Sgurr Innse and Cruach Innse

Monday 29th and Tuesday 30th May 2017

“Take Care: you are entering remote, sparsely populated, potentially dangerous mountain country. Please ensure that you are adequately experienced and equipped to complete your journey without assistance”. I first came across these words in Glen Dessarry in 2008, and I saw them again in 2012, posted beside a bridge over the Allt Fѐith Chiarain near Loch Treig, while on my way out from Stob Coire Easain. Rather than deterring me these words excite me and actually encourage me to keep going along the path with the promise of adventure ahead. After leaving Corrour station I headed towards the mountains in cold, overcast weather passing recent hydroelectric works as I slowly descended to Loch Treig until eventually I reached the same sign that I had seen in 2012 that promises excitement. I had also taken this path from Loch Ossian in 2013 while on my way from Dalwhinnie to Fort William and on that occasion I had turned left when I reached Creaguaineach Lodge to follow the Abhainn Rath through to Glen Nevis. This time I walked past the lodge and into Lairig Leacach retracing my steps of 2012 through a strange narrow gap in the terrain.

I wondered what could have caused this: was it a gorge formed by the river until it was diverted uncounted years ago? Eventually I decided that it must be the result of a landslide where the rock has pulled away from the side of the hillside leaving this fantastic passage through the rocks that is an absolute delight. It turns several times with a clear path at the bottom until eventually opening out in a lovely meadow with the river coming alongside just before it plunges through its own narrow ravine. My map was not very helpful at this point in deciding which side of the river to follow, but as the river seemed easy to cross at this point I decided to take the other side, and almost as soon as I made that decision I saw that the path that I had been following headed straight into the river confirming my decision. However once across the river, the path was rather wayward and hard to follow which made for a tough walk as I tried to make my own way beside the river and up Lairig Leacach. Occasionally the walk was enlivened by the sight of a spotted-orchid, a delightful flower that always reminds me of the Highlands and always lifts my spirits whenever I see it.

Frustratingly there often seemed to be better paths on the other side of the river and then it started raining quite heavily, which left me with the unenjoyable prospect of forcing myself to keep going through the dreary weather until eventually and after much effort I found an improving path that took me all the way to the Leacach bothy. This wasn't the best day to be in the mountains, and after it rain all night the weather was no better the following morning. By mid-morning the rain had finally stopped and with blue sky beginning to appear above the bothy I decided that I would do a short walk up the two Corbetts that lie east of the Lairig Leacach. The one nearest to the bothy, Sgurr Innse, looks almost impenetrable from the bothy with sheer crags defending the top. Nevertheless I crossed the valley and climbed the heather-covered slopes until I reached the foot of the surrounding crags. I followed a faint path that heads to the right side of the peak onto a shelf below the crags until I found a stone rake that afforded me with an accessible route past the crags and up to the summit ridge. There are two tops to this mountain and the Corbett lies on the northern top, so after I made my way along the craggy ridge I reached the summit cairn for Sgurr Innse.

Just to the north across the saddle of Bealach na Cruaiche lies Cruach Innse, which despite the similarity in names looks very different with more of a domed shape and less crags. However first I needed to get off Sgurr Innse and although there is a faint path leading from the summit, heading towards the col, it soon reaches a T-junction above the crags with the left branch leading to a very steep scree gully. In the wet weather I decided that this would not be a wise direction to take so I turned right (which is the direction recommended on websites) where a difficult, steep descent eventually brought me down to the broad saddle where a long traverse took me to the start of the ascent up Cruach Innse. The hints of blue sky that I’d seen at the start of this walk were short-lived and by now it was starting to rain once more with little let-up in the downpour. The southern slopes of Cruach Innse are decorated with outcrops that provided me with enough rock to make the ascent feel mountainous, but without any of the difficulties of Sgurr Innse.
 

When the terrain eased, and during a brief respite from the rain, I took shelter from the cold wind and had my lunch. Behind me was the craggy peak of Sgurr Innse while ahead of me a short easy walk over the rock-scattered dome led me all the way up to the summit of my second Corbett of the day: Cruach Innse. Beyond the summit the terrain drops gradually over increasingly grassy ground with patchy views appearing through the clouds towards the Great Glen. This relatively mundane descent quickly brought me down to the bottom of the valley where a clear landrover track climbs up over the top of the pass and provided me with an easy walk back to the bothy. The weather had not improved during the walk and I was back at the bothy by mid-afternoon after a relatively short walk, but despite all this I had actually enjoyed it. It was great to be out in proper mountain scenery climbing proper, rock-covered mountains. I had often stopped to gaze out over the fabulous mountain scenery, as even though it was grey and overcast these were still mountains and I loved being out amongst them.

After the stroll back to the bothy I decided to have a wander south down the valley on the opposite side of the valley from the route that I’d taken the previous day to see if the paths were any better. Naturally, although different the paths were not consistently better than before and after a while I crossed the river and returned to the bothy retracing my earlier steps. The weather never really improved throughout the day, but it was still great being out in the mountains and with no pressing engagements and no urgency to do anything I could afford to just sit out the bad weather and enjoy the surroundings for what they were and not moan about what the weather could be. I spent a lot of time just standing in the doorway of the bothy gazing out into the rain and taking in the mountain scenery. I wasn’t depressed by the rain even though it had altered my plans, but instead I was revelling in my surroundings. I was in awesome, potentially dangerous mountain country, and despite the rain and low clouds I was enjoying being there.

Dollar, Mill and Alva Glens

Sunday 28th May 2017

Four years ago when I had last been in Stirling, I did a walk in the Ochil Hills and I could think of nowhere better to go than to return to the wonderful, narrow glens that come off the Ochil Hills and had so delighted me. Catching a bus from Stirling I got off at Tillicoultry, the same place I’d started four years ago, but this time I headed south, away from the Ochil Hills until I joined the Devon Way along the course of the old Devon Valley Railway line. This was an easy and relaxing start to the walk as I slowly made my way along the partially shaded path with fleeting glimpses of sunshine that shone on the many colourful wild flowers that grew beside the path and by the River Devon. Rather than following the line all the way into Dollar I came off at a crossroad of paths where a sign directed the route of the Hillfoots Diamond Jubilee Way that was too intriguing to ignore. This took me north, over the road, and onto a tree-shaded track that was a lot more pleasing to walk along than the tarmacked old railway line. All too soon, however, this track enters the village of Dollar and becomes a road, which I followed with rhododendrons of all colours of both sides until I reached the Dollar Burn.

This was my first narrow glen of the day and one that I had not visited before, and it was a gorgeous place with a brilliantly made path that cunningly winds up the gorge not far from the rushing stream. It reminded me of the Ingleton Waterfalls Trail in the Yorkshire Dales where you need to pay to do the walk, but this one is completely free. This valley does not have waterfalls as at Ingleton and it’s not as long, but it was the ingenuity and well-crafted engineering of the path that brought about the reminder. The gorge was filled with many wild flowers especially wild garlic that was still in flower in these damp, dark valleys. I was enamoured by the amazing sight of this narrow glen that has been made accessible by the well-engineered path that slowly climbs through the gorge even diverting at one point to get a closer look at an awesome ravine with sheer moss-covered rock walls. Eventually I came out into the sunlight beside Castle Campbell where I took a short, sharp descent back down into the valley and steeply up the other side past bluebells to emerge out of the woodland and onto the open hillside of Bank Hill. A long, cold, windy and tiring climb now followed with the sun hiding behind dark clouds as I made my way up faint paths all the way up to the top of the prominent Ochil Hill of King’s Seat.

After passing the top I slowly turned towards the south and made my way gradually downhill until I eventually started dropping steeply into Mill Glen. Four years ago there had been a rock fall in this valley that had closed the path and prevented me from walking up it, but now the path has been repaired enabling me to pass through another narrow glen that was an absolute joy. This valley may not be as wooded as Dollar, and may not be as spectacular, but it was still a fabulous sight as I followed the heavily engineered path through the glen crossing the stream many times until I eventually came out on the edge of Tillicoultry. Since it was still far too early to end the walk at this point I turned right to once again follow the Hillfoots Way along a track decorated with rhododendrons until I reached the Ochil Hills Woodland Park where the pungent and gorgeous smell of wild garlic filled the air. By the time I came out of the woods the sun had come out revealing a lovely afternoon so that it was in hot sunshine that I climbed the wide track that zigzags just to the west of Silver Glen on the Gowls and turning left at a junction I headed into Alva Glen.

Four years ago I came down off the Ochil Hills after visiting the top of Ben Cleuch, the highest point, into Alva Glen, and this time I thought I’d try to drop down earlier than previously. Immediately after passing through a gate I headed steeply down the grassy slopes and safely managed to get down to and across the stream, though with hindsight I think this would have been easier if I had followed the fence all the way down. A short climb up the opposite bank brought me to a good path that heads south soon reaching a branch path that descends steeply down to the bottom of the valley that has already started to fall away dramatically. At the bottom is a spectacular cavern with a narrow opening at the far end where the stream passes through. This amphitheatre was an awe-inspiring place and the rock pool in the middle was a tempting place to bathe, however I resisted the temptation and climbed steeply back up to the main path that was already a long way above the valley bottom. The path improves where the return path heads off across the side of the hill while I headed down into the valley.

At the top of a long series of zigzags I had a great sight of the wooded valley stretching out before me leading out onto the Forth estuary plain. Fabulous wild flowers lined the path as it slowly descended into the valley eventually plunging into the trees at the bottom where moisture loving ferns now filled the view. I loved this glen when I was there four years ago and I was desperate to return; although it seemed to pale in comparison in some ways to the earlier glens on this walk, it was still an amazing place to walk even if the path at the bottom of the valley is nothing special. I had planned on returning through the Ochil Hills Woodland Park to Tillicoultry, but soon came to my senses as it was clearly a waste of time and effort when I could just drop down into the village of Alva and catch the bus from there. Although I did have some good sunshine for much of this walk, while on the tops it was rather cold and windy, which was similar to my experience four years ago and just as four years ago, it was the narrow glens that run off the Ochil Hills that were the highlight and primary goal of this walk through three fabulous valleys. The climb up to King’s Seat wore me out and left me tired all day, but those amazing glens made all the effort worthwhile.

The Darn Road and Abbey Craig

Saturday 27th May 2017

Returning to Scotland, I arrived in the city of Stirling early afternoon having travelled up during the morning so with several hours to spare I took the opportunity to take a walk around wonderful Stirling. To start, I caught a train away from Stirling just a few miles up the line to Dunblane where I found a signposted path called the Darn Road, an ancient trackway that has been in use since Roman times and came highly recommended. In the days leading up to this holiday the weather had been very warm, but by the time I reached Stirling it was trying to rain and soon after I set off along the Darn Road the heavens really opened prompting me to don all of my waterproofs. The Darn Road doesn’t start well as after a very brief passage through trees it passes along the edge of a golf course, which are not the most relaxing places to walk as you have to careful about stray balls. Eventually the path leaves the side of the golf course and begins to descend into the woodland that lines Allan Water.

The scenery now improved dramatically as covering the woodland floor were bluebells, which are always a welcome sight even though these were well past their peak and going to seed. I had a little wander around this delightful wood, but didn’t stray too far from the Darn Road, which had started descending steeply into Kippenrait Glen. Following the road down I crossed the Wharry Burn and continued along the Darn Road as it follows the side of Allan Water. The path was lined with many different flowers of varieties that I am not familiar and some that I could identify like bird’s-foot-trefoil and stitchworts. The great abundance of flowers was something special and particularly as many of them are flowers that I don’t see abundantly in Leicestershire, which makes coming to Scotland that little bit more special. There are many paths that descend the steep bank to the river and despite the rain I took advantage of these several times to take a look up and down the tree-lined Water of Allan and enjoy the pleasant surroundings.

I enjoyed the wild look to the river and the Darn Road that follows it south, especially at the point where the path drops steeply into a narrow gorge to cross Cock’s Burn. There was a strong spell in this damp ravine of garlic from the ramsons, however these were also going to seed just as the bluebells had. Unfortunately the hot weather before this holiday had sent many of these spring flowers to seed, but the gorgeous, pungent smell of garlic still lingered. Eventually, and all too soon, this fabulous walk through lovely woodland came an end as I emerged into the town of Bridge of Allan, and at about the same time the rain also finally stopped, but that had failed to dampen my enthusiasm for this great path. I was tempted to turn around and head back along the Darn Road to Dunblane, but instead I continued along the main road through the town and towards Stirling.

A prolonged walk along this road was lightened by the many colours of the rhododendron bushes that seemed to be everywhere. Often when I come to Scotland at the end of May rhododendron is only just coming into flower, but the recent warm weather had ensured that I now had a fabulous display, while ahead of me the National Wallace Monument stood patriotically at the top of Abbey Craig. When I was in Stirling four years ago I headed straight towards Abbey Craig as soon as I got there and now I couldn’t resist coming off the main road to once again explore the woodland that covers this prominent rock. Rather than heading straight up to the monument I came off the direct path and took a route through the northern slopes of the woodland following blue markers. Unfortunately the woodland seemed to be past its best, with the warm weather once again to blame, as there was now a dense covering of leaves that blocked out all light under the trees and put a stop to the woodland flowers that are always so appealing in spring. Just as I had seen on the Darn Road earlier, the bluebells and ramsons had all gone to seed as their brief opportunity in the sun had ended.

Four years ago winter had kept a hold on Scotland well into the spring so that by the time I was in Stirling, at the end of May, the bluebells were at their peak producing a fabulous display in these woods. Instead, this year I had a rather dark and dreary walk through the woodland all the way to the eastern end before climbing once more along the top of the ridge towards the monument with steep drops down the cliffs to my left. Through the trees there were murky views towards Stirling with the castle standing on its rocky plinth, but the views in that direction were not great, however better views could be gained along the ridge at the overgrown crags that make up the rocky spine of Abbey Craig. Foxglove and broom intermingled with the short, exposed trees and provided some colour where under the trees it was all dark green. The walk continued up the ridge until eventually I reached the National Wallace Monument where a short, sharp descent brought me back onto the main road where I continued my walk back into Stirling, stopping off at Stirling Bridge where Wallace had his famous victory over the English in 1297.

Four years ago when I was in Stirling I had got into the habit of walking around the city walls and explored the steep wooded slopes below Stirling Castle. This had been the highlight of my time in Stirling and the main reason why I was happy to return to Stirling this year. Once more I went out after dinner to take in the awesome crags that hold up the castle rock and to walk along the great paths around this old part of Stirling. The weather on my short walk along the Darn Road may have been poor, but it held during the rest of my weekend in Stirling ensuring that I was able to enjoy another great time in the awesome and historic city of Stirling.