Another Year Ends….

It had been a ‘hectic Christmas’…with all the family visiting on the 15th December, (thanks everyone !) although some ‘kind person’ had given us all an unexpected present….of the ‘Norovirus’ bug…knocking everyone out (particularly me !) for the Chrismas period..

So, having eventually recovered I travelled down to Salisbury Plain, to son Gerard’s, to see out the old year…and in with the new !

I travelled down on Sunday, in the rain, which got harder and harder, so someone ( who ?) decided we should all walk to nearby Stonehenge on Monday http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge and as we all got there, sopping wet, some of us had a look around whilst Gerard and Sarah got the hot drinks in…and then I hot footed it back to their house for a hot shower…and New Year celebrations/fireworks in the ,by now, clear sky .. it wasn’t just the Tanks and Artillerry making loud bangs ! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salisbury_Plain 

and as we slept in on New Years day 2013…we missed the nearby sunrise !!

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 although I did have the unexpected pleasure of a pleasant drive North later in the day !

and now plans for the year !

Should I stay…or Should I go …now ?

I woke up mid morning, after my late night soirees under the stars, and had to decide whether to stay and try again tonight, or go (home !)

The prospects seemed reasonable (it wasn’t raining), and by the middle of the day the sky had turned blue in patches, and the sun was even shining – so, I decided I’d stay, and try again tonight. However with a broken bike…what to do here ? – the sensible thing, I had lunch and then set off for a walk up the nearby hills, in what was turning out to be glorious sunshine, and warmth. I’d walked through the nearby woods, and out onto the moor, seeing in the distance, what turned out to be a bothy, which was soon welcome, as the sky blackened and I was forced to sit inside the bothy for a half hour, whilst the heavens opened, and poured out what seemed to be almost hail/ice ! tinkling on the slate roof..at least I was dry and I stayed put until it stopped, and then I walked back to Wally, getting my trousers sopping wet walking through the long grass .. ah well, nothing ventured…

I then settled down, reading,eating and waiting for darkness, and the showers continued, getting heavier as the evening wore on ..it went dark, and the rain continued, more persistent, and I thought ‘Oh Dear, no stars tonight’ – not quite, around 10-15 p.m the sky did clear for a short time, and I had some views of the stars, although with the full moon right above me it wasn’t as dark as I would want (no pleasing some people), and it then clouded over, and the heavy rain returned, and got heavier all night, whilst I snoozed, woke and snoozed until daylight.. My time in Dumfries and Galloway was again wasted…

I got up early morning, packed up and drove Wally home.. ready to plan my next trip, which will be to ???

Wait and See !!

Persistence Pays Off

I left Fort William on Thursday morning, stocked up with fresh food , and then drove over to Glencoe, on what was supposed to be a ‘nice day’…well it may have been somewhere, but not in Glencoe.

I had a nice ‘Scottish breakfast’ whilst pondering on my next move, my outdoor gear and boots were still sopping wet from ben Nevis,and a brief look at my intended ‘night stop’ convinced me that I should keep driving – which I did, all the way to outside Glentrool village http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/INFD-8AUL9P, where I parked at the Bruce’s stone car park http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Glen_Trool which was to be my location for the next couple of days.. the sky was overcast and grey, but ever the optimist… I waited for dark to arrive, and those stars to ‘pop out’ !!

I waited in vain, initially I tested my new camera’s capability with night pictures..

then waited, and waited, all the time getting faint shadows from the moon behind the grey clouds..and went to sleep, waking on the hour (or it seemed like it ) and checking to see whether the sky had cleared – shortly after 5 a.m. (yes,really!) I did see some stars in the sky, and hurriedly changed and got outside, to see occasional glimpses of the starry sky, but only occasionally, and then…the sun started to come up, and that was it, my efforts for the night thwarted..time for bed again !

Up and Down…Safe and Sound !

I’d decided to do it…and so, even though the wind was still blowing, and it had been battering down with rain during the night..the day was et for climbing Britain’s highest mountain – Ben Nevis at 1344 mts high, and as I was almost at sea level I would have to climb, and descend it all ! http://ben-nevis.com/index.php

I’d written out my list of jobs to do before I set off, including paying for an extra night at the campsite (much against the grain), and filling up on a big bowl of cereal and tea, I was ready and set off at exactly at 9 a.m. into the windy valley, and soon passing the Youth Hostel in Glen Nevis I crossed the river, and started ascending the tortuous steps, to join up with the path that starts lower down the Glen

There were only some foreign tourists looking at the notice boards, warning of the ‘dangerous climb’,as I went passed them and up the trail, toward the gloom ahead and above ! At first I didn’t see anyone else, but as I got higher I started seeing other groups in the distance, and so with an objective to aim at, it was quite pleasant as I caught up, and overtook many people, most of them younger than me !

The wind was blasting into my face, strong, but not so strong as to stop me walking into it, and no doubt, a lot less than yesterday.. As I got up to about 500 mts I climbed into the low cloud, initially just mist, however as time went by it became wetter, and eventually I was forced into putting on my gloves Jacket and overtrousers, which were soon sopping in rain, and the rain felt like needles as I got higher, blasting into my face

I kept going finding the summit guidance cairns (meaning I was close) and bang on 12 noon, landed at the summit –cold,chilled,wet – but happy , I was still ‘young enough’ to reach the summit in less than 3 hours, a very creditable speedy climb… as I tried to focus the camera in the mist and rain, with ice lying on the ground at my feet – although I’d been up here many times with lots more snow and ice lying on the top ! Time for another teeth chattering quick photo at the summit cairn  ,and a straight turn around to start my knee jarring descent !

The wind seemed to have changed direction, and again it was blasting me in the face, as I tromped down the trail, this time being cheered up by the miserably faces of the people still tramping up towards me ,with that expression of ‘How far is it now ?’- some even asking ! I skipped down the train feeling rather good, laughing to myself, especially as I neared the ‘Half Way Lochan’ (which isn’t half way !), seeing a rock at the side of the path on which I’d had my picture taken years ago, surrounded by rope in the middle of winter, and convincing my Mother it was the ‘Top of Ben Nevis’ !! (although I did tell her the truth… eventually ), so that kept me going again, as my knees started complaining on the route down and the rain continued coming down, although it finally abated when I was nearly down into the Glen – I knew it was going to stop raining as I could hear those RAF people flying their jets above ! (and they don’t like bad weather…Oooh !)

I got back to Wally and the campsite before 2-45 p.m., so a good climb and descent of 1395 mts, in 5hrs 45 minutes, including stops – Well Done Jotown !!

Then I showered….and collapsed ! – only for an hour or so though, watching the wildlife on the campsite

…and now having my last easy meal in the Restaurant , before moving on tomorrow, not quite sure where, probably Glencoe for a night, and down to Dumfries and Galloway for some star gazing (unless it’s cloudy as usual!) en route home

Oh, and Happy Birthday SW, don’t forget the 5 a Day !

Caution…Snoring Ahead !

It had been a fairly windy night, with gales forecast for during today-especially on the high tops, and Ben Nevis being the highest in Britain, I thought ‘They may mean there’, and so,with the note of caution from Kate ringing in my ears…at the 7 a.m. alarm call…I switched off, and carried on sleeping..

I did eventually get up, - listening to the radio realised that my location in Fort William had got off fairly lightly, compared to the rest of the UK, but Wally had regularly been rocking during the night, and into the morning. I had a nice breakfast, read the remaining bits of the papers, I had forgotten I’d read, as the storm force winds eased, and by early afternoon I was ready for a walk into Fort William itself. I walked over Sugar loaf mountain, infamous as the location of the Jacobite muskets firing at Fort William in the siege of 1745 (how’s that for a memory ?), getting glimpses of Loch Linnhe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Linnhe  below, which I’d never seen from this angle before, with an interesting warning sight by me ,although I didn’t see any Hairy monsters – maybe they’d also been to Billy’s the Barbers in New Mills also ?

I then had a wander around the outdoor shops, in this once bastion of the outdoor empire, now reduced to cheap rubbish, and ,you’ve guessed it, no purchases made –apart from some toe nail clippers !

As I passed Fort William rail station, the steam train was arriving from Skye ,and along with all the other people reminiscing their childhood took some pictures !

A bargain chocolate éclair cream tea and sandwich for £2-09 at Morrison's set me up for a brisk walk back to Wally, already thinking of tomorrow…and a wander up Ben Nevis.. passing the recently restored ice curling rink (no ice there, just yet!) back for a hot shower and change, ready for my evening meal…at the Pub !

So, Goodnight- as you awaken tomorrow I’ll be finishing my preparations for climbing Ben Nevis, in fact if you’re up late I’ll be half way up !

Battening Down the Hatches..

I had had a really good sleep, and awoke to blustery, but dry conditions - all the more pleasing because the radio was droning on about all the bad weather in England (in the South,as usual !), although it was forecast to hit Scotland later in the day.. now, it was sunshine,almost ! with some haze over the sea.. I continued the Sunday papers, doing the crosswords and puzzles, before eventually I had to decide what to do, and where to go..remembering no bike !

I decided that I would leave where I was, and head over to Fort William, on the west coast, at least I knew the campsite there, and if conditions allowed it I would climb Ben Nevis, as I haven’t been up this year..

So firstly to head down into Golspie, have a good wash in the town, and walk along the shore, drinking in the sea views, and watching the birds (and jets from RAF Lossiemouth) performing over the waves  ..

then time to make a move, and drive over to Fort William, which was still dry as I got there, but the winds were gathering strength, and I managed to get hold of the Mountain weather forecast ,which doesn’t look good for the next couple of days…

So, I booked into the Glen Nevis campsite, hooked up to the electricity, washed,shaved…and went to the Restaurant next door for Sunday dinner !!

So, I’ll say an early goodnight…

Oh, and has the body recovered from yesterday ?…

-aches,pains,bruises…but I’ll live !

Fighting the Highland Wildcat…

It all started so well…the sun was streaming through the trees in Carbisdale forest as I had a quiet peaceful start to the day, and slowly drank tea and had Breakfast, wondering exactly what to do today – I had been persuaded by a chap I had met the day before to try another trail – more of that later…as I got ready to have another couple of runs on the Carbisdale trails , two van loads of soldiers on ‘Adventure Training’ arrived to also sample the trails, and I had a pleasant chat with one of the instructors, before I set off up the hill, deciding to start on the harder ‘Red run’ up the hill, and viewing the lochs below as I zipped along, ready for a good days riding – I was soon done on that run, and so, immediately climbed back up the hill and did the ‘moderate’ blue run, quickly again zipping back to Wally, a change and another cup of tea (and helping with bike mechanics for the soldiers !), before I reluctantly left my haven in the sunshine  and set off for a 2 hour drive to Golspie, further up the NE coast for the Highland Wildcat trails http://www.highlandwildcat.com/ reputedly harder than what I had been doing, but ‘easily avoidable hard bits’..time will tell !

I found a little car park tucked away off the road, with a great overview on the sea below, and what I thought would be a great overnight stop (correct!) and looked up towards the Duke of Argyll’s statue on the top of Ben Wraggie  in the distance and above,knowing that I would have to climb up, and around the back of it to complete the trails (only about 450 mts ) Still, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, and although poor weather was forecast, it wasn’t here in Scotland (makes a change), so changing I set off, firstly following a faint link trail, to the main trail heading up the hill from the village of Golspie, and soon had to decide.. should I do the Black ‘Severe’ route, or Red ‘Difficult’ one ? Bearing in mind what the chap had told me the day before, I selected the Black route to follow, and although it was hard and loads of rock slabs festooned the route, as it wended it’s way interminably up the hill, round the back, and puffingly eventually crested the top,to a shelter, where I could sit down, and survey the coast below, and the statue next to me ! Although breezy it was quite pleasant wandering around on the top, looking to the seas below, anticipating my ride down, hoping that I would be able to cope as easily as the climb up !

- I should have heeded the warning ‘Mon U Mental ‘ as I started immediately hurtling down the hill, crashing over rocks, landing on slabs placed over the route, and straining my arms as I pulled on the brakes, in time to do the ‘Chicken Run’ narrowly avoiding some massive hills and jumps off the top rocks, but strangely enough I was quite enjoying the challenge, thinking I could master the route.. until I got into the forest area, where pine needles covered the rock slabs, which were also damp and mossy – yes, you’ve guessed it…I came a ‘cropper’, as I shot down a narrow track at the side of the cliff, I jumped some rocks, and got my wheel stuck in a gap between 2 rocks, which promptly threw me off balance, and in trying to get straight again, I went right off the rock trail, and crashed into the trees alongside, fortunately managing to cover my face as the sharp branches slashed at my body (it sounds worse than it was, I think !). I ended up head downwards, in the trees, with my bike upside down on top of me, and…lay there wondering when to get up !

No one was around, so gingerly I managed to get up to discover nothing broken, just a few cuts and bruises on body,legs and hands…and winded ! I got the bike upright, and daintily continued on my way, wishing I had taken the ‘Red’ route, however soon managed to get back up to speed, and out of the worst of the Forest area, and off the Black trail, joining up with the ‘easier’ Red route (only Difficult !) which, as promised was really good fun, as I jumped and sped up and down differing features, with great confidence (after all I’d just survived the Black run !).. it seemed to go back and forth across the hill, switching back and forth, with loads of jumps,twists, and turns wearing me out, until eventually I got down to a car park – was this the end ? No, I then had to go across a skills trail to link up to my original start, and a shock was in store, as immediately it launched me off a great mound of earth, and down some wooden boards into a gully below ,then through gorse bushes, with razor sharp leaves and needles which slashed at my arms (more blood), when would the nightmare end ?…not soon enough, although I did manage to make it back to Wally sat there in the afternoon sunshine awaiting my return ! and time to survey the damage… my body was torn, bruised and bloodied, but what really hurt was that I’d broken a spoke on my back wheel, so that’s put paid to my biking on this trip – I’d done well to get back without the wheel buckling – you’ll have to wait for tales of derring do on the MTB trails of Scotland for a while !

Who won the fight ? I’ll call it even, ready for a ‘re-match’ in the future !

So I could do no more than clean up, settle down in the evening sunshine, and read the papers ! I did try out my night vision on my camera bought in Alaska, with some reasonable results, here’s just one.. then stargazing until tiredness overcame me..  a bruised  battered bleeding and broken Goodnight !!

Shooting the Trails

So, whilst I was sat having a last evening cuddle with Granddaughter Chloe …a piece of possible space debris was hurtling to earth, leaving a blazing trail behind it – and I missed it !, in fairness it was further South in England and Ireland where it was mainly observed, so I could be excused !

Up early this morning, ready for moving on (and leaving Kate,Wayne and Chloe in peace!), it was a cold,although clear morning, with a good forecast for Northern Scotland, at least for the next couple of days, and I was going to take advantage of it..

I packed up, breakfasted and said my goodbyes, and set off into the early morning sunshine, firstly stocking up on supplies in Inverness, then heading for Contin Forest, to ride the Torrachilty cycle trail.. I found the car park, but, no sign of any marked trails, so I spent an hour or so, riding up through the forest, to the top of the hill, and blasting back down again…all too quickly over and done with, although nicely warming me up !

Then back into Wally and a drive across to Carbisdale, where the YHA Hostel is an old castle, and very impressive, more so when I arrived,as it was closed for refurbishment, and so I expected the trails to be even quieter than expected, and I wasn’t wrong ! I parked in the trails car park, and rode both the trails that were there, the blue and red runs, with some nice descriptive features like  ‘Hissing Sid’ over bare exposed rock, although they did have helpful arrows painted on the rock to give a clue as to the best route – although going quickly tended to miss them !

The second run I had more time to take in the views  through the forest to the loch below, and then zooming down the trail again ,and an early finish to the days riding, and cooking a nice supper of Chicken curry, Naan bread, followed by some excellent Black Crowdie Scottish cheese, which I had picked up earlier on the road…lip smacking, oh and washed down with some ‘Good French Wine’ (well that’s what it sys on the box !)

So, here’s hoping for a starry night, as I’m away from civilisation, and should be able to see whatever is on offer – probably no more ‘space junk’ though …

Night ,night…

and Thanks Kate,Wayne and Chloe for your hospitality over the last few days…I’ll be back !

Things Go with a Splash..

I was up bright and early, for the forecast great day of weather in North East Scotland – however someone had obviously not told the skies, as it was cold,dark and squally looking – still I was to go out on an adventure..

Firstly I drove out to RAF Lossiemouth http://www.raf.mod.uk/raflossiemouth/ where I met Wayne and his team, who were to go out to sea at Buckie to complete their ‘sea drills’ http://www.raf.mod.uk/raflossiemouth/gallery/202sqngallery.cfm?start=1&viewmedia=4  – which entails being dunked into the sea in all their equipment, and whilst attached to a cockpit seat, simulating an ejection from their aeroplane, and landing in the sea below, ready to be collected by a search and rescue Sea King helicopter…and I was to be able to be present and witness everything from the boat..something different, that not many would usually be able to witness !

We were soon at Buckie, and loaded onto the ship – the Smit Yar - which was to take us out into the open sea.Our first disappointment was that the helicopter which was due to winch the aircrew from their rafts in the sea wasn’t coming, so they would all have to be collected from the sea, and have a dripping journey back to Lossiemouth in the van with us…ah well ! The ship bucked and yawed as we left the shelter of the harbour wall, and into the grey swell of the open sea…soon getting to the designated exercise area, and ready for our first ‘volunteer’ to jump off the end of the boat into the cold Moray Firth /North Sea , be dragged behind the boat to simulate a parachute landing  and then to inflate their liferaft, clamber aboard it, and to await ‘rescue’…all in the cold icy sea, with the wind blasting them in their little boats ! – 4 aircrew were dumped into the water, and then left to sit it out,dreaming of rescue – at one stage we had a surprise sighting of the helicopter roaring over the waves towards us…wiggled it’s rotors… and carry on (it was on an operational mission )  so it was left to the recovery crew to gather them up, and dump them back at our boat for the  journey back to Buckie, and ultimately Lossiemouth, with only a short diversion for fish and chips for everyone !

I jumped out at Lossiemouth to return home, whilst the ‘boss’ supervised his team in sorting everything out..and an early night, before I start out on my travels again tomorrow

Thanks Wayne for arranging a great day for me               it went with a ‘splash’ ! 

Jab,jab….went the Medic !

A beautiful sunny morning in Elgin, as the Birthday boy Wayne went of to work, and we all….had a cup of tea, and lazy’ish morning

Then the tricky moment, Chloe was to have her second set of immunisations, so me and Kate took her to the Health Centre, for a nice chat with the Health Visitor lady – who, incidentally confirmed that (most) of what Jotown advised on children was accurate,up to date…and best practice ! Children please take note ! Then a quick couple of jabs, and slight snuffles and we were all on our way back home for a cuddle (for Chloe) and cup of tea (not for Chloe!) and after an hour or so’s snoozing she was over her injections, and ready to face the world with ‘Jotown’ – a momentous moment as she’d not been out without her parents before …the sun was shining, the skies were blue..and I was off to wander around with some company, although she quickly fell asleep, and missed my wonderful conversation as I walked around…enjoying myself, although all too quickly my time was up, and I had to return Chloe to her Mum, ..and drink some more tea !

Then the birthday boy Wayne was home, for his Birthday meal, and relaxing eveningSo, Goodnight, ready for some adventures tomorrow !

Getting Acquainted with the Young One

I had  a rather lazy start to the day, having driven a lot yesterday, and the rest of the household also had a lazy start to the day…girls eh ?

Then we were all up familiarising ourselves with each other, Chloe already seems to appreciate my excellent sense of humour !

I even managed to feed her,and settle her down to sleep- no not my jokes !

Then after she had woken up we all went into Inverness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverness where Kate had some things to do, whilst I sat in Starbucks drinking coffee, and gathering admiring glances because of my young ladies !

Then we were back towards Elgin, having just missed some heavy showers, and the obligatory Rainbows accompanying us along the coastal road

Ready for an evenings entertainment from my colourful girls …and an early night..

Goodnight !