Post by SidW on Oct 25, 2010 9:00:21 GMT -5
This year's trip through Scotland to the Hebrides was a nostalgia kick for various reasons.
Firstly, it was 45 years since our last visit to the Outer Hebrides. But we also passed by
Glencoe, Loch Leven and Fort William where I'd had my first taste of mountain country.
This year it was look and don't touch.
The first mountain was the Pap of Glencoe, up from the Loch Leven side (here) and down the
other side into Glencoe:
Next was Ben na Caillich on the opposite (northern) side of Loch Leven:
Then they got bigger and bigger. Buchaille Etive Mor stands at the entrance to Glencoe,
seen here from the east across flat moorland. It looks very lonely but beyond it are enough
mountains to keep you busy for a month or more. The entrance to Glen Etive is on the
left behind the low hill, the entrance to Glencoe is to the right of the mountain:
The same, looking north from Glen Etive:
Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, is hemmed in by other mountains on three sides,
although there are splendid views from the surrounding tops. I didn't get a picture of Ben Nevis
this year but we walked a few miles along Glen Nevis below its southern flank. The opposite
bank of the river is also the foot of Ben Nevis:
After that it had to be the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. I did my homework and learnt
the map backwords and forwards and upside down, but when we got there we were so
awed by the bare rocky loandscape that we contented ouselves with exploring the higher
corries without actually approaching the summits. The nearest we got this year was
across Loch Scapin from Elgol. The Cuillin are the distant mountains:
After that I calmed down and the final trip that year was Ben Lomond, along the
eastern shore of Loch Lomond just north of Glasgow.
Firstly, it was 45 years since our last visit to the Outer Hebrides. But we also passed by
Glencoe, Loch Leven and Fort William where I'd had my first taste of mountain country.
This year it was look and don't touch.
The first mountain was the Pap of Glencoe, up from the Loch Leven side (here) and down the
other side into Glencoe:
Next was Ben na Caillich on the opposite (northern) side of Loch Leven:
Then they got bigger and bigger. Buchaille Etive Mor stands at the entrance to Glencoe,
seen here from the east across flat moorland. It looks very lonely but beyond it are enough
mountains to keep you busy for a month or more. The entrance to Glen Etive is on the
left behind the low hill, the entrance to Glencoe is to the right of the mountain:
The same, looking north from Glen Etive:
Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK, is hemmed in by other mountains on three sides,
although there are splendid views from the surrounding tops. I didn't get a picture of Ben Nevis
this year but we walked a few miles along Glen Nevis below its southern flank. The opposite
bank of the river is also the foot of Ben Nevis:
After that it had to be the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. I did my homework and learnt
the map backwords and forwards and upside down, but when we got there we were so
awed by the bare rocky loandscape that we contented ouselves with exploring the higher
corries without actually approaching the summits. The nearest we got this year was
across Loch Scapin from Elgol. The Cuillin are the distant mountains:
After that I calmed down and the final trip that year was Ben Lomond, along the
eastern shore of Loch Lomond just north of Glasgow.