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When I was growing up, all I wanted to do was climb all the Munros, Corbetts and Grahams in Scotland. I collected all the guidebooks (SMC, Cameron McNeish etc.) and a number of maps of the Scottish countryside, but it was a while until I actually climbed my first one, aged 16. I remember dragging my whole family up Goatfell as a child, only to run into mist and low cloud while the numbers dwindled steadily, and having to abort the attempt before reaching the final ridge. So in 2003 I managed to persuade my Grandad to drive down from the home in Prestwick, through Maybole and Straiton (the latter is a lovely place) to Stinchar Bridge in the Galloway Forest Park. This took me to the starting point for a potential climb of Shalloch on Minnoch, the closest mountain to my hometown (unless Goatfell is closer as the crow flies!)
The SMC Guidebook recommends doing this hill in a round with Kirriereoch Hill, but this was probably asking too much by the time we got to Stinchar Bridge, especially given our walking paces on the day (in addition, the peak-bagger in me was sadly more interested in climbing the Corbett of Shalloch, and Kirriereoch was demoted from the lists!) We set off at 1.30pm, and headed up the road from the car park. After clearing the trees we searched for a route across the burn and up over Cairnadloch, the first of the three 'bumps' on the route. I had read something on the internet about a path going over Cairnadloch, but the best we found was a line in the heather which descended to the small burn before rising on the other side. It was better than nothing, and was easier walking than having to fight through the undergrowth, as well as ensuring we stayed on the right course!
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- The first subsidary top, Cairnadloch.
Once over Cairnadloch, the larger dome of Caerloch Dhu loomed into view. This, along with the summit of Shalloch, is visible for many miles around (throughout Ayrshire and the Arran hills) due to its height and size. The line in the undergrowth also improved, effectively turning into a proper path, and we were both relieved at its presence.
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- Caerloch Dhu from Cairnadloch.
To the East, a fine view appeared of lochs in the Galloway Forest Park, including Loch Doon (the one furthest away, I think).
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- A number of lochs become visible to the East as the view opens out on Caerloch Dhu.
By comparison to the walk up Cairnadloch, the climb of Caerloch Dhu was fairly long, about an hour in total, although my lack of experience of hillwalking and my Grandad's age probably added significantly to the time. At about 3.30pm, we rounded the brow of the hill and passed a small lochan, at which point I remember the path fizzling out. It was hardly necessary by this point, though, as the way ahead was obvious. We bore West before zig-zagging up the side of the final (summit) dome, arriving at the top at about 4pm. Success at last!
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- Me at the summit.
(Note the Merrick viewfinder at the foot of the shelter, which helped identify most of the surrounding landmarks.)
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- Ailsa Craig is visible very faintly to the West (it was a lot clearer on the day!)
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- The view back North to Prestwick and Ayr.
The views were incredible in all directions. We could see Ailsa Craig to the West, a a fine view of Arran, and the whole of the Southern Uplands, while the Mull of Galloway was spread out beneath like a map. Ayr, Prestwick and Troon were also visible, although my non-digital camera didn't really pick them up well on the day.
The one regret is that we technically didn't bag the actual summit.
Despite the 768m spot height housing the trig point and a massive stoned shelter, the actual summit (775m) was about 400-500m to the East. We felt we had earned the rest at the Western "summit", and had a late lunch before returning by the same route. However, my urge to fully conquer mountains by reaching the proper summits has led me to scale the rock climb on the Cobbler in recent times, so I'm not quite sure why I chickened out of the extra walk on this occasion.
The descent was straightforward enough, and finding the path near the lochan was no problem at all (in misty weather, this may have been more of a task). We finally returned to Stinchar Bridge at 7pm, as we were rather taking our time coming down. The Harveys wallchart I had bought at the time contains 720 Munros, Corbetts and Grahams, so it was a relief to finally fill in the first entry when I got home to Prestwick. For some reason, it would be four years before I returned to hillwalking again, but for the time being, the amazing views from the summit of Shalloch provided enough positive memories of my first (proper) day on the hills.
