Blethering Blonde

There was an excellent turn out for today's Craggy adventure on the Merrick of 14 humans and 3 dugs.  It wasn't a day for our favoured route round the five lochs as rain was forecast to come in anytime between midday and 3pm.   As it was a big group the mountain goats of Gail and Barry went off first while the rest of us sauntered up from the starting point a Bruce's Stone.  There's been some tree felling of the lower section since our last visit which certainly had me a bit disorientated as we headed up.   Before long we were clear of the treeline and that was when the wind kicked in.  So much for the heatwave the weather bods were talking about.  No evidence of any heatwave here!! There was no messing about today as it was a bit of a battle to keep upright at the summit and not much in the way of views.  So with various speeds being taken on the descent some managed to make it back before the ra...

For some reason I have the League of Gentlemen in my head when I think of this hill.......... this is a local hill for local people...... Well it is only half an hour's drive from home. Kaim Hill sits within Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park.  Even though I've lived in the area for over 8 years it's not a hill that we've ever been up.  My research on routes found very few official ones written up though there is this one on the Park's website which formed the basis of the route we were planning. Steve and I met Carol and Don at Fairlie Station.  There is a small car park here but I also like the fact that we could do this very easily by train. The start of the route has you going through a lane that looks like you're wandering into someone's front garden and then into a fairy glen with a lovely babbling stream.  Soon enough we were leaving the woods and out onto the moor.  We decided as there wasn't much in the way of actual path th...

As far as walks go, this has to be up there as one of our favourites.  It may be a long one, at least 21km whatever version you do, but it's a good one.  The joy of this route is you have multiple options for making your way back to Brodick. Roll call at the 7am ferry saw Don, Eleanor, Gail, Gary, Lorraine, Steve, Marie and Caroline lining up in the breakfast queue to carb load in preparation for the days exertions.  Gillian was waiting for us at the bus. The weatherpeeps ensured us we would have a dry day though it was a wee bit on the cool side considering it's June. The bus dropped us at the Lochranza Distillery and we made good progress up Gleann Easan due to the relatively good conditions underfoot from the recent dry spell.  Once we were over the river it was the first climb of the day up onto Sail an Im. Ascending Sail an Im looking back down Gleann Easan We were soon onto the ridge and drinking in the views before us.  Looking nor...

I've been a bit slack when it comes to updating the blog lately, tsck, tsck, naughty me. That's the trouble when everyday life gets in the way. Anyways time to blether about our summer hols. It's not our first visit to Ullapool and I suspect it wont be our last. The difference this time was the addition of young Master Morley joining the gang for his first trip to the far north west. He wasn't the only one getting their first taste of this majestic area as Sandy , Louise & Daphne had decided to join us for a long weekend and we had Jamie & Nicky backing us as seasoned travellers to the area for the week. We were lucky enough to get Crofton House again for our base. It is such a fantastic house that easily absorbed the gear hoards and has everything that you need, a real home from home. Assynt is a hillwalker's sweetshop that keeps on giving every time you visit. A week is never enough to satisfy as there is always more you want to do. This week was no...

Well the weather man said that the afternoon was to brighten up with showers for North West Scotland. Mmmm what to do. Time to cross the border into East Renfrewshire to see just how windy it really would be on Windy Hill. As we were driving up to Clyde Muirshiel Park it started to look quite ominous. The weather man was wrong. The heavens opened. Thankfully by the time we parked up the shower had been blown over and there was even a patch of blue sky, so off we headed. It really is a cracking wee wander, just 1km to the top and they have a lovely woodland poetry trail to keep you entertained too. Soon enough we were out the wood and we could tell the wind was really picking up. It was with no great surprise that we were finding it a challenge to remain upright. What I hadn't expected was for my buff to get blown off my head!!!! We had an entertaining time watching these kids having a great time getting blown over. It may have been just a wee wander but it certainly blew the c...