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Finally some high pressure over Scotland, so there was only one place to go.....Glencoe, and the Corbett behind the Kingshouse promised to give some stunning views if the forecast turned out to be more accurate than Saturdays seemed to be.
I got picked up rather bleary eyed at just after 6am, and by 7am it occured to me I'd forgotten the good camera!!! Then when we parked up, on opening the boot, I realised I'd forgotton... my boots!!!!
I had on a pair of Rockport Boots, so decided that the Vibram sole would hopefully be grippy enough on the fairly easy terrain, and the fact they aren't waterproof would be ok as the ground was well frozen today.....
As we started off, the sun was starting to rise in the distance, giving a stunning pink glow to the East, and the moon to the South in the middle of the valley between the two Buachailles. Already I was cursing forgetting the camera
As height was gained, and daylight broke through, the views became breathtaking, with an pink Alpine glow on the tops of all the hills around us. I've always felt Glencoe is one of the most stunning places in the country, now I was thinking it has to be one of the most stunning places in the world!!! Several times we had to just stand and stare, taking it all in. After all the shocking weather we've had, this was what it's all about
. The beautiful Buachaille Etive Mor just across the other side of the a82 held the stare the longest, but move your eyes West slightly and I was hearing my old Geography teacher Dougie McBride telling us all about glaciers and U-Shaped Valleys. What a perfect example of one between the two Buachaille's!!
As yet more height was gained, it was like someone was slowly drawing a curtain back over the Mamores to eventually reveal Big Ben, again looking stunning in the Alpine glow. Eventually we dragged ourselves to the summit of what is a fairly easy, and possibly overlooked hill, given the other sweets in the candy store of the area. This is most definitely one for the views!! Sadly there was a thin layer of cloud around the summit, so the actual summit views were somewhat limited, but we did get some views through it over Rannoch Moor and over the Blackwater Reservoir, but we weren't half spoiled on the ascent so we didn't complain.
Once we refuelled at the summit, we decided to descend the way we had come up, as we knew the terrain SHOULD be ok given my lack of proper boots!! All was going well until SPLOOSH!!!!! Thigh deep in a small bog. Thankfully I had the camera so no photographic evidence was acquired
but on a cold day like today, my feet were feeling a wee bit fresher than was comfortable for a while, not to mention the smell
We had a good laugh about it the rest of the way down and it just added to the day
A lesson in preparation learned, don't go to bed saying, ach I'll have plenty time in the morning to get organised!!! Thankfully it didn't spoil what was a truly magical day in a magical place
Here's some of the many photos that were taken along the way...
