Bidean take 2

[Fife Flyer]

This turned out to be a great shout by Andy who was north of the Border for a couple of weeks on a mission of bagging as many munro's as he could. He posted me his schedule and the only day I could join him was this one, I asked George if he fancied climbing Bidean again and he jumped at the chance.
I arranged with Andy that we would meet at the car park in Glencoe at 9.30am and arranged to pick up George from his front door at 7am.
As things turned out we had a bit of spare time so we popped into the Green Welly for a coffee and the usual toilet stop.
The car park was busy even when we pulled up, mainly with foreign tourists mesmerised by the sheer beauty of Glencoe and the domineering hills.
After kitting up we set off on the obvious path which went downhill and took us to a bridge that we crossed. After that it was just a matter of following the very obvious path uphill which also follows a stream that tumbles down the hill.
The hills were quite busy and it was rather hard work in the heat but plenty of stops to take photo's certainly helped. Andy was certainly comfortable on the ascent although the descent was slightly different - old age catching up with him
Once we reached the summit of Lochan we came across a couple who were determined not to vacate the cairn so we could take a photo or two So after a few photo's in all directions (apart from the cairn) we set off down and then up to the summit of Bidean.
Initially we had the summit to ourselves but were then joined by another walker so we set off again.
I think Andy was really enjoying his day in Glencoe and it is not surprising as we had views that really were very special
After Bidean it was a matter descending down to the bealach area where we got our first view of the Lost Valley, we then trudged up to the summit of Sgreamhach. It was there that we met a fellow walker who kindly offered to take a group photo of us. It was obvious he was not a local so I asked where he was from and he said Switzerland and he comes to Scotland every year Next for us was the descent back down to the bealach and then the dreaded descent down the very eroded path into the Lost Valley. We took our time descending and were careful not to dislodge any rocks etc especially as I was first down
After the first part of descent was tackled it then started to get easier as large stones had been placed as a path to save erosion. I am sure the path must have been re routed as I seem to remember a tricky slabby bit further down that is no longer on the descent route.
Once on the valley floor we then started to come across umpteen tourists who were wandering around like lost sheep wondering why they had walked into the valley. As we got nearer to the river there were even more tourists, the majority were foreign and I was stopped and asked what was ahead of them so I told them. We crossed the river easily, unlike last time I was there. After crossing the river it was a matter of heading downhill and eventually back to the road.







George practicing his gay wave







































































































































A fantastic day out was ended by having dinner at the Kings House Hotel, having said that when we arrived it was closed but a temporary cafe had opened next door so we ate in there. The first drink hardly touched the sides and the food was very cheap. Thanks to George for treating me, much appreciated - just a shame it all came back at 2am as I seemed to have contracted a sickness bug
Thanks to Andy and George for superb company especially as we hardly had a silent moment