The Bochel

26 June 2013 (afternoon)

Participants - Just me
Where - The Bochel, 491m, Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 36, NJ 232232

It brightened up as the day went on so I decided that as it was only a 5 mile drive to get there, I would climb The Bochel as well. It would have been a shame not to have done it when I was so close and this was one of my feeling fitter days! The Bochel is one of the hills that didn't make it on to the original Marilyn list but was subsequently found to meet the relative height criteria. This hill is on the Glenavon estate which also welcomed walkers. I parked in the Allanreid car park about a mile south of Tomnavoulin. Ben had to stay in the car as there were a lot of sheep in a field that I had to cross and as I also found out there was a fence to cross. So the way up the hill was not dog friendly. This is a view of the hill from near to the car park.....

I crossed the footbridge and almost immediately went into a field, crossed it, went through a gate onto rougher ground, crossed that, then a fence and I was on to the heather slopes. It was steep but there was not too far to go. As I climbed, I could see this morning's hill, Carn Daimh, to the north with the Ladder hills behind it.....

Higher up, there was the semblance of a path. The angle eased and in less than an hour after leaving the car, I was at the cairn. The Cairngorms formed the backdrop to the west.....

but it was the hills closer by that caught the eye. This is looking back to the start of the walk- in the trees to the left- with the Corryhabbie hills beyond. The top of Ben Rinnes is just visible above the hill on the left.....

To the south were the Ladder Hills. The highest point, Carn Mor is a Corbett that I climbed years' ago; I seem to remember it as a long slog across heather slopes from the Lecht road.....

This was another fine viewpoint, well worth doing and it only took 1 hour 30 minutes.

Carn Daimh

26 June 2013 (morning)

Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Carn Daimh, 570m/1,870', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 36, NJ 181249

We had moved down to Tomintoul, handy for lots of hills. I hadn't heard of Carn Daimh before I started searching for hills that I could take Ben on but the map indicated that there was a viewpoint at the top so I decided to go for that. There were a number of possible starting points but I opted for the car park at Glenconglass which would give us a longer walk than the route from Tomnavoulin. It was Crown Estate land and there were lots of waymarked walks; cycle trails were also being put in in several forest sections. We got a good view of the hill shortly after the start of the walk which was marked route 6.....

however, the track to it took a roundabout route through the forest. Once again it was not all conifers so there were views, this is looking towards Creagan a'Chaise, one of two Grahams across the glen in the Cromdale Hills.....

the track eventually left the trees a few hundred metres short of the top and joined the route of the Speyside Way. This is the approach to the top with its viewpoint topography, cairn and summit marker post.....

Unfortunately it was still a bit dull as this really was a fine viewpoint. The background to the west is Beinn A'an and Beinn a'Bhuird in the Cairngorms.....

to the east it is Ben Rinnes.....

and to the north it is Creagan a'Chaise.....

A close up of the marker post.....

We could have carried on down the western side of the hill to make a circuit but there was livestock in the fields in that direction so it was back the same way. This gave a walk of about 8 miles and took about 4 hours. And it was starting to brighten up as we headed back to Tomintoul. I started to have thoughts about doing something else in the afternoon!

Hill of Nigg

25 June 2013 (afternoon)

Participants - Just me
Where - Hill of Nigg, 205m/669', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 21, NH 828713

Cnoc Corr Guinie had only taken just over two hours so I drove round to Nigg to climb Hill of Nigg, one of the lowest of the Marilyns. It was made even easier by the side road to Castlecraig that reached 140m on the south side of the hill. It was a very quiet road so I parked in a lay-by. I was looking directly down on the Nigg energy yard and as I had seen from Cnoc Corr Guinie, there were some oil rigs in the Firth as well.....

The route went through fields. Unfortunately, I could see that there were cattle in the upper field and I guessed that there would probably be calves so best avoided. The field next door was just grass so I went up it keeping out of sight of the cattle, contoured part way round the summit area and sneaked up to the highest point from the other side. Although they had left their calling cards, all of the cattle were further down the hill. The top was marked by a few stones.....

and this is looking across the Moray Firth to the Banffshire coast.....

The walk car to car took only 40 minutes.

I just had to cross the Cromarty Firth on the ferry. This is what travel in the Highlands used to be like! The ferry crosses between Nigg and Cromarty and takes 4 cars. It uses a turntable to turn the cars round when they are on board- no RoRo here! The route is called the King's Ferry and is the route taken by King James VI when on pilgrimage to the shrine of St Duthac at Tain between 1493 and 1513. It took 10 minutes to cross and cost £9 for the car, Ben and me. Well worth it! Here are a few pictures.....

And this is the view of Hill of Nigg from Cromarty, the highest point is to the left of the shot.....

Cnoc Corr Guinie

25 June (morning)

Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Cnoc Corr Guinie, 397m/1,301', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 21, NH 672754

I was having some work done in the house so Ben and I escaped for a few days for a short tour of  the north taking in some new sub-2k's- up the A9 to Inverness, down to Tomintoul and home by Braemar. The weather was a bit dull but the visibility was excellent and it was dry. Not that I expected to see wide panoramic views from Cnoc Corr Guinie which is another forested hill. It is difficult to find hills that don't have fences or livestock or some other hazard that prevents me taking Ben but generally the forested ones are ok so I tend to favour them when I have him with me.

I drove over the Kessock bridge, then the Cromarty bridge, past Evanton and up the B9176. We were up this way last year when I climbed Cnoc Ceislein. The start today was at the end of a forestry track where there was space for a couple of cars.....

Through the open gate and we immediately turned left and shortly after right on to a track that went all the way to the summit. Approaching the end of the forest, it swung right through some old gate posts and then went more steeply uphill......

At the top we were out into the open on some rough ground.....

There was a large cairn at the end of this clearing I suspect that there must have been a wall or a building about here at one time and the remaining stones have been formed into the cairn. It wasn't at the highest point, that appeared to be somewhere nearer the end of the track where I emerged onto the open ground. Anyway, the best view point was at the cairn, this is looking down to the Moray Firth.....

All the views had been behind us on the way up so we got them on the way back. From the high point of the path we were looking straight down through the gap in the trees to the oil rigs moored off Invergordon.....

It wasn't blanket forestry and there were glimpse of the hills to the west; this is the Graham, Beinn Tharsuinn which I have still to do.....

And this is looking towards Cnoc Fyrish and Cnoc Ceislein with the eastern corries of Bern Wyvis in the background.....

The walk was just over 4 miles.

Tinto Hill

18 June 2013

Present - Neil, Steven and Ben
Where - Tinto Hill, 711m/2,334', Graham, Map 72, NS 953344

We went down to Lanarkshire with the prime objective of picking some strawberries. But I was so slow going up the hill that we didn't have time although as it happens it would almost certainly have turned out to be too early in the year for berries. The late spring seems to be having an effect.

I've blogged a Tinto ascent before so just some pictures this time. The start at the very much improved car park.....

They've built a new topograph since I was last here.....

 

 

Looking down on Dungavel Hill, a sub-2k, with the masts on the Lowther hills just visible in the background.....

The view over the Clyde valley to Culter Fell.....

And back down again, a bit faster than I came up.....

A short stay at Lochailort Part 4: Beinn Bhreac (Moidart)

7 June 2013

Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Beinn Bhreac (Moidart), 240m/787', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 40, NM 681715

It was travelling home day and another hot one. I had decided to drive down through Moidart and cross on the Ardgour ferry and wondered about climbing Ben Laga. But as I was driving down the road I changed my mind and decided to do this little Sub-2k instead. I hadn't found any reports on the website about it but the map showed a network of paths and it looked like an interesting area.

I parked at Blain at the end of Loch Shiel where there was room for a few cars at the start of a track that headed in the direction of the hill. The path initially went through a nice wooded area.....

 and went gently uphill to emerge at Loch Blain.....

There was a second lochan just a bit further on, the map didn't have a name for this one.....

Then it was a case of taking to the hillside. The area was a series of humps and bumps and I was wondering which one might be the summit. This looks like it in the distance.....

It was and it was a nice perch. This is looking to the island of Eilean Shona whose highest point is also a sub-2k; looks a bit rough that one.....

Ben had been chasing all over the hillside and had a deserved rest at the cairn.....

The view to the south was of Beinn Resipol.....

We went back the same way and met another spaniel coming up! It was a walk of about 4 miles and 2 hours which was just right given that I had a long drive home. It was a real Marilyn baggers Marilyn; I had never heard of it before I looked at the map the night before but it turned out to be another wee gem.

A short stay at Lochailort Part 3: Rest day with some mountain views

6 June 2013

Participants - Neil and Ben
Where - Mallaig and the Skye ferry

It was even warmer so time for a rest day. I decided to go to Mallaig, take the ferry to Skye, have a short walk, then go to the beach at Morar. Here are some of the pictures that I took. Mallaig harbour.....

Rum from Mallaig, with the Small Isles ferry, the Loch Nevis, leaving harbour.....

Eigg from Mallaig.....

I have never been to either Rum or Eigg; an opportunity missed this week methinks!

The Cuillin from Mallaig.....

The Knoydart hills from the ferry.....

Leaving Armadale on the way back, with Blaven showing up behind Sleat.....

Eigg from the ferry.....