In my early years, life was taken up by Football, Football, Football and Football. There was also a wee bit of Golf, Cycling, Skiing, Street Football, Tap Door Run, Hide & Seek, Kick the can (you’re probably too young to remember), etc.
I did run up and down Arthurs Seat and the Pentland hills on numerous occasions, just for a wee bit of fun with the mates, but at that time it never crossed my mind that this could or should be done as a hobby\pass time or recreational pursuit.
I was living in Norfolk for a while, and during this time regularly returned to Edinburgh for a wee visit. While back in Scotland, I’d make many a trip through Glencoe, where I’d marvel at the size and beauty of the mountains, and the sheer majesty of the place.
Still I had no desire to climb any of these mountains. This delight came to me out of nowhere….
One day I decided to set off for, and climb Ben An, I have absolutely no idea why, but I was full of enthusiasm and jumped into the car and headed to the Trossachs. It was a gloriously sunny day and I was full of the joys of spring or maybe summer or fall….to be honest I have no idea which one it was.
Arriving at the car park, I got out and grabbed my jacket and rucksack, which had pretty much nothing in it apart from a bottle of water and a sandwich.
To say I was naïve, is an understatement. It never crossed my mind that you would need to prepare for these kinds of things. As far as I was concerned, you just put on some boots and a jacket (if the weather’s bad) and start walking. What’s difficult about that?
The problem is, when you get to the car park, you need to have some kind of idea in which direction to leave it. Well, I had no idea, but I did know that if you head to the entrance of the car park and keep walking, you’ll end up in a Loch, so it was down to three sides (N,S,E & W never came into it at this point).
Anyhoo, there was a sign post in the car park which told you where you were. It didn’t tell you where any of the hills were but luckily enough, there were plenty of other people arriving at the car park so all I had to do was follow them, easy peasy!!
We all set off to the right of the car park (NE to you and me) and up a wee track, then along a walkway to another wee car park. We then headed left, up through the trees, across an open expanse of ground, up past a water fall – where I met a guy who had to abandon his walk up because he’d run out of water, so was waiting for his party to return – Amateur!!
– Then it started to get steep and I was struggling. After a few false summits, I eventually made it to the top, knackered but full of Glory – I’d become a Mountaineer!!
I sat and had my Sandwiches, basking in my own glory and got talking to a couple who arrived a few minutes after me.
The guy pulled out a massive pair of binoculars and was surveying the hills around us. He then asked if I’d like to have a look, so I jumped at the opportunity.
It was still a beautiful hot sunny day with blue open skies so you could see for miles. I sat watching the cruise ships crossing over Loch Katrine and started surveying some people who were climbing up a wee hill directly opposite us. The couple I was sitting with looked like they knew what they were doing –they had big ruck sacks, maps, compasses, gaiters, amazing professional looking walking boots and jackets and BIG binoculars – so I asked them if they knew what hill it was;
Ben An came the response
Oh dear….
And so, it appears my first foray into hill walking came by means of climbing Ben Venue (who knew)
Although I got lost and ended up on the wrong hill, the whole experience boosted me on to do more. In a funny kind of way it bolstered my confidence, in that I’d climbed a hill far higher than I had intended or even thought I could manage at that time.
And so the journey continues to inspire and amaze!
