Authentic Marketing

https://visitcoll.co.uk/

The visit to Coll prompted a search of websites to obtain information and what stood out was the glorious honesty of the visitcoll website which is designed and maintained by the local community.'Coll has, for example, no visitor points; no tourist information; no interpretation panels to ruin the landscape; no theme parks; next to no signposts; no mobile phone coverage (except a few spots, and then only sometimes); no public transport of any sort; no McDonald's, TESCO or Apple Store etc. (and long may it remain that way); no policeman; no traffic lights; no street lights; no parking meters; the worst road surfaces you are likely to find in the UK; the most expensive diesel and petrol in the UK; and often - nowhere to go whilst it rains.' Yep, Coll was all these things and as such a wonderful escape from the avalanche of guidance and urgings of corporate Britain.

Compare this to the vacuous blurb found on the visitscotland website, the Scottish Government-funded website that is supposed to promote tourism. It does not appear on the first 20 pages of a Google search for Coll and then is found yoked together with Tiree, it's a very different neighbouring isle.
'The fish-shaped rocky island of Coll lies less than 7 miles off the coast of Mull. The CalMac ferry drops off at Coll's only real village, Arinagour, whose whitewashed cottages line the western shore of Loch Eatharna, a popular safe anchorage for boats. The village also hosts most of the island's services and facilities. Coll offers a range of accommodation options, but bed spaces are inevitably limited, so advance booking is always recommended.

If you were looking for evidence of small communities providing a reliable witness and the 'top-down' voice of a centralised quango's empty rhetoric you couldn't find a better comparison. The brutal truth of the visitcoll site has an authentic voice; VisitScotland is full of marketing clichés that generate instant boredom but no trust.

Olympic Sponsors

The Olympic torch has also provided some fine examples of the absurdity of modern marketing. Not only are a large proportion of the torch bearers nominated by the sponsoring companies but local businesses are being excluded from getting any coverage on the torch route. It has become a rolling billboard for the sponsors and an exclusion zone for any advertising that conflicts with sponsors - Coca-Cola, Samsung and the Bank of Scotland among them.

In a Borders town last week, the dais for the torch bearers' handover with the Provost and a group of young people was abandoned because local shop signs were visible behind it. Without the platform, the assembled crowd were unable to watch an Olympic hero, Allan Wells, the Moscow 100m gold medallist, hand over the torch. The feedback from several sources suggests that the marketing juggernauts of Coca Cola etc. aided by overzealous Metropolitan Police Officers were riding roughshod over carefully planned local activities. Across the country, local heroes who have served the community or overcome adversity were sacrificed as torch-bearers to create opportunities for wealthy wannabes who paid to carry the torch. What a sad nation we are becoming.

Alan Wells in Selkirk

Hampden Park, which is to host some group football games, is unable to sell tickets - this is not an anti-London Olympics stance, it is so that the crowd will only be able to drink Coca-Cola instead of Irn Bru, Scotland's indigenous fizzy drink. An argument is still raging about what drink and food can be consumed and the size of the exclusion zone around Hampden.

But not at Hampden for the Olympics

This sort of top-down corporate marketing is anathema to an increasingly savvy public and will hopefully resurrect the sale of more local food and drink around the country. It does raise the question of whether companies realise the adverse effects of their totalitarian marketing. 'Boycott Global, Buy Local' would be a good response to the big brand exclusion zones that Lord Coe and co. are trying to impose on us.

Coll calling

View of the small isles

Coll is that special place, a Hebridean island that escapes the maddening crowds and has a sunshine record that makes Devon and Cornwall seem dull. We spent five days there this week sailing from Oban down the Sound of Mull and across to the low-lying slab of Lewisian Gneiss that is Coll. It was once part of the Canadian shield before continental drift separated these geological cousins. In the nineteenth century, many folks from Coll repeated the drift and emigrated to Canada.

Lobsterville

Heart and soul of Coll

Just take a bike

Above Arinagour

Arinagour in the late evening

Arinagour from Coll Hotel

Midsummer evening

Sunset over Mull from Arinagour, Ben More prominent

Toraston Beach with Rum on the horizon

Cornaig beach

Greylag goslings at Ballyhough

Diamond Jubilee beacon

Gneiss rocks, even older than old red sandstone

Gneiss Wall

Coll has always been Aileen's favourite island but it has been nine years since our last visit. The population has almost doubled to 220 persons over the past thirty years and a primary school roll of 38 pupils makes it a child-rich island. There have been quite a few private houses built in this period although the planning decisions seem a bit arbitrary. The cottages on the main street are mainly holiday homes and as such deny the village of Arinagour the buzz of a thriving community.

The island has become more diverse with the Collach diaspora returning to raise families and giving Coll the energy and aspiration of younger people in contrast to the sense of people living out their years that was evident 20 years ago. Land ownership is now spread amongst a far wider range of interests than that of the Laird, and the Dutchman is no longer the dominant influence.

The Coll Hotel is one of the best, with local produce dominating the menu and it acts as the heart of the community along with the Post Office, the Cafe and the shop. Accommodation is sparse with one good B&B at Tigh na Mara and a superb new bunkhouse that opened this week and provides 16 beds.  It is part of a complex that includes a new Community Centre costing over £2.2m. The inspiring new Community Centre is to open in July but it will be a challenge to sustain such a large building in competition with the warm and lively informal meeting places of the Hotel and Cafe.

Jobs are still scarce and arguments are raging about an application for a salmon farm from the Norwegian global company, Marine Harvest, which will bring about 10 permanent jobs. There is also a fierce debate about a community wind turbine which is to be resolved by a ballot - never the best way to resolve this sort of issue. It requires flexible minds and reconciliation not retribution in a close-knit community.  There is a lack of new affordable housing for locals and the local housing association seems to be a bit tardy in addressing this issue.

The greatest attraction for the visitor is the outstanding landscape including some of the most beautiful beaches in Britain and bird life that ornithologists dream about. The bedrock of Lewisian Gneiss with its glorious colours and bandings is covered by sand dunes and elsewhere by bogs that are covered with yellow flags at this time of the year.

The island suffers from super slow broadband but as several islanders told us, the lack of water makes Scottish Water even less popular than BT. Mobile phone reception is intermittent but the airport is user-friendly for the short hop to Oban. Surprisingly, CalMac ferries were thought to be reliable and customer friendly and that was certainly our experience. The ferries from Oban not only pass through mesmeric scenery with unforgettable views of the Small Isles (Rum, Eigg and Canna), but they are well-appointed and comfortable. What better way to spend 3 hours escaping the dreary tedium of urban life. Coll just urges you to slow down and be happy.

The roads are single track and the cambers are capped with clover and other rock plants. The ditches are filled with the rasping of Corncrake. The white-shell sand beaches and rocky shores are littered with seals and host more otters than people. Coll is proud of its lack of signage, everyone knows everyone and everywhere. Despite a Gaelic tradition,  there is an absence of spoken Gaelic and certainly no road signs in Gaelic like those that now festoon and confuse road users on the mainland. The Free Church which dominated and restricted island life forty years ago was challenged by a group of formidable young mothers and is now up for sale. Sunday is free instead.

Coll was once famous for its cheese, a great favourite in the Houses of Parliament, but it is no longer in commercial production although there are still some dairy herds. Cheese making is bedevilled by onerous food standards regulations and sadly there has not been the blossoming of micro creameries on a parallel with the microbreweries which have regenerated the art of beer making and drinking. Peat is still cut and the remains of a bonfire were still burning the peat on the hill above Arinagour three weeks after the Diamond Jubilee beacon was fired up.

Unlike some other islands, most notably Eigg and Gigha, there is not a Community Trust to provide a proactive drive to the island.  The Coll Development Company has focused almost totally on building a new Community Hall and this has diverted attention from developing a more sustainable economy for the Collachs. The biggest employer is the Project Trust which provides gap year opportunities for young people to visit and train for work in developing countries. There are mixed feelings about its operation on the island. Most products are very expensive, as the fuel pumps testify, and there is an understandable high markup price of goods in the shop. There seems to be an undercurrent of understanding by the community that it must become more ambitious to support local produce and services if job opportunities are to be provided for its young people. Depending on tourism through Visit Scotland is tantamount to franchising its future to a distant organisation that appears to have no real feel for the island. Coll seems to understand that community/local websites are so much more effective than relying on those of top-down quangos like Visit Scotland.

Cycling around the island is the best way to travel and allows you to explore the beaches, inhale the mellifluous scented air and work up an appetite for the excellent food that the hotel and cafe provide. Coll is one of the few places people can drive without passing a driving test or a MoT. The fuel price is the highest in Britain but the cars come cheap and it is the Scottish equivalent of Havana with old models lacking MoTs brought back from the car auctions. We attended the last Ceilidh in the old community hall and were made welcome by the locals. Aileen met Marie Hedderwick and had a long chat, they had both spent time on Coll as girls in the 1960s. As we walked back in the early hours, the night sky was so dark with the absence of any street lights that Coll's application to become a dark sky discovery place should be a shoo-in. We were due to go to Tiree during our stay but with Coll in our veins, it seemed pointless.

Sister's Diamond Jubilee

There she blows

A diamond jubilee ago

A Returning Officer's nightmare

I hereby declare ...

Hall together

My sister has just had her Diamond Jubilee. For a three pound premature baby she has punched well beyond her weight since arriving home six weeks after she was born. I started school shortly afterwards and she rapidly became the centre of attention in the household with her ash blonde hair and fearless attitude. By 14 she was a mod (as opposed to rocker), by 16 she had left school and was working and by 18 a mother. It all seemed like yesterday although some of her old friends, whom I have not seen for over thirty years, were at her party and now pensioners dressed as forty somethings. They all insisted that she could not be 60 which was a pretty good way of helping her through the trauma. I had to recount the truth which was helped by her oldest son being the wrong side of forty.

It was Sunday and the rain miraculously stopped for the afternoon and the June sun encouraged our thirst so that we completely filled the wheelie bin with bottles. It's a baby boomers thing in Lancashire, always empty your plate and drink until the house is dry.  The shenanigans continued until midnight, the neighbours had wisely gone away for the weekend. Happy sixty Susan, you'll be a granny next!

Top Forty Munros

In 1993, when people heard I was climbing the Munros, I was frequently asked "what are the best Munros?"  I decided to carry out a survey amongst a 1% sample of Munroists to find an answer. I was invited by Cameron McNeish, the then editor of The Great Outdoors (TGO), to write an article for the magazine giving the results of the survey. The article became the lead story in the May 1994 edition.  I have included the article in its entirety below after being asked the same question by some walkers during a recent outing. The TGO listed only the top twenty from the survey, although the survey had identified the top forty. This longer list is included in the abstract below simply to be more complete.

and the winner is....

"One of the frequent questions you get asked when people hear that you are climbing the munros is: 'which is the best?' You pause and decide whether to go into the politically correct discourse about why they are all good or to indulge the patience of your innocent questioner whilst you eulogise about Bidein a' Choire Sheasgaich or whatever else has taken your fancy recently. It is a rich seam, the munros are indelibly etched in our minds and it is difficult not to let rip when you get the chance.

Ever since reading an article in the Climbing Magazine by Hamish Brown in September 1989 which listed the top twenty munros selected by a group of Scottish climbers marooned in a Moroccan bothy, I had tried to keep a list of my own personal favourites. As I reached 100 and then 200 Munros it became increasingly difficult to decide between so many good but different hills. I came across a programme that allows priorities to be made between 40 or so different activities or objects. This could be the answer but rather than trust my own experiences I thought it would be more useful to get the views of a sample of munroists. I asked a dozen friends and acquaintances, who had recently completed the munros, to nominate their favourite 20 and from these to rank the top three.

From these returns four mountains stood out from the rest: An Teallach, Liathach, Sgurr nan Gillean and Ladhar Bheinn. There was already a distinct pattern emerging but this was just the first phase of the exercise. The respondents were a diverse group from all parts of Scotland ranging in age from 29 to 60 and including an international hill runner, a climbing instructor, twin sisters, mountain rescue team members, a policeman, teachers and a doctor. It took us on average 10 years to complete the munros but this varied fom 4 to 41 years and it required from 80 to 220 days. Although the group had little chance to compare notes, they came back with a remarkably consistent set of nominations. Only 77 of the 277 munros received nominations although my statistician friend tells me that had we chosen randomly we would have identified 145 hills, and at least 2 Geal Charns. Only 45 hills received more than one nomination and these were the ones that went into the next phase.

I am not saying it would be my preferred list, it doesn't include Cona Mheal which overlooks the magnificent Coire Ghranda, and a couple of people even came up with Gulvain - to be fair it was their final munro - but by and large it is an impressive list. Only Schiehallion of Hamish Brown's 1989 list did not get a nomination, and if you've been up there recently you will realise why not. What was clear was our overwhelming preference for the north west. There were 27 nominations in the Torridons, 24 on Skye, 18 in Knoydart, 15 in Fisherfield and 11 in Kintail. Only the Cairngorms with 16 and Glencoe with 11 nominations from outwith the north west came anywhere near.

From these nominations I compiled a list of the most frequently mentioned Munros and put them into a questionnaire. This randomly paired each Munro with three others and asked the participants to choose their priorities between the various permutations of the pairings. It was like doing the pools except that you got the resuts that you wanted. The programme was used to analyse the completed questionnaires to establish each persons' individual preferences and that of the combined group of munroists. Thirteen people were involved, just over 1% of the current number (1993) of Munroists. Again a familiar pattern emerged.

Liathach - first

There was no dubiety about the best munro, Liathach was a clear winner. It was followed by Sgurr nan Gillean and An Teallach. The rest appear in the table below.

1. Liathach                                  Torridon
2. Sgurr nan Gillean                     Skye
3. An Teallach                              Fisherfield
4. Inaccessible Pinnacle             Skye
5. Beinn Alligin                          Torridon
6. Beinn Eighe                            Torridon
7. The Saddle                             Glen Shiel
8. Ladhar Bheinn                      Knoydart
9. Buchaille Etive Mor             Glencoe
10. Sgurr na Ciche                     Knoydart
11. Five Sisters                           Glen Shiel
12. Sgurr Mhic Choinnich           Skye
13. Bla Bheinn                               Skye
14. Bidean nam Bian                   Glencoe
15. Am Basteir                              Skye
16. Aonach Eagach                      Glencoe
17. A' Mhaighdean                       Fisherfield
18. Slioch                                      Torridon
19. Ben Nevis                               Lochaber
20. Bidean a' Choire Sheasgaich  Glen Carron 
21. Braeriach                                Cairngorms
22. Ben Alder                                Central Highlands
23. Ben Cruachan                         Southern Highlands
24. Maol Chean-dearg                   Torridon
25. Ben Lui                                 Southern Highlands
26. Lochnagar                               Deeside
27. Carn Mor Dearg                     Lochaber
28. Ben Starav                               Glen Etive  
29. Sgur Mor                                Knoydart
30. Ben Avon                               Cairngorms
31. Ben More, Mull                      Mull
32. Sgurr na Lapaich                   Mullardoch
33. Sgurr nan Ceathreamhnan     Glen Affric
34. Ben Hope                               Northern Highlands
35. Beinn Sgritheall                      Loch Hourn
36. Sgurr a' Mhaim                         Lochaber
37. Seanna Bhraigh                           Ullapool
38. Creag Meaghaidh                    Laggan
39. Meall nan Tarmachan               Lawers               
40. Ben Mheadhoin                       Cairngorms

It is a table of consistent quality. They are the genuine articles even though some may be less well known and are less accessible to the wider hill walking fraternity. But look at the pattern. Torridon, Skye and Knoydart dominate and there is an absence of hills from the south and east. Only Buchaille Etive Mor breaks the stranglehold of the north west in the top ten. The dominance of the Torridons is complete with Beinn Eighe and Beinn Alligin also in the top 6 and Slioch and Maol Chean- dearg in the top 25.

Then there is Skye. Sgurr nan Gillean is a mountain that everyone rated and 9 of the 13 respondents had it in their top ten. The Inn Pinn was enigmatic as always. No one had it as their top munro but everyone rated it, it is after all the major psychological barrier in any Munro round. Blaven, Sgurr Mhic Choinnich and Am Baister completed the line up of Skye Munros in the top 15. I had expected An Teallach to come first but it was less consistent than Liathach and Sgurr nan Gillean and drifted to third. Perhaps it lacks the massive good looks of Liathach."

Am Baister and Sgurr nan Gillean - second

An Teallach - third

The Inaccessible Pinnacle - fourth

Below Sgurr Mhic Choinnich looking north to Inn Pinn

Ladhar Bheinn - eighth

Five Sisters - eleventh

More surprising was the lower positions of Ben Nevis and Slioch. The Ben suffers from overcrowding although some did make the point that it rated very highly if approached by the Carn Dearg arrete, whereas Slioch looks better than it walks.

The real Munros came in the next group. Who but a range of Munroists would come up with Bidein a' Coire Sheasgaich, a beautiful remote pinnacle south of Achnashellach. And A' Mhaigdean and Maol Chean-dearg are fond memories in the far forgiven north. The Cairngorms were represented by Braeriach and Ben Avon. There were also a number of popular massive hills such as Ben Alder, Ben Lui, Ben Cruachan and Lochnagar in the twenties. Then a few loners crept in: Ben More on Mull, Ben Hope and Beinn Sgritheall which all provide scintillating sea views as well as relatively quick ascents. I was pleased that some remote and lesser known hills such as Sgurr na Lapaich in Mullardoch and Seana Braigh made the list.

The big ridges are not well represented although they give superb days in the mountains. There were no Munros from the Fannaichs, South Glen Shiel, or the Grey Corries. Even the Mamores could only manage Sgurr a' Mhaim at the end of the Devil's ridge. But then this is just another list and as I was reminded on being congratulated for being 'compleat', what would people say in another year's time. I reckon they would say Liathach but then I am biased as I had saved it for my last Munro."

Sgurr na Lapaich 

The article got a lot of comment at the time and a fee that bought me my first goretex jacket. When I met Cameron McNeish a few years later on a bright December day near Loch Ossian he was a bit dismissive of Munro bashing and felt that my survey had not ranked the Cairngorms nor Ben Nevis high enough. This was before he published his book on the subject. I agree with his understandable championing of Corbetts and other lesser hills. Foinaven, Suilven, Fuar Tholl, Beinn Dearg Mhor, Ben Aden, Garbh Bheinn and Quinag would probably all make it into a top forty mountains of Scotland. But there are far fewer people who have completed the Corbetts and lesser hills because, unlike Cameron McNeish, most of us are bound by work and families. On the limited days free for going into the hills you have to prioritise and the Munros are a realistic if challenging objective. Having them as a goal guarantees a lot of exciting adventures and hill walking becomes a lot more fun than just something you stick on a CV.

Another recent listing of the best Munros can be found on the excellent Walk Highlands website which summarises the ratings from its members. When I looked at the site today the top five were exactly the same as the 1994 survey.  There is also a lot of consistency across the top forty although some of the more remote Munros are lower down the order. Ben Nevis is languishing at 84 and only Braeriach makes it from the Cairngorms. I was also delighted to see that the Cairnwell is the worst rated Munro, or at least it became so after I gave it the minimum score and it moved from 281 to 283 in the list.

The Saddle and Sgurr na Sgine

The Saddle is the iconic mountain south of Glen Shiel. The route to it is over the Forcan ridge, a worthy outing in itself, with a path that teeters over rock walls on both sides and sharpens the senses. The summit of Saddle is less impressive, a cylindrical concrete trig point (the OS equivalent of a pre fab) and a flattish grassy hump but the compensations on a day like today are the balcony views of Knoydart with Ladhar Bheinn majestic set against the azure blue sky in the early morning.

Sgurr na Sgine my view on waking

And here's proof

Tha Saddle and Forcan Ridge from Sgurr na Sgine

And again but from the Faochag ridge

Five Sisters from Bealach Coire Mhalagain

Ladhar Bheinn from Bealach Coire Mhalagain

The Saddle Trig Point

Ladhar Bheinn from The Saddle

Saturday, 2 June 2012
Distance:   11km
Ascent:      700m
Time:         3hrs  56mins


m   Sgurr na Sgine         946m              37mins
t     NW top                    942m      
m   The Saddle             1010m      1hr  43mins
t     Sgurr na Forcan       963m      2hrs 28mins


I woke at 5:00am after a deep sleep and peeked outside the tent to see the sun lighting up Sgurr na Sgine, it was an inspirational start to the day but I dozed for a while before making a brew of tea and having some breakfast. It was cold and gloves and an insulated jacket were definitely required but the skies promised a perfect day. I was surprised that the ground was stone dry as I packed and I was walking before 7am. I crossed Bealach an Toiteil and rather than climbing the screes I contoured round to the left (south) until I came to a wall which I followed through an area of boulders until there was a grassy ramp leading to the summit. It was a quick ascent and it felt invigorating to be on a summit so early. I skipped over to the adjoining top as the views of the whole Saddle ridge came into view.

There is a sharp descent to a ridge that curves eastwards towards Faochag and a small cairn marks the descent route down through a rock field to the Bealach Coire Mhalagain.  The views to both sides were impressive: Knoydart to the south and the Five Sisters to the north.  I drank more water and took off my warm layers for the 320m climb to the Saddle.  There is a well defined path which crosses several small burns and takes you across a boulder field before the final steep climb to the summit. I decided against stopping by the inelegant trig point and climbed along the ridge to a small cairn which is about the same height but which gives better views of the Forcan ridge and down to Glen Shiel.  It was time for a second breakfast: a cheese roll and a mars bar.

The  descent over the Forcan ridge was taken at a leisurely pace, it is tricky in places with a lot of exposure. I followed the ridge line until the final ascent of Sgurr na Forcan which I made by the left (north) side, a steep rocky gully which is easier to ascend than descend. I was still all alone on the hill, further along the ridge I decided to descend to the south of the ridge down a grass and scree slope that I had used during my first ascent of the Saddle. There is an easy traverse round the base of the rock face and then onto the path by the wall that descends from Bealach Coire Mhalagain.

The walk out is easy walking over a well graded path. I was below 400 metres before I met the first of the morning walkers coming up the path and they all seemed a bit huffy that I was descending at this early hour.  I made the road before 11am and managed to hitch a lift from a Swiss couple up to the Cluanie Inn and there was time for a pint before the midday bus arrived. I was in Fort William by 1:30pm where I spent half an hour searching out the new finish to the West Highland Way and then soaking up the lunchtime sun along with hundreds of other locals and visitors.

South Shiel Ridge

The South Shiel ridge is a munroists dream, seven munros spread over a thirteen kilometre ridge with average drops of no more than 150 metres. It is a promenade through OS landranger map 33, my favourite map, with Knoydart to the south and the five Sisters and the Brothers of Kintail to the north. I once described the map to the OS Director-General as more than cartography, it was British Impressionism at its best and should be recognised as such. She was obviously pleased and a few days later I received a new copy of sheet 33 along with the 1:25,000 sheets of the same area.

Loch Cluanie from the ascent of Craig a'Mhaim

North Glen Shiel: the Five Sisters and Four Brothers of Kintail

Druim Shionnach and Craig a' Mhaim

Aonach air Chrith

Spidean Mialach and Gleouraich

Maol Chinn- dearg

Looking back from Sgurr a' Doire Leathain

From Sgurr an Doire Leathain

Sgurr an Lochain summit

Bealach Dubh Leac, Gleouraich in centre

Looking back from Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais

Friday, 1 June 2012
Distance: 22km
Ascent:    1975m
Time:       7hrs 48mins

m   Creag a' Mhaim                     947m      2:14
m   Druim Shionnaich                 987m      2:42
m   Aonach air Chrith                1021m      3:26
m   Maol Chinn-dearg                 981m      4:01
m   Sgurr an Doir Leathain         1010m     4:45
m   Sgurr an Lochan                   1004m    5:30
m   Creag nan Damh                    918m     6:25
c    Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais           885m     7:23   

I had cast a few envious glances at the South Glen Shiel ridge as I returned from the north last Sunday. It was six years since I last had been along it and I had always wanted to extend the ridge walk to include the Saddle with perhaps an overnight camp en route.  The forecast on Thursday evening was encouraging so I packed the rucksack and left just after 7am to catch the City Link 916 bus from Crianlarich to Skye. Unfortunately, as happens far too often on the A81, there was an accident and I was held up for 15 minutes north of Callander and then in a slow train of heavy vehicles. I missed the bus and decided to drive on and catch it at Fort William. The Service 916 must be Britain's finest bus journey: Glasgow, Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glencoe, Fort William, the Great Glen, Invergarry, Glen Shiel and over the sea (well bridge) to Uig in Skye for the boat to Harris.

It is usual to walk the ridge from east to west starting from the Cluanie Inn, which I did today. I had more stuff than I could easily fit in the 40-litre rucksack, my 15 minutes in Fort William had given me time to buy some bananas, apples, oat biscuits and I had taken my kindle to read on the bus. I spent 10 minutes repacking before taking the private road to Cluanie Lodge. After the bridge, there is a bend to the east and I walked along for a kilometre until I found the old stalker's path which climbed steeply up the shoulder of an outlying hill. It was midday and the weight of a full rucksack slowed me but I kept walking until reaching the Loch Maol a' Disnick. Time to fill up with water and then to climb the final 400 metres to the ridge below Creag a' Mhaim.  I dumped the rucksack on the ridge and climbed the last half kilometre to the summit. It is an undistinguished top and very much the runt of this chain of munros.

It is a quick and easy walk over to Druim Shionnach, the walker in front of me had completed his day and began his descent. The views to Gleouraich to the south were stunning and stayed with me for much of the day. I observed the meandering route ahead with several dips before the highest point of the ridge at Aonach air Chrith.  It is easy walking along mainly grassy slopes but the walk had begun to acquire a flowing rhythm reflecting the near perfect walking conditions.

The roughest section is along the rocky ridge to Maol Chinn-dearg, not particularly taxing but you need to concentrate. I caught up with another walker who seemed to be tiring and as we reached the summit he meandered off to find a route down whilst I took in some food and surveyed the splendid panorama in all directions. I continued to Sgurr an Doire Leathain, where I had a longer break and finished the last of my water. The views were even more striking as the sun began to drop and there were still slabs of snow that generated more light along the ridge. The paths were sparkling as the sun lit up the mica in the schistose rocks and it seemed that I had diamonds beneath the soles of my shoes.

The next section to Sgurr an Lochan is a fairly short and easy section but the last of the Munros, Creag na Damh, is a long tramp with a 200-metre drop before the steady climb to the flattish knolly summit. I had to decide how much further to go before making camp. There are some scrambling sections over rock bands immediately ahead and then the evening sun was encouraging me on the undulating trek to the bealach before the steep climb to the summit of the Corbett, Sgurr a' Bhac Chaolais. It was 7:30pm and I needed some water, I was getting tired and the temperature was falling. The west coast was sparkling, Ben Nevis was a beacon to the south-east and the crenellated blue wavy horizon to the north was all mountains bright and beautiful which obviously included the Torridons. The benign conditions today were what every walker dreams about.

I looked around for potential camping spots and decided on the bealach below which was en route to Sgurr na Sgine. I found a reasonable flattish pitch for the tent that was surprisingly dry but then had to descend 150 metres to collect some water for my evening meal. A brew of tea, some soup with oat biscuits, and savoury rice were well received with nuts and raisins to nibble between courses. I felt that I had enjoyed one of the very best walks in perfect conditions. By 9:30pm as the temperature began to plummet, I turned in and must have been asleep within seconds.