Again.

Observation of the day: Rivers are now flowing eastwards, towards the North Sea.

Cuckoo count: 2

Day 5:

Away at 9.30am, heading NE along a LRT that more or less followed the course of the R Tulla to, in theory, follow pylons into the forestry and then to pick up forestry tracks through Rannoch Forest.

The ground was, er, a bit damp. Okay it was VERY damp.  We ended up closely following the course of the railway line and then a river bank which were a whole lot drier. Eventually we picked up the forestry tracks and wandered on to a nice bit where we stopped for lunch and (for me) a rest.

The sun beat down relentlessly and it was very hot. Combined with miles of boring forest tracks, we were soon well and truly fed up of this part of the route. 

Our intended pitch was SE of Bridge of Gaur, close to Loch Monaghan, but I was all in. We ended up staying low and camping on the shores of Loch Rannoch. We came upon a lovely little spot: flat(ish), water close at hand, trees, a still evening….and more bloody midges.

Oh well, welcome to Scotland in the summer.

Cuckoo count: 2

Day 6:

The previous night had been warm – I’d have slept well but for the constant tweeting of noisy birds.

The day dawned warmly and sunnily, as the morning wore on it cooled and clouds moved in, followed by rain at Kinloch Rannoch – just as we settled down to eat our lunch outside the Post Office / village shop.

Worthy of note: I sent a small parcel ‘Post Restante’ to Kinloch Rannoch, the Post Master was confused and, if I’m not mistaken, a little miffed that I’d used the service without asking him first*. To be honest, I don’t think he knew anything about the Post Restante service. I do wonder whether he was going to return my parcel….or worse.

*I checked my notes when I got home, I *had* been in touch with K.R. Post Office – although I’m fairly certain it wasn’t him I spoke to. 

Mist over Schiehallion

 

As we sheltered under a conveniently placed tree to finish our lunch, Ian Cotterill turned up again. Almost as knackered as me, he’d re-routed and booked himself into a hotel for the night.

We stocked up with food from the shop, it was Mike’s idea that we would enjoy a good dollop of Scubbo for tea, and so we did: an unlikely conconction of corned beef, rice, and, the pièce de résistance, baked beans. Obv. We feasted well that evening.

The walk from Kinloch Rannoch was uneventful – apart from that it started to rain. It was a long, slow slog up the side of Schiehallion.

We stopped a bit short of Pheiginn Bothy when we came across a lovely flat, grassy spot, with a nice stream running by – just begging to be camped on. So that is precisely what we did.

There was a nice breeze, just strong enough to ground the local midge population.

Then there was our dinner. ‘Nothing like a bowl of Scubbo when you’re hungry…… It’s food for the marching man….’

The cloud was broken (I know how it felt) but it was still quite warm at 9.30pm.

And so we hit the sack.

Cuckoo count: 4

Day 7:

After our breezy and midge-free night we packed up and headed off. First we heather-bashed our way to Glenmore Bothy where we carried out an internal inspection….of the bothy. Obv. It was in very good order indeed, clean and tidy. 

I was very surprised to see Mare's Tail growing here. It's probably always grown here - but not in May.

Glenmore Bothy, inside and out:

Pheiginn Bothy

 

Not Pheiginn Bothy

Next we called in to Pheiginn bothy just to check it out – it was also in good order. Pheiginn Bothy

We began the long descent to the R Tay, nearly all the way on good LRTs….and just a bit of tarmac. It was still warm and dry, but the sky was beginning to look threatening.

You’ve got to watch these skies, you just can’t trust them.

Following the riverside path we pointed ourselves in the direction of Abergavenny Abersoch Aberfeldy and marched on. 

 

A shelter used by a local angling club presented itself just as we were searching for somewhere to stop for a nosh. It wasn’t a minute too early, it very soon started to rain. We scoffed our lunches as the heavens opened, prayng that the taps would be turned off before we once again set off eastward.

It didn’t really stop raining, so waterproofs were donned and we splashed our merry way to Aber-whatever-it’s-called.

Our target for the day was to be Grandtully where there’s a nice little campsite. Given the day’s excessive dampness we called it a day in Aberwotsit and emptied ourselves into a pub for beer and food.

We sat on real chairs, ate at a real table – and used knives and forks. Terribly civilised don’t yer know.

We stayed in the pub as long as we reasonably could, then headed off to the campsite. In the rain.

There was a battle between Mike and his new tent – which is, in theory, able to be erected outer first. I helped (a bit) and eventually Mike won the battle, his tent was up – and dry on the inside.

We camped alongside fellow Challengers Alan Jordan and his Grandson (a first-timer who was having the time of his life), they were off down the pub for a good nosh and beer.

I tucked myself up in my sleeping back, ready for a bit of a listen to the Radio 4 – type wireless, when there came a knock at the door – a bottle of HopGoblin Ruby (5.2%) was thrust into my hands. Now THAT should help me sleep!

Cuckoo count: 4

Number of phones found: 0

Note that for reasons best known to Google, some of the photographs here are out of order.

 

Two kilts & 3 lungs across Scotland

 

In the beginning:

This year’s TGO Challenge very nearly didn’t happen for me: Covid-19 being responsible for he cancellation of last year’s event, and delaying this year’s. Also, I’ve been firing on just one lung for the last 2½ years, and very recent surgery to try to kickstart my non-functioning lung had been, well, very recent – just a few weeks prior to the Challenge start date.

Whatever..

At stupid o’clock on Thursday morning I boarded the train to Preston to connect with the awful Transpennine Express ‘First Class’ service to Glasgow Central – the only thing that was first class about it was the comfortable seat. No reserved seating, no refreshment service – nada, nothing, nowt. 

At least I had the foresight to buy some decent reading material before boarding the train.

 

Note to self: Avoid Transpennine Express in future.

 Me and Judith at Glasgow Queen Street (Mike's photo)

I met up with other Challengers at Glasgow, and along with Judith and Mike, we navigated our way to the recently ‘improved’ Glasgow Queen Street station for the next leg of our journey to Oban. The improvements included no refreshments. Great. Fortunately there was a Greggs not too far away.

On arrival at Oban it was felt that Mike and I should improve our levels of hydration to help prepare ourselves for the coming Challenge. Six hours later we rolled out of the pub, completely rehydrated and in high spirits. It was great to see musician buddy Lindy (who now lives in Oban) and fellow Challenger Ian in the pub.

We spent a comfortable night in Oban’s SYHA, waking to glorious weather – warm, sunshine, gentle breeze…all rather lovely really. We headed back to, er, the pub – for breakfast and a goodly amount of coffee.

The view from our hostel window

Brekky down the pub

The obligatory Great Wetting Of The Feet

Try as we might, we couldn’t delay our departure any further. First waypoint on our route was McCaig’s Tower, above Oban. ‘Above’ meant this was the first climb of our Challenge –  the climb out of town was a bit of a rude awakening!

View from McCaig's Tower

Men in Kilts at McCaig's Tower

After a quick photo-shoot (and a pause for me to catch my breath) we meandered out of town along the long and winding road that is Glen Lonan.

Much tarmac followed. And there was an eagle. And a very fine and erect standing stone. Oh, and a blockage.

One for AlanR

Ask Mike, he knows what they're called.

After a load of very accurately measured kilometers and ascent we pitched up next to Eas Mor Burn where there weren’t many midges at all. Or ticks.

I’d treated my clothing to a good dose of Permethryn prior to setting off, I also carried Smidge, a midge jacket and a head net, plus (and I’m very grateful to Dawn for her recommendation) Citronella incense sticks, produced by Stamford. They very successfully kept midges out of my tent for the entire trip.

In an attempt to reduce my pack weight I opted for a lighter-weight tent this year, I’d obtained a second hand. pre-loved, previously owned or whatever, Scarp 1 in good condition. It’s rather lighter than the Akto, in addition the inner is larger and it has two porches – although individually, they’re smaller than the Akto’s single porch. It took me a few days to get used to having two porches and making optimum use of them.

I always thought the Akto was quick to put up, the Scarp is even quicker – a boon in wet weather.

There are a few minor modifications I’ll be making to the Scarp, but I can safely say that it’s a keeper – although not for the depths of winter, that’s where the Akto scores.

I had a lovely tea of home-made and home dehydrated lamb stew – very tasty.

The first day had gone well. Although there were no hills to speak of, my one functioning lung was strutting it’s stuff – maybe all this walking will encourage the other lung to join the party. I know I’ll never regain full lung function, but owt is better than nowt.

MSR Titan Kettle Burny Fingers 1st June 2021

I’ve been using my MSR Titan kettle for a good few years, it’s favourite bit of kit. I like it because it’s titanium and therefore very lightweight, and I can store a gas canister and a Primus windshield inside it when I’m packed.

I’ve used it with various stoves: a Caldera Cone meths burner, a Pocket Rocket clone, and an Optimus Nova multi-fuel stove.

Points are knocked off because it’s so expensive (but that’s titanium for you), and burny fingers: the metal wire handles get seriously hot, especially when I use it with the Caldera Cone. I have the scars to prove it.

I recently spotted a solution on a post on an outdoorsy FB page: slip a length of silicone rubber sleeving over the metal wire handles – it works perfectly!

 

Pre-Modification 

 

Apres Modification

I also flipped the handles round so that they’re ‘upside down’ compared to the original. This has two advantages: I find the kettle handles easier to grip, and because the shorter part of the handle is now closer to the heat source, it heats up less.

If you want to do this mod yourself, the wire handles are 3mm diam. I sourced the silicone sleeving from Amazon, 3mm ID x 6mm OD., it’s available from other suppliers too, search for:

‘Sourcing map Silicone Tubing 3mm ID x 6mm OD 10ft Flexible Silicone Rubber Tube Air Hose Water Pipe for Pump Transfer Red’

Shutlingsloe…not 16th May 2021

…well not for everyone

Another little After Eights walk, led by Suzanne and one of her doggies.

The day was bright and clear, but with a promise of showers later in the day.

Our small group met up at Clough House car park, Wildboarclough, ready to leave at 9.30am.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Bridget at the car park, she was with a different walking group but we managed a quick chat before we went our separate ways.

 

We set off north, on tarmac, then to follow Clough Brook and around to Bottom-of-the –Oven.

Here disaster struck: one of the walkers, who professed that this was her first walk, had a little dog with her. We entered a field of sheep and lambs….the dog wasn’t on a lead – you can guess the rest.

I’d had surgery a few days before and was trying to take it easy, I dropped my pack and ran as fast as I could after the errant dog – who was only following her instincts.

The dog, “she’s never done that before”, was chasing a sheep and it’s two lambs, uphill and down dale….the poor things must have been terrified. I managed to catch the dog and return it to it’s owner – who then decided it would be a wise move for her to abandon the walk.

It was indeed wise.

We continued, minus one dog and one walker: following tracks into Macclesfield Forest, but not before a pleasant sit-down and tiffin share at Forest Chapel.

We passed the closed Leathers Smithy pub, then around the southern edges of Ridgegate Reservoir. We could see over to the layby on the north side of the reservoir, it was crammed with cars.

Shutlingsloe soon came into view, some took the easy climb to the top, others chose the lower route around the eastern side.

 

Then it started to rain, this is England after all, an English walk without rain well, it just wouldn’t be right.

The rain proved little more than a shower, an April Shower – in May. The weather *has* been rather unseasonable.

Crag Hall

A couple of girls stopped us, they were trying to find Three Shires Head by following a route description. They had no map or compass. They photographed my map, I hope they found their way.

We were soon back at the car park. We’d had a very pleasant stroll, marred only by the unwelcome doggy incident.

Where we went:

8½ miles with, according to Viewranger, 1400ft of ascent….I’m not sure about that though.

 

 

Blogger changes…not for the better

I’ve long suspected that Google is trying to dissuade use of their Blogging platform (limiting compatibility with the excellent LiveWriter, and subsequently Open LiveWriter), this announcement on Blogger has done nothing to change my mind:

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