A Local Meander

A local indulgence this week as we climb along the ridge of hills surrounding Erics home town, the Vale of Leven.
There are 5 towns and villages in the Vale - Renton, Alexandria on the west side of the River Leven, Bonhill and Jamestown on the east side, and Balloch which straddles the Leven close to where it leaves Loch Lomond on its short and fast journey to Dumbarton where it empties into the River Clyde.

To access this ridge we join the Balloch to Cardross hill towpath at Stoneymullen Hill which offers breathtaking views of the south end of Loch Lomond and the majority of the Lochs 60 islands. Once the summit is reached we turn left and trudge through acres of boggy ground as we follow the ridge along to the highest point, which offers us an outstanding vista of Loch Lomond to the east and the River Clyde as it transcends from River Clyde to The Firth of Clyde to the west.

With two outstanding photo opportunities in the one location we quickly capture a couple of panoramic shots before setting of downhill towards Carman Hill and then onwards to Balloch via the local cemetery (Boot Hill) and thereafter we follow the fast flowing River Leven to its source at Loch Lomond.

We found this to be an eventful little walk that many locals have never attempted nor contemplated.

A shameful indictment of the apathy emanating from a populace that fails to appreciate the beauty that lies on its doorstep.

Hill Of The Hog

We stay closer to home this week as we ascend a local Munro, Beinn Chabhair 3061ft (Hill of the Hog).

Beinn Chabhair is situated at the head of the Beinn Glas Burn, 4½ kilometres north-east of the north end of Loch Lomond from where it is hidden behind the steep lower slopes. It is one of the many hills we have climbed recently in which the summit is a guessing game for us as it is not visible from our starting point, The Drovers Inn at Inveruglas.

The Drovers Inn is an old inn used by the Highland drovers who used to drive their cattle down the side of Loch Lomond to the markets. The decor and furniture, in deference to the past, look as though they have not been changed or altered for a couple of hundred years. Central heating and double glazing have not yet been installed in these premises nor has its installation ever been considered, indeed the adjectives authentic and rustic could almost have been compiled for this ancient piece of Scottish pub folklore.

The ascent starts with a steep climb that follows the Beinn Glas Burn passing the fantastic Beinn Glas Waterfalls before leading to the rivers source Lochan Beinn Chabhair 400m below the summit of the hill itself. We have never seen a source of a river/waterfall before and this tranquil Lochan it is quite a site sitting majestically within its own little valley.

From here the path disappears and you are left to guess which peak will be your end destination which thankfully for us on this fine day is not a problem. After 10 minutes or so we mange to pick up a path again but sadly the weather conditions are spreading a heat haze that is making viewing conditions less than favourable.

The final ridge that looks quite frightening from the Lochan turns out to be quite an easy and enjoyable ascent but sadly the views from the summit turn out to be a tad disappointing. Yes, the heat haze has restricted our horizon but we were hoping for an extended view down Loch Lomond which doesn’t look as it would ever be possible on a perfect day from this vantage point, as a result we take comfort in the excellent views over the Crianlarich Hills, Tyndrum Hills and the Bridge of Orchy Hills.

Our descent is via the same route we have climbed although the final steep section down to Beinn Glas Farm provides dangerous loose scree which nearly upends us on a few occasions.

Arriving back at the car we drive north a few miles to the gouged out pool on the Falls of Falloch, this is supplied by a stunning black waterfall which also serves as welcome cooling off spot for us after our sweaty ascent up Chabhair. Unfortunately it also serves as a hot spot for large clusters of midges which have us running for cover on our egress from the pool. The ferocity of these fearsome critters is so intense that we make great speed to the car to escape their unwanted presence and take refuge in the nearest hostelry to replenish our depleted blood levels :o)

People Have A Thing For Mountains!

People have a thing for mountains.

God has a thing for mountains, too. God chose to do some of his best work and made some stunning revelations of himself to people at high altitudes. On the tops of mountains, God made a promise to Noah, supplied a substitutionary sacrifice to Abraham for his son Isaac, talked to Moses through a burning bush, gave Moses the Law, participated with Elijah in a definitive showdown with false prophets, gave a glimpse of his glory in the Transfiguration of Christ, who later ascended to heaven from a mountain top.

So why do mere mortals climb a mountain?

George Leigh Mallory replied on being asked why he was climbing Everest in 1923 “Because it’s there”.

Our motivation for ascending the mountains is not for spiritual enlightenment or the fact that there is an abundance of them in Scotland nor is it derived from a wish fulfilment fantasy to climb every Munro in Scotland. Our simple motivation is derived from looking at the weather forecast and deciding which hill will endure our presence the next day. The choice of mountain can often be a head scratching conundrum entailing a trawl through various mountaineering websites rammed with climbing gobbledygook incomprehensible to anyone who doesn’t know the back end of a compass from a GPS system.

It is through this haphazard decision making process that we happen upon Ben Venue (pronounced Ben Venoo, gaelic = mountain of the caves). Rising proud from the wooded slopes of the Trossachs, Ben Venue is a rugged little climb. Dark cliffs and rocky knolls may suggest an air of impregnability, but the fortress-like defences of the peak's summit can be breached if you know where to look. There are two different starting points to choose from, we choose the longer path rising from Loch Ard. This route like some other ascents we have traversed recently throws up the bizarre anomaly of not being able to see the summit you are about to surmount. This method of ascent via a Google print out adds an extra spice to the climb as we continually guess which of the peaks above us will be our final destination. It also leads us up many blind summits which further add to the excitement of the mountain.

The weather today sees the mountain blessed with brilliant sunshine as we set off mid-morning in one of the hottest days of the year so far. The bottom quarter of the climb cuts through a mixed forest of beautiful deciduous trees followed by geometric blocks of commercial sitka spruce plantations which offer welcome cover from the burning sun. Eventually the route bears right for the final ascent to the bealach where a low fence is crossed by a stile and Ben Venue comes into view at last and our guess attempts about our final destination prove wildly inaccurate. Once across the stile the route takes on an alpine feel as the route to the summit lies enticingly ahead of us. We capture the summit just as ‘The Sir Walter Scott’ departs below on its afternoon sail from Trossachs Pier around Loch Katrine. Once the summit is attained we gaze admiringly around us as views open up of the Firth of Forth, the Clyde, Isle of Arran, Paps of Jura and to the north Ben A'an, Ben More, Stob Binnein, Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps.

Our retrace back down the hill is blessed by a large grey cloud which makes the descent an enjoyable trek that passes all too quickly allowing the sun to reappear as we hit flat ground at our start point.

Previous walks in this locale have made us aware of a spectacular waterfall and pool at Inversnaid which is situated by the north banks of Loch Lomond on the West Highland Way. Foresight and anticipation of extreme heat and a sweated brow have ensured that bathing costumes of a fashion have been packed in the car as we make haste to rest our weary limbs in the natural black eddy, fashioned by peat soaked water cascading over clashing rocks to form natures own hydrotherapy pool. The remote location of this organic spa ensures that we have complete seclusion as the sun slowly disappears behind the surrounding hills.

Ahh Bliss.

Shouldn’t every long hot day finish this way ;-)

Ben Lomond

Ben Lomond is for many the most celebrated of Scottish mountains. It is still the rival of Ben Nevis for the foremost place in popularity. This is due to its conspicuous and easily accessible situation, to the ease with which it can be ascended, and to the magnificence of the view it commands. Owing to its somewhat isolated position at the southern extremity of the Highlands, it forms a conspicuous object from many points of view, whilst from its summit there is obtained a singularly extensive and varied survey of mountain and loch, valley and plain, with a picturesque middle distance of hill, wood, and water.

The most popular ascent of the Ben is from Rowardennan on the east side of Loch Lomond which attracts nearly 30,000 climbers per year and can resemble Sauchiehall Street at ‘chucking oot time’ over a sunny weekend. In search of solitude and in keeping with our pioneering spirit we assault the hill from the lesser trodden and least known ascent from the shores of Loch Chon which is situated 6 miles west of Aberfoyle and traverses the mountains north west ridge.

As we start our climb we recall Dr Garnett’s observations on the Ben’s early climbers. From his "Tour in Scotland" of 1798 he sagely regales "this mountain is visited by strangers from every quarter of the island." From a remark, however, in the same book we must not be surprised at the strange and marvellous sights some of those early mountaineers saw, for it is stated that "it is deemed impossible to reach the top without the aid of a bottle of whisky!”

These Dickensian trailblazers clearly embraced the idiom ‘fit to drop’ with some zeal ;-)

Our source of rehydration is taken from the little streams coming down off the Ben as we plot our way through the myriad of forests trails that will eventually take us clear of the forest cover and out on to the mountains broad open slopes chocked with bracken and broom and countless hidden boggy traps which Eric manages to fall prey too with alarming regularity. As we follow the last hissing stream to its source we climb up to the ridge of the mountain’s shoulder and look down on Loch Lomond sparkling a deep silky blue on our left, seemingly close enough to leap and dive into. As we climb the final zigzag flank towards the summit at 3195ft, small wisps of cloud appear that feel so close that one could almost pull them out of the sky with a tethered rope.

With the summit gained we take in the panorama of peaks, from Bens Cruachan, Lui, Nevis, More, Lawers and Stobinian with Ben Ledi and Ben Venue in The Trossachs, the Paps of Jura in the west and Goat Fell with its sisters on the Isle of Arran. To the south lie the islands of Incailloch, Inchmurrin, Inchmoan, Inchconnachan, Inchcruin and Inchfad.

This remote trek up Scotland’s most accessible mountain took an exhausting four and half hours to achieve as opposed to the 2hrs the swarming hordes take walking the well worn tourist route. Sadly, we can only rest our weary limbs for 30 minutes due to restrictive time parameters before quickly retracing our steps back down the lonely route to Loch Chon, stopping briefly to gaze at a soufflé of clouds in the distance which gather like a small airborne crush of icebergs dissipating as they wander south.

Our return is not without incident as Eric rescues a lamb which has become separated from its distraught mother and got itself trapped hysterically in a small ravine. With mother and lamb reunited and Eric’s status as superhero reaffirmed we press on at great haste to reach the car in the cover of a glorious sunset 8 hours after our departure.

Quickening Heartbeat and a Michael Jackson Pallor

Inverbeg on the West shore of Loch Lomond is our first destination today as we locate a scenic spot to capture an autobiographical film that Emma is compiling to enter in a competition being run by Saatchi to find the ‘Best of British’ artistic talent. Sadly, as we arrive at our location the sun disappears behind a thickening cloud and ideal light conditions are lost as snow clouds gather. Not to be deterred we push on and capture a number of scenes which we have edited and composed and the result can be seen below.

With the ominous weather closing in we abort our scheduled Sunday stroll and take in the scenic splendour of ‘The Rest and be Thankful’ and Loch Fyne via the comfort of the car as we travel to The Loch Fyne Oyster Bar, which has developed from a small shack beside the A83 to a nationwide 49 restaurant franchise. The oysters, mussels and assorted seafood make for interesting viewing but do nothing to enhance our appetite as the ostentatious prices do not match the tired looking surroundings which are clearly aimed at the passing tourist with loose money to spare.

From here we travel to The Drimsynie Estate which dominates the small town of Lochgoilhead on Loch Goil. The main hotel/castle which heads up the estate contains a small swimming pool, Jacuzzi, steam room and sauna which we relax in as the snow comes down at a thickening girth outside. After a simple meal of Scampi and Chips at a price the oyster bar would charge for a starter we realise that the climb out of Lochgoilhead to the top of The Rest and be Thankful is not going to be a journey for the faint hearted as the steep incline has near ninety degree bends towards its summit. The tension in the car is thick and the noise of our quickening heartbeats almost audible as we eventually reach the top with a few gentle skids along the way as our aesthetic pallor matches the whiteout conditions at the top of the peak.

The A82 road along Loch Lomond proves to be no less hazardous as the snow reaches blizzard conditions and we become increasingly irritated at the lack of snow ploughs on the main road between two of Scotland’s major cities, Inverness and Glasgow.

The austere outline of Glasgow never felt as welcoming as it did this evening as the expected one hour journey takes a fretful two hours plus, adding an extra dimension to a day which started in brilliant sunshine.

By Royal Appointment

Set off early for Rowardennan on the east shore of Loch Lomond in anticipation of February photo shoot for the 2010 calendar, only to be thwarted by poor visibility and low cloud.

In an effort to pass a few hours in the hope that the weather conditions would improve we slipped into our waterproofs and headed four miles north along the West Highland Way to the advantageous viewpoint that is Rubha Curraichd which affords beautiful views to the north of Loch Lomond. Nestled up there among the trees is a welcoming little bench for the weary walkers who have just climbed the long slow hill from the ptarmigan lodge and on it is inscribed this beautiful eulogy to a loved one: ‘Someone like you comes along once in a lifetime. Thank you for being in ours’, inspirational words and a thoughtful testament to a departed one.

On our return to Rowardennan we are fortunate to be viewed upon by wild goats grazing on the bark of trees as they came down from the hills to escape the snow line. Local folklore speculates that these feral goats have special dispensation decreed upon them by none other than Robert The Bruce, who, while in hiding in a local cave from English soldiers chased the goats from within the cave, on seeing the flock of goats grazing near the cave-mouth the soldiers supposed that no-one was inside; they reasoned that if anyone was in the cave the goats would have fled in fear. In gratitude for this deliverance Bruce later (when he became King of Scotland), passed a law that the goats were to be allowed to roam free forever. The descendants of those ‘By Royal Appointment’ feral goats are almost certainly the inquisitive beasts we captured today.