Beinn Uird (597m) 8th March 2009

Beinn Uird

When I had woken up it was snowing heavily but by the time I had eaten breakfast it had stopped snowing and the sun was shining. This false promise tempted me to climb Beinn Uird. At the Rowardennan car park I got talking to a guy called Les, who was going to climb Ben Lomond and we started the walk together at 9.40 am. My route initially followed the Ben Lomond path and it was lovely walking through the snow covered forest. There was a large area of felled trees that gave views to Ben Lomond and across Loch Lomond to the Luss Hills. The sun soon disappeared, it began to snow again and the snow became deeper the higher we climbed. It also became windier and it felt decidedly chilly. Les decided to come with me as conditions would have been unpleasant on Ben Lomond. We left the Ben Lomond path near a fence and traversed around and then descended to Moin Eich, the pass between Ben Lomond and Beinn Uird. It was hard work in the soft snow and it was a long, tiring plod up the broad NNE ridge of Beinn Uird. The mist was down and we could see very little, the wind increased and became quite strong, the snow fell harder and became wind driven. We were faced with a blizzard and I found out that wind driven snow in the fence really hurts. It was worse when I was hit by snow in my eyes as I was temporarily blinded. The summit seemed higher than 597m in such conditions and it felt that it would never arrive. We reached the small cairn at 12.05 pm and headed for a nearby rise, as I thought it looked higher. When we reached it we saw that the cairn was higher. We descended due east and we came out of the mist and arrived at a track. We followed this to Blairvockie Farm, out to the public road and along the road back to the car park. The car was reached at 2.10 pm, a a toal of 4 and half hours. I was releived to shelter in the car, asthe weather was windy, sleety and freezing. After a quick lunch, I started the drive back to Liverpool.

Loch Lomond from the climb to Beinn Uird

Climbing Beinn Uird in blizzard conditions

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Conic Hill (361m), Ben Bowie (314m) and The Fruin (361m) 7th March 2009

Conic Hill

Conic Hill (361m)
The walk up Conic Hill started from the free car park in Balmaha and followed the West Highland Way for the most part. I started the walk at 9.40 am under cloudy skies that soon brought rain. The snowline had retreated upwards overnight and Conic Hill was almost snow free. The West Highland Way went through an attractive forest at first and was initially flat before climbing steeply. The forest offered shelter from the wind, which I noticed when I left the forest for the open hillside. With the gain in height views opened up to Loch Lomond and the Luss Hills. There was a great view of the the islands of Loch Lomond and Ben Bowie which marked the Highland Boundary Fault. There were a number of paths which branched off the West Highland Way and climbed towards the top of Conic Hill. I followed one of these paths and climbed over a couple of subsidiary tops before reaching the summit at 10.30 am. This was a windy place, which was not very pleasant in the rain, and gave only misty views of Loch Lomond, the Luss Hills, the lowlands and Binnean nan Gobhar. I followed a different path back to the West Highland Way and walked along this to the car park. I reached the car at 11.15 am, 1 hour and 35 minutes after setting off.

The Highland Boundary Fault

Ben Bowie (314m)
The car was parked at the entrance to a track at grid reference NS328842, by the side of the A818 near Helensburgh. There is enough room here for one or two cars and there is a small lay-by on the other side of the road. The walk started at midday, with me avoiding the barbed wire topped gate by hopping over the wooden fence at the side. There were obvious signs that many other people had done this, and in fact I met a couple of dog walkers during the course of the walk. The track went through the boring conifer plantation and after what seemed like an age, entered open ground. Near Goukhill Muir a boggy path left the track, headed for a gate and a fence, and followed the fence to the top of Ben Bowie. There were three knolls which looked equal in height so I visited them all. One had a cairn but whether it was the highest point I couldn't tell. The hill was covered in mist so I saw nothing. On the descent the mist cleared enough for me to see the subsidiary top of Killoeter and I decided to climb it as well. I had a hazy view of Helensburgh from the top but it was poring with rain and there was a strong wind. I descended back to Goukhill Muir and then followed the track back to the car. This was reached at 2.20 pm, giving a total time of 2 hours and 20 minutes for the walk.

A misty view of Ben Bowie

The Fruin (361m)
I parked the car at the high point of the Glen Fruin road where an entrance to an MOD track allowed a number of cars to be parked. The weather was diabolical! The mist was down, even at 200m, the rain was teeming down and the wind was blowing me around. I seriously doubted my sanity in going for a walk in such conditions. I started at 3.05 pm and initially followed a clear track. This soon petered out and was replaced by an intermittent path that often disappeared in the boggy ground. 55 minutes after setting out, at 4 pm, I reached the summit cairn and took in the view of mist that surrounded me. On the way down the mist started to clear, although the rain didn't stop. There were views down Glen Fruin, backed by the mist covered Luss Hills, the Garelochhead peninsula, and the snow streaked mountains of Cowal and Ardgoil. I was relieved to get back to the shelter of the car 2 hours after setting out. I enjoyed my hot shower that evening and the felling of being warm and dry.

Glen Fruin and the Luss Hills

Binnean nan Gobhar (585m) 6th March 2009

Binnean nan Gobhar

After the long drive from Liverpool, I parked the car in a lay-by near Cashel campsite on the road which runs up the eastern shoer of Loch Lomond. I started the walk at 2.05 pm, intially through the grounds of Cashel farm. I noted that the farm has a walker's car park with a £2 charge, payable in an honesty box. A track climbed the hillside through the forest and quickly offered views down to Loch Lomond and its islands. It was cloudy and humid and the threatening rain arrived after half an hour's walking. As I climbed higher I had views to the Luss Hills, Conic Hill, the Campsie Fells and the Kilpatrick Hills, all of which had a sugar coating of snow. However, the rain became heavier and more persistent and the views intially became hazier and then disappeared altogether.

Ben Bowie and Loch Lomond

Conic Hill from the slopes of Binnean nan Gobhar

The track ran out on a moorland plateau which was snow covered and consisted of deep heather and tussocky grass. This was hard work and my feet fell in many hidden holes. The higher I climbed the thicker the snow got and the heavier the rain became. There were snow drifts which were knee and even thigh deep and I fell over several times. The mist came down, reducing visibility to a few yards, and it became quite unpleasant. I arrived at the trig point at 4.20 pm but this isn't the summit of the hill, so I set a compass bearing for the true top. I arrived at the misty snowy cairn at 4.35 pm and immediately set a compass bearing back to the track. The mist had descended to about 300 metres and stumbling down the rough moorland was eery and ethereal. Loch Lomond came into view just before I reached the track and I descended thjis back to the car, which I reached at 6.05 pm. The walk had taken exactly 4 hours, and whilst is was unpleasant a lot of the time I got a sense of achievement at having reached the top in such conditions.

The trig on Binnean nan Gobhar

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Hallin Fell (388m), Watch Hill (254m) and Binsey (447m) 28th February 2009

The summit cairn on Hallin Fell

Hallin Fell (388m)
After the familar drive up the M6 , and the parking of the car at the car park on the pass between Hallin Fell and Steel Knotts, Mark and I started the first walk of the day at 11.40 pm. It was windy, drizzly, grey and cloudy. There was a clear footpath up the fellside and views to Place Fell, the High Street range and the Helvellyn range. The higher fells were cloud covered but there was enough of a view to see that on a clear day this would be a marvellous place. A climb of only 20 minutes brought us to the large summit cairn and a windy eyrie looking down on Ullswater. After a few photos we turned tail and walked down again, following a slightly different route down the fell. We reached the car at 12.25 pm, meaning the walk had taken a total of 45 minutes. Despite the shortness of the ascent we agreed that Hallin Fell was a wee gem of a little mountain.

The Helvellyn range from Hallin Fell

Gowbarrow Fell and Ullswater from Hallin Fell

Watch Hill (254m)
After having lunch in the car we proceeded to the other end of the Lake District, and parked the car on the outskirts of Cockermouth at NY131311. We started the walk up Watch Hill at 2.05 pm, in the continuing wind and intermittent rain. The rain was heavy at times and we felt that it was an approprite day for such low hills. The climb started on the right of way which formed part of the Allerdale Ramble. This went off to our left after a while but a path continued up the hill. There were a number of bumps of similar height but we thought the highest was located in the forest. There was a narrow path in the forest which led to the highest bump. This had obviously been made by previous baggers and it was marked by a black glove. Outside of the forest there were views to some misty mountains and also back to Cockermouth but the view was far from inspiring in such weather. Instead of retracing our steps we followed a path through the forest that went straight down the steep southern slopes of the hill and down to the road. A short road walk followed, back to the car. This was reached at 3.40 pm, the walk taking a total of 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Watch Hill

The summit of Watch Hill

Binsey (447m)
I parked the car in the lay-by at the bottom of the path up Binsey, on the minor road by Binsey Cottage. We started the walk up at 4.10 pm, and whilst it was still windy the wind was colder. The rain had stopped and the weather was clearing up. There were dramatic views all the way up to Skiddaw, wreathed in mist, and of Knott in the Back o' Skiddaw. We reached the windy summit after 25 minutes and enjoyed misty views to Carlisle, across the Solway Firth to Scotland,and to the Cumbrian coastal plain. It was Skiddaw and Knott that drew the eye, however. We descended the same way and reached the car at 4.55 pm, a total of 45 minutes. Mark and I both felt that it had been an enjoyable day, despite the weather.

Knott from Binsey

Skiddaw from Binsey

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