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After a night of 80 mph gusts we were lured by a window of lighter winds and sunshine to set our sights on Torr Leathann and Beinn Tharsuinn which lie to the west of Alness. They are hills I see every day from my kitchen window and I figured it was time I got up there. Having taught at Alness Academy this was familiar turf for Moira, with memories of school outings into the area, though she'd never climbed these hills.
We parked in the large parking area off the B9176 immediately north of the Strathrory bridge, figuring we'd be the only car, but were soon joined by a highway maintenance vehicle which swung in beside us as we were booting up. I wondered why when there was such a large space he came right up beside us but what followed was even stranger. The driver got out, walked purposely to the edge of the parking area, picked up three large rocks one by one, put them in the vehicle and drove off. It wasn't clear whether these were three particular rocks or random ones but whichever it was he went straight to them with no faffing.
That was the last we saw of human life for the rest of the walk but there was plenty of evidence of human life in the discarded bottles and cans, dumped televisions and abandoned household junk spoiling what would otherwise be the start of an attractive country walk. What goes through the minds of folk who deliberately drive to a spot like this to dump their rubbish is difficult to fathom.
River Strathrory near start of walk
The wide track provides an easy approach following the river and giving views ahead to Torr Leathann and Beinn Tharsuinn for much of the way. A few minutes into the walk the dogs came across three recently cut deer legs discarded on the track and must have thought it was their birthday until I prised their booty out of their mouths and put them on the lead. The funny thing was on our return there was no sign of the deer legs and if they'd been anywhere around the dogs would have been sure to sniff them out. So to add to the mystery of the three stolen rocks we had the mystery of the three missing deer legs.
Wide track with view of our hills
We were soon out of the trees and onto open moorland.
Once through the first metal gate we had company in the shape of sheep feeding from red buckets of supplementary feed left on the track. It looked like a cross between grit and mollasses and, judging from the number of them with their heads in the buckets, they like it! They looked like ewes due to lamb in April and it was reassuring to see the care the farmer was taking of his livestock. I put the dogs on lead as a running sheep is very hard for Jack to resist and they didn't seem unduly concerned about our appearance, walking along the track just ahead of us as far as the second metal gate. Whether they had designs on getting through the gate I don't know but we made sure that didn't happen.
Moira muffled up against the wind
Sheep waiting at the second gate
Once through the gate and after I was satisfied there were no more sheep I let the dogs off the lead.
Evidence of heavy rain the night before (Moira's photo)
The plan was to climb Torr Leathann (on left) first
Windfarm on Beinn Tharsuinn's north east shoulder - and despite the strong wind they weren't moving
Point where track crosses the Strathrory
River Strathrory
The track ends at the quarry and you take a path up the right side of the quarry which peters out in the wet tussocky ground above it.
Looking into quarry pool below - it's further down than it looks
Dogs above the quarry
From the top of the quarry there is no path so it's a case of following a line up the shoulder of Torr Leathann which means weaving through an initially wet area which becomes drier further up - though with the recent heavy rain nowhere today was going to be what you'd call dry!
Dogs enjoying one of many watering holes
The ground was tussocky but not steep and no knee high heather to wade through, just a steady slog up
North east to Dornoch Firth
East to starting point
South east to Cromarty Firth
Torr Leathann summit (637m) and south west to Ben Wyvis
Windfarm from cairn
Level top
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After 80 mph gusts causing structural damage the night before the wind had lost much of its ferocity (or we'd not have been able to stand up there) but the wind chill was still significant. When I took off my rucksack I found the waist strap had loosened and my map was gone - and was probably already half way to Dornoch. Just as well I could remember the route, we had good visibility and Moira had put the route into her GPS. While waiting at the cairn I put on an extra layer and we sat down to get some calories in for the final leg over to Beinn Tharsuinn. But staying still and strong wind isn't a good mix and by the time we got going I was feeling chilled with numb hands. I should have changed my normal gloves for my thick ski gloves but didn't stop to do that and by the time we reached the col between the hills I wasn't in any mood to look closely for a way across the peat hags as the pain from my hands was running up my arms. While I faffed clumsily changing gloves with numb hands Moira was looking for a way across, sticking her pole through the frozen surface into a four foot depth of black gloop. Not a good idea to attempt to walk across that then.
We wandered about looking for a way across and I remembered someone's report describing taking a detour south to a point where they were able to jump across. But the cold wind and the fact Moira had to be back early made it (unusually for us) not too difficult to decide to pull the plug and get down out of that wind. Rather than retrace our steps over the top we traversed round the side of the hill and thankfully found some shelter from the wind.
Descending from the col and the bog that defeated us
From there we fixed our eye on the top of the quarry and made for it in a more or less straight line, or as straight as the boggy ground would allow.
There was a silver lining to the cloud of not reaching our intended goal because we got back to the car with time to spare which meant we could stop off at Storehouse of Foulis for the best cup of hot chocolate, marshmallows and cream I've ever tasted.
A year later on 23rd March 2016 we were back to finish the job..... but I never got round to updating the report.
We followed the same route as far as the quarry but there had been a few changes from the previous year. The track had been widened, presumably to take larger vehicles, and when we reached the entrance to the quarry the path we had taken up the side of it had disappeared and there was evidence of recent work going on.
Quarry
So we veered off to the right taking a direct line towards Beinn Tharsuinn. Not much to say about that except it was a bit of a slog over lumpy heathery ground with some bogginess lower down but nothing like the bogginess that had thwarted us the first time round!
View back to vehicle track from slopes of Tharsuinn
It was a duller day than a year earlier and the white turbines stood out against a drab brown landscape.
Torr Leathann from Beinn Tharsuinn showing path leading to black line of bog
I've used my photo allowance so will add a summit pic in a post. Glad to get this one finally wrapped up!
