Loch Ossian

Thursday 31st May 2012

My original plan for this day was to walk from Glen Nevis all the way up to the top of the valley and then down the valley on the other side of the pass beside the Abhainn Rath all the way to Loch Treig from where a short climb would have taken me up to Corrour Station and a mile beyond that to Loch Ossian. This was an excellent idea, and something that I’m sure I would have revelled in as it’s just the sort of walking that I’ve been doing these days and what has been lacking from my walks in Scotland. But that Thursday morning the weather was poor. Gradually throughout the week the weather had been getting worse, and by now it was raining. Ordinarily this shouldn’t have been a deterrent, but the hostel at Loch Ossian is self-catering only and with no shops for miles I was carrying all the food I’d need there for four nights. I had brought a larger rucksack to Scotland but still had difficulty getting it all in, and by now it weighed a tonne on my back. I think I underestimated just how much food I’d need, and I’ve tried carrying enough heavy loads in Scotland in recent years to know that walking with such a large amount of food in my rucksack is a bad idea. In the end, since I was still really tired, I caught a bus into Fort William and, after a couple of hours wait, the train to Corrour Station.

Corrour Station is famous for being the remotest station in Britain. There is a sign beside the station that says “There is no taxi rank near this station,” and “There is no bus stop near this station.” There’s no public road near this station! This station was made famous by the film “Trainspotting” where the four characters are dumped onto the platform and begin heading towards the hill that is to the west of the station, but they don’t go far before Ewan McGregor’s character gives his famous tirade on what it’s like to be Scottish. I would go up that hill the next day but I did think about this film as the train pulled away from the station and I was left on my own with no sign of civilisation in sight except the station itself. My troubles began even before I reached the middle of nowhere as the ticket office in Fort William didn’t seem to have heard of Corrour even though it’s less than thirty miles down the line. I was, of course, pronouncing the station how any Englishman would: Corr-or. After first being given a ticket to Tulloch I eventually managed to get the right ticket to a place pronounced Co-ro-our, three syllables to my two. No wonder it’s remote: it’s nigh on impossible to get a ticket there!

Loch Ossian is a mile away from Corrour Station and there is a stony track between the two so slowly under my heavy load I walked along the track to the youth hostel that lies at the western end of the loch. There was a stunning view ahead of me, even in the poor weather, of the hills that surround Loch Ossian and beyond the loch all the way to a narrow pass at the top of the valley. At the youth hostel I dumped my bag and had my lunch before venturing out onto the hills nearby. Weightless with my heavy rucksack, I sailed up a muddy path that headed east gradually climbing the hillside that is south of the loch. My attention for this afternoon was the small hill that overlooks the youth hostel: Meall na Lice. It’s less than two thousand feet high but in the poor weather it seemed to be a good target. Leaving the path I climbed the steep heather-clad slopes until I eventually reached the top of Meall na Lice. Coming back down I crossed the peaty moorland to reach the path that I had previously left and climbed to a junction where a rock dedicated to someone called Peter is located (called Peter’s Rock on OS maps). Turning left at this junction I entered the woodland that lines the southern shore of Loch Ossian descending down to the track that encircles the loch. In improving weather I had a pleasant stroll back to the hostel.

During my return I further pondered the problems that I have been having with my holidays in Scotland. I had planned to spend my time at Glen Nevis doing long exhausting walks like the one around Corryhully on the previous Monday, but instead I ended my time there with easier walks that didn’t involve early starts. I was disappointed not to return to the Mamores, where I had been walking on the previous Sunday. If I’d walked all the way to Loch Ossian I would have travelled through the Nevis Gorge alongside the Mamores but even that wasn’t to be. I had by now come to the conclusion that my holidays in Scotland needed a big rethink. I had been trying to emulate my holidays of six or seven years ago, but I don’t do walks like that elsewhere anymore so it was a mistake to still do them in Scotland. Another problem with my Scottish holidays is my thinking that I can carry three or four days of food in my rucksack. Fortunately I thought better of doing that on this day, but I need to stop planning to do that. I attempted to carry a heavy, food-laden rucksack from Sligachan, on Skye, last year and over the Cairngorm Mountains in 2009. Both times I had difficulty. My model of Scottish holidays developed in 2004 of staying in one place for several days and doing all the hills in the area has to change.

On the following Monday, after spending three day's walking in the area and staying at the excellent Loch Ossian Youth Hostel, I had several hours spare before catching the train from Corrour Station. The weather was now gorgeous so I walked all the way around the loch past the amazing collection of rhododendrons that are near Corrour Shooting Lodge, at the eastern end of the loch. Loch Ossian is in a beautiful location with the hostel located in a perfect setting at the head of the loch. It is so isolated from the outside world, miles away from the nearest road, and yet with civilisation accessible only a mile away at the station. The atmosphere in small hostels like Loch Ossian is always special with a great warmth and camaraderie between the hostellers. It is just a shame that a lot of hostels like this are closing. It is tragic when the economies of the outside world intrude on the tranquillity of places like this. Long may Loch Ossian Youth Hostel continue.