Tighvein and the wetness
Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:38 pmSub 2k Marilyns: Tighvein.
Date: 17/11/2020.
Distance: 7.5 km.
Ascent: 455m.
Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Weather: Wet and windy higher up.
Plus 10 mile cycle from Brodick and back.
A work trip to Arran...usually the stuff of dreams but not really in the middle of a pandemic. For a start, both it and Glasgow were in restricted areas, and had I not been working I wouldn't have been able to visit either. The weather was looking particularly autumnal with high winds and lots of rain forecast, and I wasn't entirely sure that I would be able to get back off the island on Tuesday evening. To top it off, I was sharing self-catering accommodation with 3 other work colleagues, which is the last thing I wanted to be doing just now.
I didn't fancy adding to the list of things I wasn't keen on so I drove down to Ardrossan myself and took my bike over on the ferry. This would allow me to cycle the 5 or so miles between our site near Lamlash and the accommodation at Brodick rather than sharing a car. It also meant that at the end of day 1 I cycled back to Brodick the long way avoiding the company of people, then went and spent the rest of the evening on my own in my room. At least the rental place was big so it was easy to avoid one another! The cycle was nice in parts, but it was breezy, there were heavy showers throughout and it was soon dark.
Back to Ayrshire
Arran ahoy
Goatfell (location of) from Brodick
Holy Island from Lamlash
Monamore Glen
Lamlash and Holy Island from The Ross
On day 2, the cycle to site was wet, then we spent the rest of the morning stomping around in brambles and undergrowth looking at a route for a new forestry track. The rain had eased off by lunchtime and two of us were finished (the other two had another day and a half of work to do). I decided to fill the time between lunch and my ferry by walking up the hill we had been working at the foot of - Tighvein. I locked my bike up at the Dyemill carpark and stomped up the forest walk in my waterproofs and wellies - this made the going rather warm!
Monamore Burn at Dyemill
Across to Benlister Glen
Sadly once out of the trees, I was into the clag, and by the time I reached Urie Loch I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I hadn't brought a compass with me as I knew I wouldn't be doing any 'proper' hillwalking, so I trusted my instinct to guide me through the heather and peat hags to the summit cairn and trig. Fortunately this time it didn't let me down. Unfortunately I had also found the wind at the summit, and the rain also started again.
Fantastic views at Urie Loch
Tighvein summit. Yay...
I was less confident about finding my way back to Urie Loch and the path, but fortunately I had tracked the route on an app on my phone. Although it didn't show any map, I was able to see where I was going in relation to my ascent route and find my way to the opposite end of Urie Loch to the one I had come around on the way out. Navigation from here was simple, picking up a boggy path and following it back into the trees.
Slightly more visibility (and bucketloads more rain) at Urie Loch
Although the wind was behind me, the rain was really rattling down now, and it carried on like that all the way back to Brodick. The ground was saturated and even the path was a river of mud - I was glad for my wellies after all!. I slithered back down to my bike and plodded back over to the accommodation in Brodick to pick up the rest of my stuff, before thankfully discovering that despite being on a cancellation warning all day, the 16:40 ferry was running.
Even getting my bike onto the car at Ardrossan was a fight due to the wind, and I have never been more glad to step into a warm shower and spend the rest of the evening doing nothing at the flat in Glasgow. Hopefully no further work jaunts required down in this part of the world until we have moved back there!
Date: 17/11/2020.
Distance: 7.5 km.
Ascent: 455m.
Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.
Weather: Wet and windy higher up.
Plus 10 mile cycle from Brodick and back.
A work trip to Arran...usually the stuff of dreams but not really in the middle of a pandemic. For a start, both it and Glasgow were in restricted areas, and had I not been working I wouldn't have been able to visit either. The weather was looking particularly autumnal with high winds and lots of rain forecast, and I wasn't entirely sure that I would be able to get back off the island on Tuesday evening. To top it off, I was sharing self-catering accommodation with 3 other work colleagues, which is the last thing I wanted to be doing just now.
I didn't fancy adding to the list of things I wasn't keen on so I drove down to Ardrossan myself and took my bike over on the ferry. This would allow me to cycle the 5 or so miles between our site near Lamlash and the accommodation at Brodick rather than sharing a car. It also meant that at the end of day 1 I cycled back to Brodick the long way avoiding the company of people, then went and spent the rest of the evening on my own in my room. At least the rental place was big so it was easy to avoid one another! The cycle was nice in parts, but it was breezy, there were heavy showers throughout and it was soon dark.
Back to Ayrshire
Arran ahoy
Goatfell (location of) from Brodick
Holy Island from Lamlash
Monamore Glen
Lamlash and Holy Island from The Ross
On day 2, the cycle to site was wet, then we spent the rest of the morning stomping around in brambles and undergrowth looking at a route for a new forestry track. The rain had eased off by lunchtime and two of us were finished (the other two had another day and a half of work to do). I decided to fill the time between lunch and my ferry by walking up the hill we had been working at the foot of - Tighvein. I locked my bike up at the Dyemill carpark and stomped up the forest walk in my waterproofs and wellies - this made the going rather warm!
Monamore Burn at Dyemill
Across to Benlister Glen
Sadly once out of the trees, I was into the clag, and by the time I reached Urie Loch I could barely see my hand in front of my face. I hadn't brought a compass with me as I knew I wouldn't be doing any 'proper' hillwalking, so I trusted my instinct to guide me through the heather and peat hags to the summit cairn and trig. Fortunately this time it didn't let me down. Unfortunately I had also found the wind at the summit, and the rain also started again.
Fantastic views at Urie Loch
Tighvein summit. Yay...
I was less confident about finding my way back to Urie Loch and the path, but fortunately I had tracked the route on an app on my phone. Although it didn't show any map, I was able to see where I was going in relation to my ascent route and find my way to the opposite end of Urie Loch to the one I had come around on the way out. Navigation from here was simple, picking up a boggy path and following it back into the trees.
Slightly more visibility (and bucketloads more rain) at Urie Loch
Although the wind was behind me, the rain was really rattling down now, and it carried on like that all the way back to Brodick. The ground was saturated and even the path was a river of mud - I was glad for my wellies after all!. I slithered back down to my bike and plodded back over to the accommodation in Brodick to pick up the rest of my stuff, before thankfully discovering that despite being on a cancellation warning all day, the 16:40 ferry was running.
Even getting my bike onto the car at Ardrossan was a fight due to the wind, and I have never been more glad to step into a warm shower and spend the rest of the evening doing nothing at the flat in Glasgow. Hopefully no further work jaunts required down in this part of the world until we have moved back there!