The Mountains of Arran

Friday 21st April 2017

The weather forecast for this day wasn’t good with rain and wind, which prompted me to take the wet weather route that I had planned around the north-eastern coast of the Isle of Arran, where I’d stopped after spending a few days on the Isle of Islay. There is a path from the youth hostel at Lochranza around Newton Point and the Cock of Arran past some geologically significant rock formations, most notably Huttons’ Unconformity. I’m sure this would have been a great walk, but it would have meant that I had not gone up any mountains during this holiday due to bad weather. After a closer look at the forecast I decided that the weather was going to improve so I, obstinately, decided that it was worth attempting my originally planned walk up the mountains of Arran. I was last on Arran ten years ago when I’d also started my holiday in Inveraray, just as on this holiday, and then spent five days in the fantastic mountains of Arran in glorious weather. That holiday was so successful there were no mountains in Arran left for me to visit, which was why it took me so long to return, but now I deliberately headed home from Islay via Arran so that I could reacquaint myself with these great mountains.

The weather when I started this walk was a bit cloudy, but not too bad as I left the village of Lochranza, and immediately after passing the distillery I turned onto a path that runs up Gleann Easan Biorach. Initially I enjoyed a good path, probably due to the distillery, and as the path climbs beside a narrow gorge formed by a spectacular waterfall I was reminded of similar paths in the Lake District. I was happy that I had chosen to do the mountain walk as there is nothing better than a walk that is like the Lake District. However, above the gorge the path deteriorated into a bog while the valley levelled and left me thinking of the walk that I’d planned to do a couple of days previously up the Paps of Jura. I had not done that walk because I didn’t like the idea of traversing the miles of impenetrable bogs that defend those distinctive peaks. I had dismissively called that bog-trotting, and now as I was bog-trotting slowly up this valley the irony was weighing heavily upon me. When the valley began to steepen once more I decided that my best option would be to cross the river and to climb up the comparatively drier slopes on the other side.

With the wind starting to whip up as a ridge began to develop, I was reminded of the weather forecast. Behind me Lochranza appeared to be enjoying some sunshine, but ahead of me the weather was looking very poor and by the time I plunged into the low clouds it had started raining. With strong winds and now rain I was beginning to think that it may not have been the best weather to go up a mountain, however underfoot the terrain was improving as a satisfying ridge developed that was a pleasure to walk along, despite the horrible weather. It was great being on a mountain again, no matter what the weather, and surprisingly I was actually enjoying myself. Slowly I kept climbing, but however much I climbed the summit of Caisteal Abhail seemed increasingly illusive and unreachable in the worsening weather. Eventually I decided that it was a waste of time going any further as I could have wandered around for hours and not seen the summit of the mountain, and the weather was beginning to make conditions unbearable.

Turning around I followed a path down the south-western slopes of Caisteal Abhail. I may not have reached the actual summit, but I’d been there before in 2007 and now my only thought was to get safely down off the mountain. I had to make several course corrections when I lost the path descending too far west in the misty conditions, but eventually I found the right route that bypassed Cìr Mhor to reach the bottom of the saddle at the top of Coire Buidhe. The rain had continued to fall heavily during my descent while the wind was blowing a gale, but safety was now in sight with a good path that led from the col down into Glen Rosa. After dropping a short distance, I was sheltered from the strong, westerly winds so I hid behind a large rock and with relief to be out of the bad weather I ate my lunch. This walk could have led to serious problems, but I was confident in my experience of bad weather on top of a mountain and in my map reading skills that I could safely get down to my escape route. The bad weather had added an exciting element to the walk and increased the sense of adventure, but if I’d known that the wind was going to be as strong as it was then I would have taken the coastal walk.

A well-made path brought me easily and enjoyably down into Glen Rosa while the rain finally eased and I was sheltered from the winds. As I descended into the valley I was determined to not feel that the mountain, or the weather, had beaten me. Climbing a mountain is not a contest, or a fight. I wasn’t trying to conquer the mountain, just climb it, and if the weather stops this being fun and started making it potentially dangerous then there is no shame in abandoning the planned walk. I had planned on walking over Cìr Mhor and Goat Fell after Caisteal Abhair, but in the end I had a thoroughly enjoyable walk anyway as I slowly descended into the valley. I had never taken this path before so I was looking forward to walking down this distinctive, glacially shaped valley so that despite cutting the walk short I actually really enjoyed it as I slowly made my way down Glen Rosa. Ahead of me the weather gradually improved with blue skies appearing through the clouds while behind me the mountains clung onto the thick, dark clouds.

This walk was completely different to the walks that I did over the mountains of Arran ten years ago with an approach, from Lochranza, that I had not done back then. Even the descent was new with a long walk-out through Glen Rosa so that despite what should have been a horrendous walk was actually an enjoyable one even though it had been cut short when I had decided that the weather was too poor at the top of Caisteal Abhair. The conditions continued to improve with lovely spring weather lower down the valley that made for a great, relaxing stroll down lovely Glen Rosa. I had enjoyed being at the top of the mountains before the weather turned really bad, and that has motivated me to want to return to these fabulous mountains soon. The Isle of Arran has been described as Scotland in miniature, while I would describe the mountains of Arran as being like the Lakeland Fells in miniature, and that is praise indeed.

Four lochs and two distilleries from Ballygrant

Wednesday 19th April 2017

While planning this holiday on the island of Islay, I realised that I would have an ideal opportunity to do a walk up the Paps of Jura, the three dome-shaped quartzite hills on the neighbouring island of Jura, however this thought didn’t excite me. Nevertheless, I did plan to do the walk up the Paps of Jura during this holiday even though my heart was never in it. Good weather is essential for a walk up the Paps of Jura, so I also planned an alternative bad weather walk and secretly I wanted to do that walk instead of the mountain walk. Ralph Storer describes the walk up the Paps of Jura as “exhausting, sometimes frustrating” and that the Paps are “defended by miles of boggy moorland and require a determined assault”. I don’t enjoy bog-trotting and prefer a good footpath underfoot, particularly in ascent, so even though I had kept my options open to the idea of going up the Paps, I was always veering towards doing the bad weather alternative. In the event the weather wasn’t too bad with some sunshine during the middle of the day, but my decision was really made when I decided to do the Laphroaig Distillery tour the previous afternoon.

After my tour of Laphroaig I caught a bus from Port Ellen to the village of Ballygrant in the east of Islay, where I headed into the woods around Loch Ballygrant and camped at a spot just outside the woods to the west of the loch. My inspiration for this walk is to be found on the walkhighlands.co.uk website although I had decided to reverse the direction, so after overnight rain I set off back into Ballygrant. The footpath that follows the road east from Ballygrant is a lot better than the Three Distilleries Pathway on the south coast of Islay that I had been on the day before, as this was narrower and more undulating because it wasn’t designed to be used by wheelchairs and pushchairs, which also made it much more fun to walk. Already I could see the Paps of Jura on the horizon, the tops partially obscured by cloud, taunting me for taking the easy option, but they were not my goal on this walk as I took the left turning road signposted Finlaggan. Walking along the minor road I came to the visitor centre at Finlaggan where the MacDonald Lords of the Isles had their base in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

There didn’t seem to be much to see except for some ruins on an island in the nearby loch so I turned around and followed the road heading north past the ruins of Mulreesh and just before I reached Balulive Farm I turned left onto a muddy track into an increasingly wild terrain. At one point I even saw a couple of young deer before plunging into a dark conifer plantation that was not nearly as bad as it sounds. The track is lined with young deciduous trees and around the ruins of Staoisha there were loads of celandines and primroses with even a few daffodils decorating the scene. I could imagine this being a delightful location before the conifers came and ruined everything. Beyond the ruin rhododendrons lined the track so that in a few months there will be a blaze of colour from this invasive, troublesome plant. After a sizable walk through the wood I suddenly came out to a view of the sea, and across the narrow straits the Paps of Jura stood strikingly close mocking me for what could have been. I had an enjoyable walk through the unspoilt landscape with the distinctive mountains ahead of me while around me lay heather and small rhododendron bushes.

Slowly I made my way down to the sea at Bunnahabhain where the next tour of the distillery was in an hour’s time, which was all the excuse I needed to wander around the coast of Bunnahabhain Bay clambering over quartzite rocks and gazing out across the Sound of Islay to the Paps of Jura. After eating my lunch I returned to the Bunnahabhain Distillery where I took the tour of this small distillery where they work to a traditional, manual ethos producing an unusually, for Islay, unpeated whisky. Although not to my taste, this is not a bad whisky and I left happy to have visited this tiny, isolated distillery. My next destination was the Caol Ila Distillery, which is some way south along a quiet road that rushed along as I was worried that I wouldn’t get there in time for the next tour only to arrive with half an hour to spare. This distillery at Caol Ila was rebuilt in the early seventies so it now looks ugly and utilitarian while inside there is a lot of automation, which is in stark contrast to Bunnahabhain that looks at least a hundred years old.

During the afternoon the fantastic weather that I had been enjoying with stunning views across the Sound of Isla towards the Paps of Jura deteriorated, so by the time I left Caol Ila it was starting to rain. This made for a depressing end to the day through what in better weather must be a lovely route as it follows tracks through woodland all the way back to my tent near Loch Ballygrant. Despite the rain at the end I had enjoyed this walk including the tours of the two very different distilleries in the afternoon, and even the extended road walking had failed to ruin my enthusiasm. I felt that the deterioration in the weather late in the day had justified my decision not to go up the Paps of Jura, while allowing me to visit two very special distilleries, which had been the main reason for my coming to Islay, although ultimately I didn’t feel as if I’d stay on this island long enough. The following morning I retraced my steps along the fabulous path that runs from the gorgeous woods of Ballygrant where bluebells were beginning to appear and promisrf a stunning display in the weeks to come, to the eastern end near Port Askaig where a Lily Pond was sadly devoid of lilies because it was the wrong time of year.

Despite it being the wrong time of year for bluebells, lilies or rhododendrons I had really enjoyed my brief couple of days on Islay. There is so much to this island that I have not seen on this visit, especially as I had taken the tour of only four of the distilleries on an island that has eight. The weather was great when I arrived on Islay, but it quickly deteriorated so that by the time I left it was cold, wet and windy even though this hasn’t prevented me from wanting to return. There is so much more to Islay than whisky as the walk on this day shows, and there are many more that I could have done. From the bus I had been impressed by the view of the extensive sands near Bridgend called Tràigh Cill an Rubha, where a great walk must be possible from Bowmore all the way around the northern bay of Loch Indaal, while the great sweep of Laggan Bay must also make for an awesome beach walk. These options are all in addition to the mountain walk up the Paps of Jura that will still be waiting for me when I finally decide to do it. As the ferry pulled away from Port Ellen it may have been the distilleries that I was looking at, but there is so much more to come back for.

The Three Distilleries Pathway

Tuesday 18th April 2017

Early at the start of this day I caught a bus from the Port Charlotte Youth Hostel on the island of Islay through Bowmore and Port Ellen, the largest towns on the island, and didn’t get off the bus until I reached the Lagavulin Distillery. I must say that for many years Lagavulin has been my favourite scotch whisky and I was looking forward to visiting the place where this gorgeous, heavily peated delight is distilled. In fact the only reason I had come to Islay was so that I could visit this distillery whose produce I have adored for many years, and I wasn’t disappointed. I was fortunate to be taken around the distillery on my own which enabled me to ask as many questions as I wanted and savour every special moment from sampling the fermented wash to standing in the control room and seeing the screens that the distillers use to monitor the process from start to finish. This is a lovely, relaxed distillery full of grandeur and quality as befits the rich, smoky whisky that is produced within these walls. It was astonishing that such a quaint, little distillery could produce such an exquisite whisky that is admired the world over.

At the end of the tour I had a taste of the distiller’s edition as I am already very familiar with the sixteen year old, but found that the second maturation in old sherry casks made this special edition too sweet for my taste. The sixteen year old Lagavulin is what I have at home, and it is that intense peaty taste that I have fallen in love with and is unrivalled, and cannot be improved. From the distillery, while trying to savour the memory of the distillery tour, I made my way east along the road through the tiny community of Lagavulin until on the far side I came across a footpath that has been built to link the three distilleries on the south coast of Islay. I soon came to a signpost pointing down a lane towards Dunyvaig Castle so heading past a row of cottages I reached a row of outcrops that fringe the coast where great views could be seen of the Lagavulin Distillery across Lagavulin Bay. Dunyvaig Castle is severely ruined and there are warning notices deterring anyone who might want to climb the deteriorating walls, but I had eyes only on the small distillery across the bay.

Back onto the pathway I continued east along the wide, tarmacked path to the Ardbeg Distillery, the easterly of the three distilleries, where I found a rather more extensive complex of buildings than at Lagavulin. However when I got there I discovered that I had just missed the tour and there wouldn’t be another for almost four hours. It was disappointing, but I hadn’t checked the timing of the tour prior to coming to the distillery, and I certainly hadn’t booked in advance. Turning around I headed back up the road stopping on top of the rocky knoll that overlooks the distillery before setting off back along the Three Distillery Walk. The path follows the road between Ardbeg and Port Ellen giving whisky lovers easy walking from the ferry terminal to the three closely located distilleries, but I didn’t like it. The path is heavily manufactured to enable it to be accessible not only for walkers and cyclists but also pushchairs and wheelchairs. It bulldozes through the landscape like the road whereas I would prefer a path that works with the contours and blends in with the surroundings.

After a lingering stop at Lagavulin, I looked at the distillery longingly and blew it a kiss before moving on along the pathway. When I reached the Laphroaig Distillery, the home of the most popular Islay malt, I found that the next tour wasn’t for another couple of hours, which left me wondering what I should do. I wandered along the pathway towards Port Ellen until I reached MacGregor’s monument where I had my lunch, and eventually decided that I would wait around for the tour regardless of what I’d previously planned and then I would decide what I would do. First, to kill a bit of time I headed inland on a track that is signposted the Croft Walk, but I have no idea what that walk is. At the top of a rise I came off the road to my right to pass a Neolithic standing stone and up onto a low, craggy ridge. This is Druim nam Madagan that runs parallel to the coast while the reservoir behind it feeds the Laphroaig Distillery. Albeit brief I enjoyed this ridge as the outcrops and firm ground underfoot reminded me of walking in the Lake District.

Towards the coast I could clearly see the Laphroaig Distillery and that was where I headed onto a track that led me back onto the road not far from the entrance. The tour of Laphroaig was interesting even though they are heavily geared towards tourists as they malt some of the barley themselves which is something that is now done in only a couple of distilleries. At the end I was able to sample three of the Laphroaig whiskies and although they are not bad, they are not as rich as the whiskies that I prefer. At the end of the tour I resumed my walk along the Three Distilleries Pathway on the tarmac lane all the way into Port Ellen. Of course, this walk was just an excuse to visit the whisky distilleries, especially Lagavulin, but while I visited all three I only actually did the tour around two of them. They are two very different distilleries, also two very different tasting whiskies, and although the only walk that I enjoyed on this day was that short ridge overlooking Laphroaig, it was the whiskies that brought me to Islay.

Port Charlotte

Monday 17th April 2017

After the rain that I had endured the day before this walk, it was a little frustrating to wake up to clear weather on a day that I was going to spend the greater part travelling to the Isle of Islay. The first bus from Inveraray, where I had spent the weekend, wasn’t until eleven a.m. so I wandered around the town while the weather gradually improved until by the time the bus left Inveraray the sun had finally come out revealing a gorgeous day’s weather. This was rather annoying when I was stuck on a bus and later on a ferry, but if you plan a holiday, in Britain, months in advance, you are gambling on the weather being good on the days you want. This time I was unlucky. When I arrived at the Kennacraig Ferry Terminal, the boat was waiting for me and I immediately had that thrill of going overseas even if it was only on a two hour ferry journey. It reminded me of going to the Outer Hebrides two years ago and made me want to return to that wind-swept chain of islands.

On arriving at Port Askaig on the Isle of Islay I caught the bus across the island to the far side of Loch Indaal arriving at the Port Charlotte Youth Hostel at four o’clock. With an hour to kill before the hostel opened I took advantage of the good weather and wandered north up the coast of Loch Indaal. It was great hopping around on the rocks beside the sea in the bright sunshine while across the bay the town of Bowmore could be seen in front of the low hills of east Islay, but the hills that were dominating the view were not on Islay. The Paps of Jura, on the neighbouring island, towered over everything on Islay and were constantly drawing my eye and tempting the foot to climb, beckoning to me. Slowly I made my way up the coast and around the lighthouse on Rubh’ an Dùin until eventually I decided that it would be foolhardy to attempt to walk all the way up the coast to Bruichladdich.

Climbing up to the road I returned to Port Charlotte where I visited the village store to get something for dinner before going back to the youth hostel where I could sign in. Since the weather was so good I came back out of the hostel to try to make the most of it and to attempt to follow a walk in a leaflet produced by Footprint. This describes eight walks on the Isles of Islay, Jura & Colonsay, and one of them is entitled ‘Port Charlotte, Islay’. Starting from the hostel I set off back along the road to the point where I had joined it after walking up the coast earlier, beside the house, Tigh na-Greine. Turning inland I headed up a lane that was delightfully lined with celandines and primroses until just after a house marked on the Footprint map as Lorgbaw I turned left off the lane.

The views behind me over Loch Indaal continued to be spectacular, but my mind was now drawn to the confusing map that didn’t seem to match what I was seeing on the ground. The directions mention the remains of Lorgbaw, but the house I had just passed did not look ruined and the hill that it wanted me to cross was a ploughed field. Following the field boundary, rather than walking across the field, I came to the point where there should have been a stile, ‘at a fence/wall junction’. As I made my way beside the fence looking for the right point to cross, I wished that I’d put my gaiters on as the ground was very boggy underfoot. Eventually I crossed at a gate into an undeveloped field that was even boggier than the previous field as I slowly made my way uphill towards the top of Octomore Hill.

I couldn’t say that I was enjoying this walk so far as the ground was horrendously boggy, there was no path anywhere and the stiles that were marked on the map were nowhere to be found. It is possible that there have been some changes in this area since this guidebook was printed, but I had no confidence in its quality. At the top of Octomore Hill the views over Port Charlotte and across Loch Indaal were just as good, if not better and certainly more extensive, than they had been from the shore. As I made my way slowly down the southern slopes the ground became even boggier so that by the time I reached the Abhuinn (sic) Gearach the bottom half of my trousers were soaked. It was a relief to finally reach the Kilchiaran road where an easy descent brought me back into Port Charlotte.

It was frustrating that the best weather of the whole week should be when I was unable to make the most of it, but once I did eventually reach Port Charlotte I did try to enjoy the weather as much as I could even though the walk that I did was horribly wet underfoot. The highlight of this day was the views that I had of the Paps of Jura, firstly from the ferry and then from Port Charlotte, much further away. The views were stunning and extensive as I could not only see across the whole of Islay and towards Jura, but southwards the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland could also be seen. Despite this good weather being very short-lived, it was great to experience it on this magical island that I had only just arrived on and where I would now spend the next three days. I could hardly wait.