Meall Corranaich

Meall Corranaich (right) from Meall a' Choire Leith

Friday, 2 October 2020

Ascent:     790 metres

Distance:  10 kilometres

Time:        3 hours 34 minutes

Meall Corranaich            1069m     1hr   20mins

Meall a' Choire Leith        926m     2hrs 29mins  

The forecast suggested a rare fine autumn day but there was a morning fog as I drove up to Killin, although by the top of Glen Ogle, the fog had dispersed and the Tarmachan and Ben Lawers were tantalising against the cloudless azure skies. I headed along the Loch Tay road and then over the Ben Lawers road towards Glen Lyon. It had seemed far too good a day to waste so I had decided to climb the two Munros north of Ben Lawers, there would be less climbing starting at 550 metres and my knee had flared up again during gardening duties in recent days. 

Although it was still quite early, all the parking spots beyond Lochan na Lairige had been taken so I had to head down towards Glen Lyon before finding a suitable spot that was not a passing place on the single track road. Timber lorries and vehicles servicing the hydroelectric infrastructure use this narrow road so the passing places are vital. I have noticed that there are a lot more people out and about on weekdays with better weather than was the case before the pandemic changed the pattern of work. Perhaps it is those working from home taking advantage of the more flexible working conditions to enjoy the outdoors.

I had intended to climb the lower Munro, Meall a' Choire Leith, first but the path from the cairn at the top of the pass curved to the south and before I realised I was heading for Meall Corrannaich. I decided to stick with it rather than trampling over the boggy heather covered ground towards the old shielings below Meall a' Choire Leith. It was probably a good decision although the path had to double back and crossed several bogs before reaching the foot of the north-west ridge leading to the outlying tops of Meall Corranaich. The views over the Tarmachan with Ben More and Stob Binnein were superb.

Apart from the wet underfoot conditions, the day could not have been better, a gentle cool breeze and perfect visibility with the whole of the West Highlands coming into view as I gained height.  There is a steep final pull to the summit and despite the cars parked below, there was no one else on the hill. The views across to Ben Lawers and An Stuc were excellent as were the views across Loch Tay to the fine range of Corbetts and Grahams that litter the watershed of Glen Almond. I spent some time enjoying this splendid viewpoint before beginning the 3-kilometre trek across to the adjoining Munro.

The walking is easy along a grassy ridge with a gradual descent of 300 metres before beginning a slightly steeper climb to the much lower Meall a' Choire Leith. I had almost caught up with a group of six younger walkers and their dog by the time that they reached the summit. They walked past the flat summit with a paltry pile of stones and made a descent to the south-west, I found a rock facing towards the west highlands where I stopped for 15 minutes to eat some lunch, take photos and admire the spectacular skyline. The dam at the foot of Lochan na Daimh was the focal point for the array of familiar hills that extend towards Ben Nevis. Another lone walker had parked himself on another rock a couple of hundred metres away, social distancing is magnified by a hundred in the hills and has become an art form.

I headed off to the south-west, there were no paths shown on the map and I could not recall any when I previously climbed this hill from the Cairn by Lochan na Lairig. I expected a steepish descent down the heather but to my surprise, a well-used dirt path wound its way down to the 600-metre contour where the path crossed the burn. The group of six walkers were having a break on a large erratic boulder. Their Staffordshire Bull Terrier seemed upset by my approach and raced up the hill to bark ferociously at me, I was pleased that I had brought a walking pole and was ready to use it as a defence when one of the walkers came charging up to put the frenzied dog on its lead. He said it was just trying to protect them. I did not realise that I looked so threatening to a group of men who were not even half my age, perhaps I should have shaved before setting out. I thanked him, shouted my hellos to the others, leapt over the burn and upped my pace along a very boggy route to the old shielings. The group set off to follow me and were a couple of hundred metres behind. I changed up another gear and crossed the next swollen burn without a pause. There was no time to worry about slipping as I did a hop, step and jump across some mid burn boulders. There was a slight climb along the boggy path for the final kilometre before it descended back to the road.

An elderly couple on a tandem had stopped by the Cairn, I had seen them early in the day as they were leaving Killin. They had cycled along Loch Tay and up Glen Lyon before making the 400-metre climb to the high point of the road. They were from Essex and were on a three-week cycle tour of Scotland, they had a camper van for overnight stays and cycled every day, moving the van every few days to explore different locations. They seemed completely content and mesmerised by the Scottish scenery. I bade them farewell as the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and its chums began their final descent to the road.  It had been a good outing and my knee had held up apart from two occasions on the descents when it locked up. 

Killin was busy as I passed through on the way home but the roads were comparatively clear and by 3pm, I was sitting in the garden feeling quite relaxed after an easy two Munros.  

Cairn at the top of the Glen Lyon road

The Tarmachan from the ascent of Meall Corranaich

Meall a' Choire Leith from Meall Corranaich

An Stuc and Beinn Lawers from Meall Corranaich

Meall a' Choire Leith - looking towards Ben Nevis and Grey Corries

Lochan na Daimh dam and Glencoe Mts.

Meall Garbh and An Stuc from Meall a' Choire Leith

Glen Lyon Munros

Socially distanced lunch spots on Meall a' Choire Leith

Meall Corranaich from Meall a' Choire Leith

Meall a' Choire Leith from the Old Shieldings

Ochils: Ben Cleuch

Ben Cleuch from Ben Ever

25 September 2020

Ascent:     955 metres

Distance:  11 kilometres

Time:        3 hours 31 minutes

Ben Ever          622m    1hr   11mins

Ben Cleuch      721m    1hr   37mins

The Law           638m   2hrs  20mins

John had phoned and suggested a walk in the Ochils. He was trying to complete the Donalds, all the hills and their tops between 2000 and 2500 feet south of the Highland boundary fault. He had not climbed The Law during his previous outings in the Ochils because it was only a top but since 2018 the completion of the Donalds has required the tops to be included in the round. Keith Adams was to join us but his car had been assigned to the scrapyard and he was unable to get out from Glasgow. We met at the Ochil Hills Woodland Park. John observed that it was our first walk together in 2020. It would have been the first year we had not climbed together since we had climbed Ben More and Stob Binnein in 1978, starting at Crianlarich and finishing at Inverlochlarig by Balquidder.

There is a footpath from the Woodland Park back to the Silver Glen where it joins a well-made track that zig-zags upwards and then follows the Silver Burn climbing quite steeply, as is the way in the Ochils. At 370 metres we left the track and followed a wide grass path directly to the summit of Ben Ever. The bright skies with a loose cover of high white clouds made for an enjoyable ascent but towards the summit, the strong northerly winds chilled us. The visibility was excellent and Ben Ever was a good viewpoint for the familiar skyline from Ben Lomond round to Ben Chonzie. Tinto Hill was visible to the south, the Forth Estuary to the east and the links of the River Forth with the vast expanse of bonded warehouses at Manor Powis and former MoD site at Bandeath also prominent.

It is an easy saunter across to Ben Cleuch, although another 140 metres of ascent. We passed a group of four hill runners, two men and two women. We reluctantly admitted that now in our seventies, we would not be doing that again. I had run from Dollar to Bridge of Allan on a few occasions twenty odd years ago and that will remain as part of the happy memories of hill running days. At the summit of Ben Cleuch, three women had seven dogs with them in the wind shelter that surrounds the trig point. It would have made a remarkable photo but we retreated down to a sheltered position to sit and have some food, One of the dogs followed us down carrying a large stone that it dropped in front of me. I threw it and the dog retrieved it. This went on for ten minutes or so, John had finished eating and we were still playing. I sat down to have a drink and was promptly barked at for being a wimp. Fortunately, the women were about to leave with the pack of dogs so I finally had some peace. 

We continued the walk over to The Law and passed a dozen or so other walkers, mainly groups of what I assumed were students from Stirling University; skipping their house parties, online lectures and tutorials, and why not. Covid is not just for freshers week! On the steep descent from The Law, we passed the dogs again and I did get a photo but it lacked the group dynamics of the summit shelter. As we entered the Mill Glen and crossed the footbridge we discovered that the footpath back to the Woodland Park was closed owing to a landslip. It meant a diversion to Tillicoultry where we picked up the Hillfoots Diamond Jubilee Way back to the car park. It had been a good, if short, hill walk and a reminder of the well-tended, grassy but steep paths that abound in the Ochils. Looking at the way Covid cases are rising again, we will soon be in lockdown again, I doubt there will be many chances to get further afield this year.

The Law from Ben Ever

Stuc a' Chroin and Ben Vorlich from Ben Ever

Ben Lomond to Ben Ledi from Ben Ever

The Law from Ben Cleuch

Burnfoot Hill Wind Farm from Ben Cleuch

Ben Cleuch summit

Add caption

Forth Links from The Law

Some dog photos for the benefit of John

Mill Glen above Tillicoultry

 

Covid Six Months On

Autumn

 23 September 2020

It is exactly six months since the PM belatedly announced on 23 March the lockdown of life in the UK because of the COVID pandemic. So many things have changed since then. The initial impact was profound with devastating consequences in the UK as the spread of the virus reached all parts of the country and ravaged the care homes. We were housebound with only the garden, local walks and cycles on empty roads to provide brief interludes of freedom. Food was delivered and for six or seven weeks and we did not venture beyond the five-mile travel limit imposed by the Scottish Government. 

Even in May and only five miles from home, a nasty notice was attached to the car telling us to stay at home when we returned from a walk on a local footpath. The GP surgery was closed as were all social and service facilities. We chatted to neighbours at a distance as we did with people we passed on walks and everyone kept their distance. Most people were very friendly in the village and a sense of community prevailed.  There was no chance of visiting family or friends, our regular July holiday was cancelled although we were still told to pay for it. 

The lockdown was eased on 5 July, we booked a holiday on the remote Isle of Coll. Everything had changed, the Calmac ferry was operating at only 25% capacity, the dining room in the hotel was spaced out, and only two people at a time were allowed in the local shops. As we returned home, the roads were full of traffic heading for the highlands and islands and pubs and cafes had reopened. Caution was thrown to the wind as the government urged people to return to work, take public transport and eat as much as you can and we'll pay half. Schools reopened and then the universities returned. People were allowed to revisit each other and socialising became close and personal. 

We are now reaping the consequences with the number of cases escalating and the government are dropping anchor on the advice of the scientific and medical advice. With home visiting, holidays, people back at work, school and universities, it is no surprise that the cases have shot up again and in four weeks we already have as many cases per day as back in April. This at the very time when the support to businesses through the furlough scheme is ending and the new support measures are far less generous to business. We are facing a long winter of despair with university students ready to abandon their online teaching, stuck in university accommodation that is locked down for a duration likely to be as long as the PMs ramblings. 

With all these phases of certain uncertainty, I thought it would be useful to describe a typical day in the age of Covid at the cusp of this latest change, which has put all of us on parole to behave. 

My day started when I woke at 6:30am, the habit of a working lifetime, and as usual, I switched on the radio before 7:00am. The skies were bright and air still, there had been the first frost of the autumn. I decided to go for a walk up Lime Craig and left at 8:00am after a cup of coffee. I usually do this walk once a week. I am still hoping to make my 200th run up the hill, it is exactly a year since my 199th run but I am still having to limit running after my knee injury in May. Lime Craig was taped off in April and May but it has become a staple walk for quite a few people since access to the outdoors was relaxed. I parked at Braeval from where there is a good track all the way to the summit. Only one other car was there and no camper vans today, unlike recent weeks when there have been quite a few as Scotland has been besieged by people escaping the cities and more populous parts of the UK.

The conditions were perfect although gloves were needed for the first time since February, I passed a woman and her dog who were descending, she told me the views from the summit were incomparable. I must have benefitted from regular climbs as I kept a good pace all the way to the summit, an ascent of about 1000 feet. I was passed by a pick-up truck just before the summit; it was occupied by a couple of forestry workers arriving to clear the summit of spruce saplings. We had a quick chat at the summit platform where they were tooling up for the day, I had spoken to them a few days ago and since then they had cleared an area that had opened up some fine views to the south. We could see the Arran hills in the distance and the clarity was as good as I can ever remember. 

I was down well within the hour, jogging about half the descent as I try to build up my leg strength. I drove to Aberfoyle to collect a prescription at the pharmacy. Jamie, the pharmacist, lives in Glasgow and is worried about the escalation of COVID cases and feels the new control measures announced by the Scottish Government are necessary. Later in the day, we discovered that the number of new cases had risen to the highest daily rate ever in Scotland with 486 confirmed cases. Students at Glasgow, Dundee and Napier Universities were the main reason. I returned home for some breakfast and caught up on the news, edited a few blog posts and then spent an hour in the garden moving stones and turfs that were left from planting a new hedge at the weekend. 

By the time I came in, I had missed the Politics Live programme that Jo Cockburn presents with 4 or 5 guests from politics, the media and think tanks. It is well moderated and provides far deeper insight than news programmes. We had received an email from a friend Steve, asking if we would like to join them for a walk at Brig o' Turk at the weekend. We agreed and arranged to go on Saturday. 

Lunch was salad and smoked trout followed my daily apple, it set me up for a visit to the Muir Dam. I had been asked by the Council paths co-ordinator to provide a detailed map of the stiles we were intending to replace on the footpath so that I could obtain a grant for materials from the Council. She had also asked me to provide photos of the present dilapidated stiles. I had done all of this in March before lockdown but had been unable to find the list of materials that I had sent to others for checking, I must have inadvertently deleted the email. It took about 75 minutes to survey the path again,  I was surprised how little the path had been used since March, mainly because the stiles are broken. I called in at Richard's house and asked if he could find the email that I had sent giving a list of the materials which I would now revise following my re-examination of the path.

As I was walking back through the village, I dropped in at Dykes who sell and maintain agriculture and garden machinery to ask if they could look at a Hyundai petrol strimmer that had not worked since I bought it last year. It had to be returned to the agent to replace the gearbox and then proved difficult to start. Dykes asked me to drop it in and I returned with it immediately. Two or three minutes with a screwdriver and it was going, no charge just a suggestion that I buy the latest Husquana automatic lawnmower which would save me three hours a week in summer. It was tempting but not for this year, another two cuts and that should be the end of the lawn cutting. 

I returned home and began to cut the lawn next to the new hedge that we had spent most of the weekend planting, mainly because I had to dig out 75 willow trees that I had planted last winter. The neighbours appeared and we had a half-hour discussion about the latest developments in lockdown 2.0. I collected a couple of barrow loads of sand, for the path next to the burn and spread it on the path that I have been constructing. I spread some fine gravel over it before returning all the garden stuff to the shed and retired for a shower.

We were having spaghetti bolognese made with Quorn tonight, we switched to a meat-free diet about a year ago when Gregor came to stay with us and have continued since he moved to a new flat in June. We watched the tail end of the Scottish News and then the Channel 4 News. We have mainly given up on the BBC News, which has pandered to populism, there is seldom any in-depth analysis and the BBC seem unwilling to call out the government when it fails to deliver its promises on tackling the COVID pandemic.

There was a Community Council meeting on Zoom, the first since lockdown and we had received an invite to join, primarily for the debate on a planning application for 70 houses, which would increase the size of the village by 20%. There were about half a dozen other people tuned in to watch the deliberations about whether the Community Council could hold an AGM online and then various reports from the Council and other agencies, all of which were about delays to projects. There was no real debate about the planning application other than how to deal with it given that it not yet been submitted. The would-be developers were seeking to have a discussion with the community in advance of the application, mainly it would seem to tick this box before making a submission. We baled out of the meeting early.

John called asking if I would like to walk Ochils with him and my former hill running partner, Keith Adams, on Friday. Keith had been in Essex when lockdown happened and had stayed there with a cycling friend ever since. I am surprised he survived, he has spent more time in the hills than anyone I know and Essex is one of the very few counties that doesn't have any hills over 500 feet. It will be good to catch up with them both, we have climbed hundreds of hills together since our first outing on the Ben Lui Munros in December 1990. 

Richard had found my email and forwarded it to me so I could revise the requirements for materials to repair the stiles, that would be the top priority for tomorrow. 

I checked the football results, Preston had lost 2-0 to Brighton. When they were relegated from the old Division 1 in 1960, Brighton and Hove Albion were in Division 3 South. I had assumed we would soon return and I have attended playoff finals for promotion but it increasingly looks like a return is unlikely in my lifetime. This despite the potential crowd probably being greater than Bournemouth, Blackpool, Watford, Burnley, Wigan, Huddersfield, and one or two other clubs that have made it to the premier league in recent years.

There was nothing worth watching on TV so I had a bowl of cereal before retiring for the night at 10:45pm.

Pine near the summit of Lime Craig

Looking west from Lime Craig

Ben Ledi

Stob Binnein and Ben More

Campsies

Path along the Cessintully Burn

Tony Abbott is not the Suppository of all Wisdom

Several friends have made comments in recent weeks about being embarrassed to be British. I share their pain as we watch the government's shambolic attempt to manage the pandemic with a little help from their friends. Friends like Dido Harding, companies like Serco and G4S and those private companies, many with financial links to the Conservative Party, that have secured £5bn of contracts for PPE under a loophole that allows normal tendering procedures to be abandoned during an emergency.

Meanwhile, the organisations with the skills and knowledge to deal with the pandemic, like Public Health England and the local Councils have been kept at a distance from the government's centralised control operation. New schemes and proposals emerge without any underlying strategy, lots of money has been wasted on unfulfilled promises by companies with little experience, no accountability to the public and without any outcome agreements. 

And now to add insult to these indiscretions we are told that the controversial ex-Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, is to be hired as a Trade Advisor. His CV was extensively exposed by his predecessor as Australian PM Julia Gillard as seen in this much-watched video.

These accusations seem to be bourne out by the experience of my feisty Australian cousin who tells me, "My daughter was manning the Greens stall in Manly when Abbott arrived and starting yelling at her, she was 17. The mother tiger in me took over and gave him the tongue lashing he deserved." Knowing how articulate and assertive my cousin can be I'm not surprised that he has sought asylum in the UK, or that Priti Patel has allowed him in, he has the values and lack of relevant experience that the government seem to cherish.

Sguman Coinntich

 Nice pins on Vanessa Trig Point Sguman Coinntich summit

Thursday, 27 August 2020

Ascent:    1330 metres

Distance:  24 kilometres

Time:        8 hours 56 minutes 

Sguman Coinntich     879m   2hrs 27mins

Faochaig                    868m   5hrs   7mins 

After a week of rain and wind, there seemed to be a brief respite with the northern highlands supposedly dry with a cool north-easterly wind dispersing the August midges. I trust the Met Office forecasts, so I decided on a two-day raid for some of the more inaccessible Corbetts near Loch Duich. Unfortunately, the forecasts were about as accurate as Matt Hancock, who has been the government's specialist in making unfulfilled promises into an art form during the pandemic.

I left home before 7am for the 165-mile drive to Killilan, a small estate settlement at the head of Loch Long and the start of the remote Glen Elchaig that leads to Iron Lodge. The early part of the drive to Ballachulish was on near-empty, rain-drenched roads, but by 8:30am, the camper vans were beginning to swarm, and the drive to Dornie was in a slow cavalcade of trucks and motor homes. I had never been to Killilan before, and the sheer scale of new developments on the 5 miles alongside Loch Long from Dornie to Killilan surprised me. Highland Council has always been generous in allowing development in the countryside, and this was very evident.

I parked at the well-specced car park at the entrance to the Inverinate Estate, formerly owned by Wills Tobacco but now owned by the King of Dubai. It is about 600 metres from the car park to the pristine landscapes of the estate buildings. There is a post box and telephone box from where a path runs alongside the burn and eventually reaches a track climbing alongside the Allt a' Choire Mhoir. It is a steady climb over rough stony ground. It was sheltered from the wind but clammy with grey clouds offering no prospect of the Met Office being correct. I crossed the burn by Teanga Dubh, a tongue of land between two burns, and then began a long, steepish climb heading south-east to the ridge of Sguman Cointich that was lost in cloud. The rain began before I reached the ridge at 750 metres. The fine views back down Loch Long had disappeared, and the map on my phone had to be safely placed in a waterproof bag and secured in a pocket. 

Visibility by the summit was down to about 50 metres, but the famous Vanessa Trig Point that stands on its last legs was a welcome sight. I hunkered down below the summit and had a cheese roll, an orange and some water. I knew that the next leg of the walk would be a hard slog with no paths, some boggy ground and a couple of stiff climbs to reach Faochaig. A couple of hundred metres along the ridge I came across a weather station, just what I needed, but it proved difficult to get the latest Met Office forecast, so I assumed wet and cloudy and stopped to put on my waterproof trousers, which I dislike, but there seemed no joy in having wet trousers for the next five hours or so.

As I descended the east ridge, I emerged from the cloud but could not make any sense of the formless shapes ahead. For quite a while, I had assumed that the slopes of Sron na Gaoithe were the lower slopes of Faochaig, but when I reached the top of this ridge, I realised I had another kilometre to go before I could start the final climb. I had dropped down to 650 metres as I rounded the top of Coireag Searrach and started the final pull up to Faochaig. It was still raining, and the summit was in the clouds.

It had taken longer than anticipated, partly a result of having to stop and confirm my bearing every ten minutes or so. Another wet summit but a chance for some food and a drink before what would be a long and probably very tedious descent. It was 4:30pm, and I assumed I could make it back by 7:30pm, sufficient time to find a campsite and dry off. I had to use a compass to find my way back off the hill, visibility was less than 50 metres. I skirted to the south of the Sron na Gaoithe ridge, making for the gap in the crags between Creag nan Eilid and the escarpment further to the west. There was a path starting above Loch nan Ealachan that seemed to take a good line down to the glen. The guidebooks had recommended the stalker's path down to Carnach; I now know why.

The drop of 200 metres to the Loch nan Ealachan was through rock bands, feet squelching through the bog to a path that was a bog pitted with rocks, cavorting through the terrain like a late-night drunk. At least I was out of the cloud, and for an hour, the rain subsided so I could take off my waterproof. I hit the track along Glen Elchaig at about 7pm, it was just 6 kilometres back to the car on a freshly asphalted track, thanks to the King of Dubai. I had seen no one all day, and that remained the case all the way back to the car. I stripped off my sodden gear, towelled myself dry and became a feast for the midges.

I had no dry gear for tomorrow. Did I want to spend a night in the tent with a few thousand midges? Where was the wind that the Met Office had forecast? As I reached the A87, I decided that I would prefer to drive home rather than subject myself to the torture of a wet night with midges, a sure sign of age! The other advantage was that the roads would be free of motor homes. And so it was, the journey back, even in the dark and constant rain, was 45 minutes quicker than the dance with the traffic on the way up in the morning. I was home by midnight.

Loch Long from the track up Allt a' Choire Mhoir

Looking up the track to Teanga Dhubh, the triangle of slope to start the climb

Loch Long from the south-west ridge of Sguman Coinntich

Weather Station  northeast of the summit

Looking back east to Sgurr Coinntich from the bealach

Looking south over Loch nan Ealachan to A' Ghlas Bheinn

Aonach Buidhe

Loch nan Ealachan

Sguman Coinntich behind Loch nan Ealachan

Gavin and Dido

Gavin, the Education Secretary

Dame Dido of Test Test

Just when you think the government can't possibly make things any worse, we are confronted by Gavin Williamson, the former fireplace salesman, setting fire to the exam system and Dido Harding, admitting she hasn't a clue how to set up the new organisation that the PM has entrusted to her. It is a tragicomedy, with Priti Patel, Robert Jenrick, Matt Hancock, and Dominic Cummings already having escaped being sacked or resigning as would have been guaranteed in any previous administration. Gavin and Dido have now become prize exhibits in the calamity of incompetence that is the defining signature of this government.

When the PM made Dido Harding a Dame, he must have been thinking more about pantomimes than bestowing an honour.  As the CEO of Talk Talk, she resigned after a headline "Dido Harding's utter ignorance is a lesson to us all" after a hacking attack that cost the company £77m and the loss of personal details of 4 million customers. As a Jockey Club Board member, she allowed the Cheltenham Festival to take place when the lockdown was imminent. Despite being a Tory life peer, in May 2020 she was appointed by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary,  to manage the government's Track, Test and Trace programme in response to the Covid pandemic. It has failed with distinction even according to the government's MPs and press cheerleaders. 

She has now been asked to set up the National Institute for Health Protection. She is to be helped by Serco, fresh from screwing up the prisons, asylum centres, healthcare facilities and numerous other public services. Having already messed up Test Test there is little chance of Dido managing to get as far as Trace Trace. Meanwhile, Public Health England is to be abolished and local Councils are still not obtaining the essential data that they need in order to trace local clusters or spikes.

Gavin Williamson had an unfortunate track record of leaking national security details, making unfortunate allegations against other nations, and displaying serious diplomatic inadequacies before being sacked as Defence Secretary by Theresa May. His time as Education Secretary was not going well before his August horribilis in dealing with the preparation for school openings. The exam result fiasco and the consequent sackings of his senior civil servant and head of Ofqual have simply magnified his unsuitability for office. 

Gavin and Dido have plummeted the depths of managerial incompetence on so many occasions that even such luminaries as Chris Grayling, Liz Truss, Liam Fox and Priti Patel must be cheered that they are no longer the only contestants for the title of this government's world-beating incompetent. If only we had a prime minister.

Tipping Point for the PM

YouGov survey for Daily Mail

I have never heard such a unanimous denouncement of the government as in the past few days. The performance in dealing with the pandemic has been trounced by scientists, parliamentary committees, the media from all sides and even their own backbenchers. This has then been repeated for their management of the examination results. Gavin Williamson, the floundering Education minister, has gone missing and none of the government ministers, apart from the hapless but honest Nick Gibb, have been seen in days. The demonstrations by angry school pupils and their parents have been supported by teachers, headteachers, colleges, and universities. The past Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has been merciless in his critique of the government over the examination fracas.

Meanwhile, according to the Financial Times, " The UK economy suffered a bigger slump than any other major European economy in the second quarter, shrinking by a fifth and falling into its deepest recession on record. Official data released on Wednesday, 12 August, showed that gross domestic product fell more than 20 per cent quarter on quarter, with widespread contractions across all sectors. The figures confirm that the pandemic has hit the UK harder than other developed economies. The decline in UK GDP since the end of 2019 is double that in the US and second only to Spain among European peers. The UK compares especially badly with Germany, where GDP fell 11.9 per cent over the first half of the year, and with the US, which suffered a 10.6 per cent drop."

The end of furloughing in October is threatening up to 2 million jobs and the impact on so many industrial sectors is leading to demands for special protection from numerous groups. The only sectors that seem to be thriving apart from the supermarkets and online retailers are the housing market, as city dwellers seek to move to the country to work from home and to avoid lengthy commutes by public transport.

On other fronts, we are told that there has been no real progress on the Brexit negotiations. The emigration of British citizens to Europe is at a record high. Priti Patel is seeking to deploy gunboats to prevent the arrival of refugees from across the channel and accused the French of being racist. Dozens of contracts have been let by the government to companies or friends of government ministers without tendering. Any powers to tackle the pandemic through test and tracing are being refused for local areas. The inquiry into the pandemic has been kicked into the long grass, where the Grenfell Tower Inquiry is still languishing.

In Belarus, President Lukashenko, who is said to have received 80% of the popular vote at the recent election, is being hounded out of office by disbelieving voters. Meanwhile, in the UK, the government was elected by only 29% of the electorate but seems inured against any change. PM Boris Johnson is now lagging behind the new Labour leader Keir Starmer in opinion polls. In these days of uncertainty and with the government showing incompetence across the board, there may be changes ahead as the populist jingoism that melodied Boris Johnson and his merry men into power begins to sound out of tune.

Beinn a' Bhathaich Ard, Strathfarrar

The view of Beinn a' Bnathaich Ard from near the start at Inchmore

Monday, 10 August 2020

Ascent:             872 metres
Distance:          15 kilometres
Time:                5 hours 19 minutes

Beinn a' Bhathaich Ard     862m   3hrs 14mins

I had arrived at the gatehouse at Inchmore in Strathfarrar by 11:30am, slightly later than I had hoped. On a hot, muggy day and over unforgiving terrain, I knew the next climb would be hard going. I envied the couple who parked next to me with their bikes for a leisurely pedal up the beautiful Glen Strathfarrar and told them so. They agreed and said they could think of nothing worse than climbing a largely pathless Corbett. I tidied up the car following my early morning scarper from the midges, had something to eat and drink, changed my shoes and studied the route ahead. I suspected that a circular walk would take over 5 hours in the conditions and decided to take it at an easy pace after the two tiring walks in the last 24 hours.

I had intended to climb this hill with John and Mark four years ago, but after a two-day round of the Carn Eighe and Mullardoch group of hills, my feet had been too sore, so for only the second time in thirty years of hill walking, I had pulled out of a climb. The other occasion was more justifiable, gale-force winds on the Skye Ridge. The start from the Milton cottage gatehouse is complicated through a series of gates and around the farm opposite but after five minutes, I was on a reasonable path to Loch na Beiste, the source of water supply for Inchmore, judging by the water pipe. The ascent was at an easy grade but looking ahead at the distant Beinn a' Bhathaich Ard, which is reached by a long ridge from the northeast, it was going to be a couple of hours walking. I decided to have lunch on a rocky outcrop.

After continuing the climb to 520 metres, the path had dribbled out, and I thought that climbing Carn na Gabhalach, the easterly top, would probably add more time. Although it would be good to reach the ridge, there were two more intervening tops before reaching the summit, so I decided to cut a corner and struck a course for the bealach. It was perhaps a mistake, the deep heather slowed me down but I was keen to top up with some water and there was a burn ahead. It was a plod, and I had to suffer both the afternoon heatwave and dozens of flies circling me for the ascent. On reaching the ridge, it was a eureka moment; the slight breeze removed the flies, the grass was short and the going was easy. It became a pleasant walk over the tops to Beinn a' Bhathaich Ard. A trig point and untidy cairn provided a suitable rest place for a drink and an orange. The views were slightly hazy, but otherwise, conditions were perfect.

I looked at the descent, southwards at first and then south-west to reach the path or track that runs alongside the Neaty Burn. I found the grooves of an eight-track vehicle that made for a good, speedy route despite several boggy sections. It eventually emerged onto the new and well-made gravel track at 400 metres, which is not yet on the OS map. It was 4 kilometres down to the Couligran Hydro Power Station and then a serene walk alongside the River Farrar. Salmon were leaping and house martins were feeding over the fast-flowing waters. It was summer at its best, the silage had been cut and stacked in the field opposite Milton cottage. Covid notices were on display at the gatehouse to Strathfarrar, but opening hours to access the glen were back to normal and several cars were taking advantage of the 8pm closing to enjoy the sublime tranquillity of Strathfarrar.

I was pleased to have managed the three Corbetts since driving up on the previous morning, it was the sort of outing that has been a staple over the past thirty years but I had worried whether I could manage it after the lockdown, with my fitness level doubtful, but as John says, I do have a tendency to be thole on these occasions. The drive back through Glen Glas and then down the A9 was a relative pleasure and I was home by 9pm.

From Loch na Beiste

From the ridge running from Sgurr a' Phollain

Looking north-west to Strathconon and the `Fannaichs

Summit

Culligran Hydro Power Station

River Farrar at Culligran

Bailing at Inchmore

Milton cottage, gatehouse to Strathfarrar

Eat Out to Wipe Out: The Great Escape from Lockdown

Double Whammy: Spending our taxes and spreading COVID

The gestation period of Covid is over and as lockdown has been relaxed. strange waves of lifestyle choices are beginning to emerge. In April and May, house prices were in steep decline, traffic levels were minimal; shopping, including food from supermarkets, was largely by by deliveries. People were discovering the joys and constraints of working from home and meeting by Zoom. Key workers in transport, retail, and manufacturing were expected to work; there was no option, just the fear of contracting Covid. Others were furloughed as the economy was run down.

Kindness became the currency of conversation with passing strangers. The fear of Covid was prevalent, ramped up by the filming of scenes from first Italy and Spain and then from hospitals in the UK. The PM's volte-face from someone who shakes hands with everyone and eschews wearing a mask to a compliant follower of rules after his recovery from Covid helped convince even some of the non-believers. 

With the lockdown over and only a minority of people commuting back to work, there was a pent-up demand to meet families and friends and to travel. There remains a reticence from the majority to socialise or return to work if homeworking is pssible. The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has devised a scheme to get people out and about, 'Eat Out to Help Out'. It is primarily intended to give the Hospitality sector more customers with the government paying half the cost of the meals. Two months ago you could get arrested for going more than 5 miles from your house and now the government are encouraging us to fill restaurants and pubs when we are still months away from a vaccine. 

There is every chance according to the epidemiologists for a new variant of Covid and another spike in the number of cases. Despite this, the government have decided that they will endorse Rishi Sunak's half-baked scheme. We might have expected such a crass scheme from Matt Hancock or Dido Harding but I would have expected better from the Chancellor, he must have been exposed to the PM's mindless optimism.

Sgorr na Diolland, Cannich

Approaching Sgorr na Diolland summit

Monday, 10 August 2020

Ascent:       754 metres

Distance:    8 kilometres

Time:         3 hours 33 minutes

Sgorr na Diolland        818m         1hr 51mins

After a restless night close to the bridge across the river Cannich at Muchrachd, I decided to face the midges. I gathered my sleeping bag, thermarest, and water bottle and bolted for the car but still managed to take in a few thousand midges with me. I drank some water and ate a banana whilst I devised a plan to take down the tent and escape. A midge net and hands covered in midge repellent were my instruments to protect and survive. I have never taken down a tent so quickly, ten pegs pulled out, the pole withdrawn and the tent loosely wrapped for dumping in the boot of the car in less than 2 minutes. My hands were black with midges and my pullover looked like mohair with thousands of them seeking ingress. I drove 100 yards to the other side of the bridge, threw a water bottle, a jam roll, and an orange into the rucksack, and began the climb. It was not yet 7:30 a.m. and the whiff of a breeze was the answer to my prayer.

I had assumed it would be an easy outing, just 3 or 4 kilometres up a fairly steep hill to the rocky summit. There was a path twisting through the bracken for the ferociously steep lower slopes to Carn Doire Leithe and then a flat boggy section before the next steep section to the 496-metre rocky outcrop. I stopped for ten minutes for a drink and to admire the views up to the dam at Loch Mullardoch. I have had some memorable walks on Sgurr na Lapaich and the hills to the north of Mullardoch. The next section is to the next rock band at 652 metres and by this stage, I had lost the narrow path so it was slog through the heathers. It is a splendid location and would have been an ideal bivvy site away from the midges. The next outcrop is at Coire Gorm at 786 metres and from here a short climb to the twin rocky summits of Sgorr na Diollaid.

Unlike the ascent, which had been less easy than expected, the summit was perfection. I scrambled to the higher east top and settled on a perfect rock seat and whiled away 15 minutes having a late breakfast, a drink, and then taking some photos and sending some messages. I went over to the west top and took more photos. The light wasn't as clear as yesterday but the Strathfarrar four Munros were just across this splendid glen. I could see Beinn a' Bha'ach Ard further down the glen, my mountain for later in the day.

It was time to leave, it is seldom that I spend so long on a summit but I doubt I will ever be here again. I found a path for the early part of the descent and then lost it as I bounded down the heather. I met two young walkers from Wiltshire and we had a discussion, they said that they had abandoned their grandad who had given up lower down, I doubted that grandads do not give up easily. And so it proved, I met him climbing easily about 150 metres lower down the hill. He had lived in Lenzie and his wife had been in my GP practice in Kirkintilloch the 1970s, although I had never met her. We also shared a surname and for fifteen minutes or so we reprised our common acquaintances and mountain days. He was off to climb Ben More on Mull at the weekend with his wife's partner in the GP practice, who was finishing his munros. The same doctor who had looked after me when I broke my leg in a parachute accident and had been screwed together with five titanium screws. The hospital had warned me that my sporting activities would be heavily curtailed but the GP had told me to look on the bright side. I was able to send my regards to him. I had followed his advice, 31,000 miles of running and 5 Munro rounds would suggest he was right.

I returned to the car as a local arrived from Cannich for his regular hill walk, he was 80 years old and had muscular dystrophy but still managed to climb the hill most weeks in 2 hours 30 minutes. He was worried that there had been birds of prey killed during lockdown when the gamekeepers thought they could get away with it. Time was getting on and I was anxious to drive over to Strathfarrar for my next Corbett so I wished him well.

Loch Carrie and the Mullardoch Dam

The twin peaks

Strathfarrar and Beinna' Bha'ach Ard in far distance

West Peak and Loch Monar Munros

Stratfarrar Munros

Route