It's been 3 ½ years since I moved North of the border. It is, undoubtedly, a pretty part of the world, and easy to see why so many people love it. But, and not wanting to go all George Monbiot, it is very brown (Fig 0).
The UK's fondness for sheep and deer and grouse coupled with our model of land-ownership means too often the view from a summit is a bit too very brown. The sense of space, the emptiness, the layers of ridges overlapping all the way to the horizon, and the sharp edged profiles of interlocking spurs are all nice things. But cover them with trees, and well, they might be nicer.
# the granary
A month or so ago, the parents of the partner of a friend of S, (who I have only meant once[1]), let us stay in their place on the right bank of the River Spey, along one of the UK's many former-railway turned cycle path. Being where it was we had hired a car[2], which enabled us to scoot about the place and do a small handful of short day hikes over the course of a week.
- A muddy trudge from the front door
- An easy amble through the forest on the left bank near Aberlour
- Out and back up Ben Aigan ◬ 471 m. Brief shower started during the final part of the ascent and lasted until we were descending
- An easy amble around through the good smelling Scots Pine of Anagach Woods (trees - yes.)
- Up to the windy viewpoint at Càrn Dàimh (568 m) from Glen Livet
- A cold-if-you-stop and windy-whatever-you-do march up Ben Rinnes ◬ 841 m, which lay under a modest covering of snow (Fig 1). Good snacking to be had in the lee of the tor at the summit
- Upstream along the Burn of Aberlour, passing the Linn Falls
- An easy cruise on a good landrover track up to the wonderfully named Bad Each (466 m) and on to Càrn Fhradhairc (502 m)
# a munro
Last weekend started with an early start: Into town in time for the 0635 to Blair Atholl. Heavy (ish) packs on. Very briefly along the Tilt before heading upstream along the Banvie Burn, at first in the trees with a steep drop down to the water. Through a deer fence, and into the lifeless treeless soulless brown. Staying on the right bank, up the Allt na Moine Bàine, stopping for a snack where the track crosses it. Cloud lifting and over the col between Meall Tionail and Meall Dubh, then down to the Allt Scheicheachan bothy. A night in the bothy was an option. Brewed a tea, and ate a sandwich whilst we considered leaving packs in the bothy to 'reserve it'[3], but instead opted to throw the tent up on a flat-enough patch of ground ~50 m away, and leave the bulk of our stuff there.
Upwards under blue skies and along Allt Scheicheachan, towards its impressively steep headwaters (Fig 2), until turning sharp left and climbing to Meall Dubh nan Dearcag[4], and one other false-summit before the walking into the cloud just below the true summit: Beinn Dearg ◬ 1008 m (Fig 3). Snacks in the stony summit shelter, with no view north to the main bulk of the Cairngorms. We retraced our steps out of the cloud and down to the already pitched tent.
Arriving at the summit ~30 minutes later and we likely would have had a great view. Oh well. Looking through the bothy's window there were a pair of bags on the sleeping platform. The bag's owners arrived an hour or so later, and were the first people we'd seen since leaving Blair 10 hours earlier[5].
Not the best dinner, and then a big snooze. The dog didn't take up too much space in the tent. Walking by 0730[6], up to the col from which we could see the cloud tops below[7] (Fig 4), and as we dropped down so did the temperature[8]. Brewed a coffee at the train station and the dog napped all the way home.
# more of this
As spring slowly asserts itself we hope and intend to do a bit more of this. Because, it is nice out there, despite the brownness.
The Dolomites are still better.
# footnotes
briefly, and i don't really remember the encounter, but i've been told it happened ↩︎
ugh. driving. an expensive and boring ~necessity(ish). ↩︎
which feels like poor bothy etiquette ↩︎
which, wind depeneding, would be a glorious place to pitch a tent ↩︎
Scotland's population is a ~5.5 million. We got off the train at the station that is only a few hours from both Edinburgh and Glasgow. It was a saturday. The forecast was good. The route takes in a bothy and a munro. Yet we didn't see anyone. I, incorrectly it seems, assume that if I've had the idea[9], then loads of others have as well. But apparently not. Maybe Scotland's big empty brown spaces are sufficiently big and empty and brown that they can swallow up most weekend warriors. ↩︎
because trains don't come through that often on a sunday ↩︎
inversions are great ↩︎
not by much, but noticeable nonetheless ↩︎
and by that I mean, opened the guidebook on that page. ↩︎