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2011 Archive Stories and pics from |
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2011 Archive Stories and pics from |
March Day Trip to the Lowther Hills
Our Club isn't called "In the Clag" for nothing .. and this trip started out as a spooky special ....
Only 7 walkers decided to head for the Lowthers, with Cornel, Hamish, Elena and Jim making their way directly to the start point at Wanlockhead, Willie leaving his car at the finish point of the proposed route, and Andy and Gwen picking Willie up on their way to Wanlockhead. This being the highest village in Scotland (467m) not only gives a good start to the ascent of Lowther Hill, but was also completely enshrouded in cloud. We set off briskly up the road which gives access to the radar and other installations belonging to National Air Traffic Services, and made an unremarkable ascent in just under an hour to the first summit. Being in complete clag all the way, the slight swooshing noise of the radar gave its position away before the 'golf ball' covering loomed spookily ahead. This covering must take a bit of weather damage .. parts of the patchwork that had been replaced looked much whiter, and the stitching looked much heavier.
After a quick look round, we continued on the road past the other NATS installations on Green Hill to Green Lowther .. at 732m the highest point of the day. Andy and Gwen decided to return from here (Gwen nursing a bad cold) while the others prepared to go 'off-piste' for the rest of the route. As usual, the cloud began to roll away on the descent and the sun even began to crack through. It then became apparent just how busy these hills were .. we counted around 60 people between the East Mount and Lowther, with two others on Green Lowther. We checked out the Abington Hotel on the way home .. nice enough if you're ever in the area .....
AMcG
After saying goodbye to Andy and Gwen on Green Lowther, we headed north-east down to the dip between Dungrain Law and Dun Law. The pull up to the top of Dun Law is steep, but seemed to be behind us quite quickly. Looking back, the top of Green Lowther was still wreathed in cloud, but views to the east .. Daer Reservoir and the partially constructed Clyde windfarm .. and west towards the village of Leadhills were beginning to appear. We continued over White Law to the very steep drop into the notch before Lousie Wood Law. Fortunately there were plenty of sturdy fence posts to hang on to on the way down .. and up! After the initial steep climb out of the dip, there was a fairly gentle slope to the trig point on Lousie Wood Law, the fourth Donald of the day.
A convenient hollow near the summit provided shelter from the breeze (and the noise from the M74, only a few km away now) for our lunch stop. By now the sky was beginning to clear considerably and we enjoyed great views all around. We dropped down north-westwards towards a track next to the Lead Burn, and followed this out past the farm buildings at South Shortcleugh to where Willie's car was parked next to the B7040. The tea room in Wanlockhead was closed for the season, so we opted for coffee, tea and cake in the Abington Services Starbucks before heading back to Glasgow.
Cornel Brozio
The March weekend trip to the Pottery Bunkhouse at Laggan was diverted to the Strathspey Mountain Hostel in Newtonmore due to the Pottery Bunkhouse being fully booked.
The only walkers on Friday were Bob, who climbed Carn Glas-choire near Carrbridge, and Willie, who had a stravaig around Leacainn near Dalwhinnie. The others, except for Gordon, arrived later and most migrated to the local hotel where Bob and Kenny paired up to take advantage of the meal deal on offer and our Saturday plans were finalised.
The Saturday walks were many and varied. Tom and Louise (and Ben) climbed Geal Charn, while Kenny paired up with James to climb the local Corbett Carn an Fhreiceadain. Bob added to his Grahams total by climbing Carn nan Tri-tighearnan and Willie cycled down Glen Tromie to traverse Meall an Dubh-chadha, Meallach Mhor and Meallach Bheag and then cycled back. Gordon arrived on Saturday evening having climbed Creag Ruadh at Loch Cuaich and Creag Liath at Newtonmore.
After all the walking, the evening meal of soup, pasta and biscuits and cheese was eagerly awaited and much appreciated when it arrived. Thanks to the purveyors Bob and Tom and a special thanks to Andy who had to cancel at the last minute but still managed to contact James to ensure we were not ‘soupless’.
On Sunday, Kenny and James scaled the Sow of Atholl, Willie was the other side on the A9 on Carn na Caim and Gordon climbed Creag Dhubh before watching the Scotland Brazil football match. Bob had plans for a Graham near Fersit but could not get parked due to road works in the area and decided to leave it for another day.
The weather over the weekend had ranged from warm, sunny intervals to cold, driving rain with showers of sleet, snow and hail as well as some good, clear spells in the mix. A typical spring weekend enjoyed by all, especially Ben who just loved the snow.
Willie Robison
