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Dunoon and the hills above it had been in my sights for some time, and so with a day or two available following some island-hopping, I caught the ferry from Gourock and found myself, for the first time, on the Cowal peninsular. I spend so much time staring at maps these days, I sometimes either underestimate distances or overestimate my fitness - more than often, both. And so I made a plan to head up towards Black Craig (camping somewhere along the way), then across to bag Cruach nan Capull and make an attempt on Cruach Neuran, before hopefully catching a bus back around to Dunoon - it seems buses run along the B836.
I say planned...I quickly learned not to underestimate these hills, and what follows is a report of a much-reduced adventure
As evening approached, I left the West Bay area of Dunoon and followed the popular (with dog walkers, at least) path up to the reservoir in Bishop's Glen, before following several occasionally steep and very-well made tracks up towards Kilbride Hill - following recommendations I had decided to spend the night on this little hill, and so have a head start for the walk 'proper' the next day. We'd had almost every weather condition over the last few days, but the skies were pretty clear tonight and Kilbride Hill proved a perfect place to camp.
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
The wind picked up in the night, but I slept like a baby. Peering out of my tent in the morning, there was nothing but dense mist, and 360 degree views of, well, absolutely nothing. Rolling my eyes, I packed-up quickly, and realised today would be one of those 'map and compass all the way' days. I took a bearing from Kilbride Hill and plodded down and across terrain so tough underfoot it was hard to imagine the bustling little town of Dunoon would be waking up less than a couple of miles below. Only the very edge of Cowal, and already it felt like a vast, untouched wilderness. It was hot, it was humid, it was quite tough. Was I back in the North Pennines, I laughed, as I tripped on yet another tussock, and nearly disappeared into a bog. Fortunately the mist cleared.
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
After what seemed like miles but was no distance at all, I came across a road, not marked on the map. The rate at which forestry landscape changes must make mapping a bit of a nightmare, but it soon became apparent which tracks had been joined-up, and in the distance I could see machinery and stacks of logs from recent forestry work. I found the fence line, and, as has helped me on so many hills before, followed it onwards and upwards until I got to the junction in the fence near Bishop's Seat - a popular hill, so I'm told.
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
I veered left and followed the fence line across The Socach, before trudging up to pt.476 and on to the plateau summit of Black Craig, my 47th Sub 2000. Along the way there had been some substantial bogs to negotiate, and some pretty steep hags that necessitated climbing on the wire fence as if I were on the net of an assault course. The mist came and went repeatedly, and the summit of Black Craig was featureless, very windy, and a surprisingly hard-earned tick on the map.
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Already tired after the previous few days' walking, it didn't take me long to give up on Cruach nan Capull et al. Back across the Socach for me, and then up the fairly short (and suddenly easy) slope to Bishop's Seat, so I could at least touch a trig and climb a second hill today - even if it isn't a very big one. The wind howled as I had wander around the rocky little summit - there were some prayer flags a few metres from the trig point. Talking of prayers, legend has it a local clergyman used to climb Bishop's Seat every day and say a prayer. A tough spiritual cookie
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
From the summit of Bishop's Seat there was a well-trodden path to follow, down towards the treeline under Eilligan. 100m or so lower than Bishop's Seat, all was calm again, and a well-made path (and new-looking wooden bridge) led me through seemingly recently deforested ground. Again, the current landscape bore little resemblance to that on the map, and eventually the path disappeared and I found myself picking a way through the muddy, eery 'wood' until I joined the forestry track under 'The Badd'.
Walking on the Cowal Peninsular. by
Christopher Watson, on Flickr
I decided to stay with the track rather than attempt to return via Bishop's Glen as I was pretty sure none of the paths I thought would be apparent would be there at all
I had seen nobody on the hills (surprised?), but did hear the occasional hum of forestry vehicles in the distance as I wandered along the track, which eventually led me all the back down into Dunoon. Arriving in Dunoon, the sun was out, holiday makers licked ice creams, and I must have made for quite a sight, plodding down the main street looking like some sort of wild-man, covered in mud.
I collapsed onto a seat and waited for the ferry back to Gourock, chuckling to myself for some indiscernible reason. I'd scratched the surface of Cowal, and I felt like an idiot for underestimating it. Note to all the bigger hills further into the peninsular - I'll be back for you.
