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Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler


Postby LochsideLady » Fri Aug 12, 2022 8:08 pm

Hello WalkHighlanders -

I've joined as part of my research for a much needed solo "walkabout" I've planned for myself this October.

I'm oddly travelling solo (65 yr old married female from Lakeside town north of Toronto) as it is a trip I feel I must do while my feet/knees/hips may still allow me to do so and it's a trip neither my Husband nor friends are either able or willing to join me on, lol.

After checking out/stretching my legs at Corrour on October 6th, I hope to walk the WHW segment from Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse October 7th and then the Devil's Staircase segment (by taxi to the A87 parking lot) to Kinlochleven on October 8th - whatever the weather throws at me!

However, I'm looking to find out whether I can shave off a few km on the 7th with the possibility of taking what looks to be an approx. 3.8km footpath segment from off the west side of A87 north of Lac Ba viewpoint that appears to connect with the West Highland Way. Does anyone know whether this is an actual defined path or just open Rannoch Moor...in which case...with a local poisonous asp, I will not attempt this route as it would be too easy to step on one or get bogged down. If anyone knows this segment/how to read the google map line that appears to be a path...please let me know!

I'm hoping to follow these up with a few hikes on Skye, including Bla Bheinn (Oct 15th) so I'm trying to manage feet, hips, arthritis through pulling a "Rosie Ruiz" (infamous cheater of New York Marathon fame) on the WHW. Sure would love to find a hike buddy for doing Bla Bheinn if anyone is up for it.

Thank you for your posts and info which have already been helpful in planning my "Excellent Scottish Adventure" ... that I'm hoping won't be what family and friends are betting over/under on whether it will become an epic misadventure.

Cheers,
Cathie Reid
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby Arthurs Eat » Sun Aug 14, 2022 7:29 am

Hi Cathie,

I’ve walked the WHW three times over the past twenty or so years. To be honest I’ve never considered looking at the alternative paths. I’ve checked out the map on WH and see the path you mention seems to be the actual route of the old military road that WHW would have followed. Although I have never used the path, I probably would not unless I had a particular reason and saving a bit time probably wouldn’t be one of them. Firstly, the WHW at this point is actually on a very good path and good progress is made here by sticking to the path. I know the ground in the Loch Ba area is pretty rough and boggy and not knowing the condition of the section in question, I would avoid. The second would be that following the military road, even if it was in good condition, would mean a fair amount of unnecessary ascent. I think I stopped looking at 100m+. I hope you find this helpful.

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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby jmarkb » Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:00 am

Welcome to WH!

LochsideLady wrote:However, I'm looking to find out whether I can shave off a few km on the 7th with the possibility of taking what looks to be an approx. 3.8km footpath segment from off the west side of A87 north of Lac Ba viewpoint that appears to connect with the West Highland Way. Does anyone know whether this is an actual defined path or just open Rannoch Moor


Arthurs Eat wrote:I’ve checked out the map on WH and see the path you mention seems to be the actual route of the old military road that WHW would have followed


I think Cathie is talking about the track that leads from the A87 at NN308498 to meet the WHW near Ba Cottage. I have been along there (as an alternative approach to Creise and Meall a' Bhuiridh) - it is more of a normal path than the track marked on the OS maps, and it is a bit wet/boggy in places, but it's fine to walk along.

You should not worry about snakes - adders are shy and not very common in the western Highlands. I am a regular hill-goer an my rate of sightings is about one per decade.
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby DopeyLoser » Sun Aug 14, 2022 10:40 pm

Hi Cathie, may I just throw in a few comments?

jmarkb's comment on that path is correct according to my distant memory of it. Small point: the road is the A82 not the A87.

ArthursEat is referring to a different path in the same area but I would say he is spot on in his other comments i.e. basically "keep it simple".

Maps
It was not obvious to know which path you were referring to because you were basing your description on what appears on Google Maps. So, what I want to tell you is: don't use Google Maps for anything except very rough planning. For actual route planning, use topographic maps from the national mapping agency, which is known as Ordnance Survey, OS for short.

You can access some of those topo maps on this web site (click on menu bar 'GPS'). If you are logged in, when you zoom in the most, you are looking at the licensed OS 1:25,000 map (gimmicky marketing name for this is 'Explorer'). Like this:
25k.jpg


If you zoom out a bit, you will see a smaller scale map which unfortunately is not the OS 1:50,000 map but is a 'free' map that is less detailed, like this:
free 50k.jpg


You can see from that image that it is missing important stuff like some tracks and paths which are very visible on the ground, and important. Also there are some green dashed lines suggesting paths but those are not necessarily reliable. So I would not depend much on this free map.
(I'll tell you more about the high quality OS 1:50,000 map, gimmicky marketing name 'Landranger', in a moment.)

If you zoom out more you see the OS 1:250,000 map, like this:
250k.jpg


In fact, the OS 1:50,000 scale maps are ideal for your planning and navigation, so how do you see those, given that they are not on this WH web site? (Sadly, we are getting complicated quickly, but keep reading...)

One site that has them is streetmap.co.uk. E.g. https://streetmap.co.uk/map?x=226157&y=754645&z=120&sv=kingshouse&st=3&tl=Map+of+Kingshouse+Hotel,+Highland+[Town]&searchp=ids&mapp=map shows you:
streetmap 50k.jpg


but it is not the best.

Bing Maps has an OS layer, but I am not sure if it's available outside the UK (unless you have a VPN, more complexity...):
Bing OS 50k menu.png


I suggest you are best to subscribe to the OS Maps service: https://osmaps.com/ To see the licensed maps, you would need to use their premium service, which costs £5 per month or £29 per year, but they do have a seven day free trial so you could see what it would do for you.

OS Maps is very simple and basic but it lets you download the licensed maps to your device, e.g. to your smartphone for offline use, no phone signal or data plan involved, and it shows your position on the map (assuming your phone has Location services i.e. GPS). You can also use OS Maps on a PC where the bigger screen is handy for planning.

With OS Maps you would always have a proper topographic map available to you and always know where you are on that map (well, if you remember to look at the map, ahem....)

Grid references
In the UK, outdoorsy people tend to be familiar with 'National Grid' grid references for quoting a position. An example: NN308498 as given by jmarkb. (This is a 'six-figure' grid reference which defines a 100m x 100m area). It is more practical than latitude/longitude figures or 'just after the Loch Ba viewpoint'.

Here is a simple primer on grid references: https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/beginners-guide-to-grid-references/

Also, if you are using the maps on this WalkHighlands web site, you'll see the grid reference for your cursor position, and you can also centre the map on a grid reference by pasting it in the search box in the map window.

Understanding grid references is certainly not essential for your visit but I suggest it would be helpful to you.

Another app, also from OS and free, is called 'OS Locate', and it simply shows your grid reference, based on your phone's location (i.e. GPS generally). You can install it anytime but it will only be able to give you a sensible location while you are in the UK, since the National Grid only covers the UK (actually, only the GB part of the UK).

In the highly unlikely event you needed to call an emergency service, if you had OS Locate, you could get your position via the app, and you could supply that grid reference to the emergency services.

Your route plans
Sorry to make this post so long, and I am aware you did not ask for comments but....

Taxi from Kingshouse Hotel to Altnafeadh at foot of Devil's Staircase? It is up to you of course, but I imagine that taxi fare would not be cheap because the taxi will have to come from somewhere to where you are, in the middle of nowhere, drive you 4km then drive back to somewhere.

Getting a bus for that distance would be cheaper, maybe £6, but I would say if you cannot way the quite easy walk (one hour walk?) from Kingshouse to Altnafeadh you should be seriously asking how you're going to go over the Devil's Staircase, which is not a tough walk in my opinion, but it is nearly twice the distance that you'd be Rosie Ruizing and it is definitely over a hill. Put another way, if you can walk over the Devil's Staircase you can easily do Kingshouse - Altnafeadh as well.

Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse on the 7th: this is actually longer than your day on the 8th, being some 19km and has some hill ascent too. I can see your idea, getting dropped off at Loch Ba then going on the path you identified west to the WHW then N to Kingshouse. Yes it could be done that way. Again I would not want to think of how much a taxi would cost, but the bus goes that way and the driver would probably drop you off at Loch Ba (again, knowing exactly where you are via OS Maps would help you get off at the right place...)

BTW this is an excellent site for journey planning: https://www.travelinescotland.com/lts/#/travelInfo

However, reading between the lines, it seems to me you are looking for day walks, are not too familiar with what's on offer in this part of Scotland, and naturally enough are gravitating towards the WHW but you don't want to walk the whole WHW, just chunks that are manageable for you in a day. Yes those two parts of the WHW you identified are quite nice but they are not exceptional, and there are many other paths to roam on which might offer you more flexibility as to distance.

I would suggest, change your plans a bit, do more like what you're saying you'll do at Corrour / Loch Ossian i.e. pick a base that you can be at for two or three nights, and do walks around that base. You can go as long or short a walk as you feel like.

Along the A82 is actually quite good because there are decent transport options along it, and places you could base yourself. Also, the WHW tracks the A82 which means there tend to be backpacker type accommodation options too. A base also probably gives you the option of having a short day if the weather is really bad.

Accommodation prices: some of the hotel prices are just eye watering. I just checked the Kingshouse Inn (Hotel) and they want an incredible £518 for a Saturday night stay because there is a two night minimum. On the other hand they have bunkhouse beds for £40 - £50, which I would also say is very expensive but I guess it's a lot better. If you were staying at Loch Ossian YH then you must be okay with bunk beds so you could look at bunkhouses or more budget hotels / B&Bs.

Examples of places:

1. Tyndrum: e.g. By the Way Hostel, a dorm bed is £25 per night. You have your cooking facilities and lots of young people to talk to, to make you feel young again :) You can go by train or bus in three or four directions and back again. Lots of super walks. See https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/argyll/tyndrum.shtml for starters.

2. Bridge of Orchy: looks like they no longer have a bunkhouse. I would not personally pay their hotel rates. Could be nice to stop in for a drink or food before or after a walk but otherwise, Tyndrum is just a few miles down the road and easily reached. Beinn Dorain is one of the easier hills and is a simple (I didn't say easy) walk directly from the train station.

3. Inveroran Hotel, near Loch Tulla. From memory, a charming small hotel (just about 9 bedrooms) with limited facilities but more moderate price. Walk from Bridge of Orchy, about 1hr walk. There are many nice walks in this very scenic area, e.g west from Victoria Bridge to Loch Dochard and back. Also hills, Stob Gabhar is a superb experience.

4. Kingshouse Inn / Hotel: as mentioned, the bunkhouse is sort of affordable. Easy enough to reach by bus on A82 with a 500m walk from road end. Walks around here could include: east along north edge of Rannoch Moor, on a good track, then back again (this is very scenic and quite easy); up Devil's Staircase and back or maybe continue to Kinlochleven like you planned You could also get the bus back to Loch Ba then walk WHW to Kingshouse like you planned. The nearby Glencoe Mountain Resort has a chairlift but I'm not sure if it is open in October. Of course there are also hills nearby.

5. Glencoe e.g. hostels: not sure how good this would be. It is a great climbing / strenuous hillwalking base but maybe does not have so much variety of easier ambles.

6. Loch Ossian / Corrour: this is a good idea, especially if you can spend two or three nights there. Lots of good walks in the area, and navigation is quite easy (e.g. walk around Loch Ossian, you cannot possibly get lost...). Other walks: west down to Loch Treig then on if you like to Staoineag bothy, and back; SW up a hill, Leum Ulleim; SE along a good path / track down to Rannoch Station, then train back; E along Loch Ossian then continue up glen for a while, and back; E and N along Loch Ossian then along Strath Ossian, and back.

This WalkHighlands site has a fantastic set of suggested walks, and wherever you stay, they will be very happy to give you suggestions for day walks.

Okay, enough, sorry to have droned on. I hope this will help you.
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby LochsideLady » Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:45 pm

Thank you so much, for the thoughtful and informative replies.

Yes, the shortcut trail I was inquiring about was from the A82 NN308497 reference that was pointed out to me. It's reassuring to hear that there is an actual trail there - albeit boggy. I will look into and study the maps. With a Lac Ba to WHW trail shortcut, it appears that the distance would be more like 9.3km from around 19. If the weather hasn't been unusually wet, (and I'll check the ascent rate) this would seem to make this segment "do-able" for my arthritic body and provide me with the best chance of realistically getting through the Devil's Staircase segment next day.

I hiked 14km two days ago testing my body for distance just on level gravel paths in good conditions (at least until I passed two men with a pit bull on a leash who were tracking the scent of a Mother Black Bear with two cubs that had been seen in the area!). At least in Scotland, there appears to be no hostile wildlife to be alarmed about! I am aiming to keep hikes to under 10km if I can or I won't be able to do each of them. As a former skiier/sailor and National squash athlete, I understand changing elements and pushing my body...but I'm also realistic about my current limitations. Thanks for the tip that perhaps a bus driver could be convinced to let this Canadian tourist off at an A82 Lac Ba point. Trying to hitch hike at my age with a sign might be a little too pathetic. Both this dilemna and how to get from Broadford to the Bla Bheinn car park (and back) with no defined public transportation are my two itinerary thorns.

As a "tourist", I also hope to do Storr, Quiraing and Bla Bheinn the following week and three separate one day small group bus tours, quick Glasgow, Inverness (Torridon/Applecross) and Stirling City stops will have to satisfy my longing to enjoy beautiful Scotland.

I had already found Traveline for booking and planning my advance rail/bus tickets and had hotels booked (including Bridge of Orchy Hotel and Kingshouse Bunkhouse followed by The Bank House in Kinlochleven).

Unfortunately, my finances and tight timing don't allow me to linger and I'll have to accept whatever weather and views I get. My reason for visiting this segment area owes to my Ancestry geneology research having found that a branch of my direct Fletcher ancestors lived at Achallader (and other MacKenzie, Fraser, Matheson and Ross branches had Highland roots) and it felt like the right spot for me to get out and feel Scotland's remote landscape that surely can't be appreciated in full from a tourist bus. I'll also visit castles and historical sites on my trip where ancestors once lived and shaped Scottish/UK history which lends an interesting context to my travels.

Thank you again for your kind replies and hike info.

- Cathie Reid
Orillia, Ontario, Canada
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby jmarkb » Tue Aug 16, 2022 7:48 am

LochsideLady wrote:Thanks for the tip that perhaps a bus driver could be convinced to let this Canadian tourist off at an A82 Lac Ba point. Both this dilemna and how to get from Broadford to the Bla Bheinn car park (and back) with no defined public transportation are my two itinerary thorns.


If the bus driver is prepared to drop you off (not a certainty), you may need to be prepared to tell/show him exactly where - there is nothing actually there, it is just a layby in the middle of Rannoch Moor.

There is a bus service from Broadford to Elgol, but the times don't work for going up Blaven. There is a taxi service in Broadford which might be a solution: https://www.facebook.com/A-to-B-Taxis-Isle-of-Skye-601854810150095/
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby Booga » Tue Aug 16, 2022 9:29 am

LochsideLady wrote:At least in Scotland, there appears to be no hostile wildlife to be alarmed about!


Watch out for the Highland Haggis! Although they're not as fierce as the Lowland variety! :lol:
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Re: Hello from another impending Canadian solo ambler

Postby jmarkb » Tue Aug 16, 2022 10:30 am

To make your logistics easier, you could maybe do a short walk from Bridge of Orchy to Inveroran and back one day, get the bus to the Kingshouse, and then do the full Kingshouse to Kinlochleven section the following day.
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