Saturday 13 April 2019

Glencoe Field Advisor

I feel very honoured to have been asked to be a Field Advisor for HF Holidays, especially as it's at their house near Glencoe. There are two of us doing this at Glencoe. If you've read this blog from the beginning you will know how special the place is to me, having led walks from there in the late 70s and early 80s.

Last week I was leading walks on the Glencoe Guided Walking Holiday. So it made sense to go early to set up the leader office and to check out potentially dangerous snow patches, update some walks or help to create new ones. Leaders are provided with a section of map showing where a walk goes, a written description of the route and notes about interesting aspects of the walk. So these are the documents that have to be updated or written. This is much easier now we have digital mapping software.

On the first day I discovered that the Forestry Commission had decided to harvest some of their trees right over the place where three of our walks go. I went to have a look and there was definitely no way through. I did find a way to save one of the walks by coming down the ridge rather than the valley but the other two will be out of action for a year. They say that they will re-instate the path after the work is finished. Let's hope so!

Forestry Works Notice
On another day I went up into the hills above Kinlochleven to look at a path we might use for a future walk. It was one of those days when you experience all four seasons. One minute it was snowing and the next it was a lovely sunny day. Allegedly they have a saying in Scotland: "If you don't like the weather, or even if you do, just wait 10 minutes."

I took these photographs:

Kinlochleven and Loch Leven in the morning

Sgurr Eilde Mor and its reflection in the lochan below

Binnein Beag and the Grey Corries from Sgurr Eilde Beag

The Mamores from Binnein Mor South Top

Loch Leven in the afternoon