Today, I've been through my kit for the trek, managing to reduce what was quite a large pile down to 8.5 kilograms, including my rucksack.... who needs a 23 kilogram luggage allowance?! My pack still feels very heavy to be carrying up and down mountains for 3 weeks though! Our guidebook suggests you can do... Continue Reading →
The Walkers’ Haute Route
Plans are complete for our next challenge, hiking the Walkers' Haute Route (WHR) in Switzerland. This trek runs from Chamonix (France) and Mont Blanc (4806 metres) to Zermatt (Switzerland) and The Matterhorn (4478 metres, past most of the other 4000 metre high peaks in the Alps. WHR is a step up from Tour du Mont... Continue Reading →
Glenmore: a hike and a swim
The last two days were pretty uneventful, hence no blogs. John returned to Loch Ness on Sunday and we spent the afternoon planning walks, stopovers and meals for the week ahead. Yesterday, we travelled to Aviemore, stopping at Tesco on the way. We had lunch and then browsed the many kit shops, treating ourselves to... Continue Reading →
Falls of Foyers and swimming with Nessie
Today's our last full day together before I'm left to my own devices... photography, painting, crochet and swimming are all on my list. I'm looking forward to pleasing myself, although I'm sure I'll also be looking forward to John getting back after 3 nights alone! We had a walk uphill through woodland to visit the... Continue Reading →
Lochinver to Loch Ness
We had a leisurely start to the day before leaving Lochinver to make our way to Ullapool to visit Tesco and have lunch. John was very patient and kept stopping so I could get out and take photos of the beautiful scenery along Loch Assynt. After breakfast by the loch, I spent ages at Ardvreck... Continue Reading →
Cul Mor and Lochinver
We've had another great hike today, climbing the twin peaks of Cul Mor (big back, 849 metres). Neither of us thought the route looked very exciting from the road but it was recommended in my guidebook, and very accessible from last night's stop over at Knockan Crag, so we decided to give it a go.... Continue Reading →
Stac Pollaidh and Knockan Crag
We left the campsite this morning, having emptied the loo and waste water tank and topped up the fresh water tank. On the way back to the main road and NC500 route, we stopped to climb Stac Pollaidh (steep hill by the pool). Although only 613 metres high, it's a picturesque little mountain with dramatic... Continue Reading →
Cleaning, painting and crochet
Following on from a colourful sunset yesterday, it's been a very cold, grey and damp day today, with lots of rain showers. Having looked at the weather forecast, we decided to stay put on the campsite and catch up with cleaning, tidying, phone calls and emails. As we'd spent a couple of hours hiking through... Continue Reading →
Ben More Coigach and Sgurr an Fhidhleir
The mountains nearby are stunning because, although not as high as the Scottish 'Munros', they rise dramatically from sea level, carved out of sandstone by glaciers. Today we climbed a wonderful ridge to Ben More Coigach (meaning big hill of Coigach) then headed up Sgurr an Fhidhleir (meaning peak of the fiddler). Having parked Molly... Continue Reading →
A leisurely day
Yesterday we found out that friends, Debbie and David, were going to be in Ullapool today. What are the chances of that?! We had a lazy morning as we waited for them to arrive, bumping into them when we left Tesco, having topped up our supplies. It was lovely to chat over a drink by... Continue Reading →