free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
My philosophy when it comes to walking in Scotland is that you shouldn't make too many plans based on the weather forecast. If you shy away every time there's a bad forecast you won't ever leave your house, and besides, it's often wrong because the weather is so unpredictable. In fact, I have usually not even bothered to find it out. After this weekend (my first solo camping / walking trip) I am coming round to the idea that this attitude is probably quite foolish.
After a terrifying arrival at Edinburgh airport in high winds (we had one aborted landing, followed by a second successful but very bumpy one with lots of screaming), it just didn't really occur to me that these same winds would continue to affect me all weekend. So the next day I drove off up to the Cairngorms fully expecting to march up Cairn Gorm and across the plateau to Ben Macdui on Saturday. I arrived at the Glenmore campsite and pitched my tent in the snow, and then retreated to the car to drink my favourite ale, Isle of Arran Blonde. I was asleep by about 9pm but wide awake again at 2.30 am, which was unfortunate because the campsite has a bizarre rule of locking you in at night so you cannot leave in your car until 8am.
![Photo0212.jpg]()
- The lone idiot
I arrived up at the rangers base for the start of the walk up Cairn Gorm at about 8.30. After about 20 minutes of walking I had been literally blown over, twice. 68 kilos of human just thrown to the ground (which was covered in snow and rocks). At this point I realised the utter stupidity of what I was trying to do and turned back. At the rangers base I looked at the weather forecast on the noticeboard: 100 mph gusts! I drove back down to lower ground and went for a nice, twee, boring little walk around a loch.
![Photo0220.jpg]()
- Nice, boring walk around loch
Then I decided to go to Skye, in the misguided hope that the weather might be better. In fact it was worse because the gale force winds were accompanied by rain. I fully expected all the hotels and campsites to be open - i always assumed that there would be plently of other idiots wanting to walk in the winter. But most things were closed....until March! Whilst taking a room in the totally souless pub in Portree was slightly tempting, I felt that it would be cheating. So I drove back to the closed campsite at Sligachan and - not being able to put up my tent in gale force winds - slept in the car. But I couldn't lock it - the alarm went off because it was shaking so much in the wind.
This time I had a lie in until 4.20am, and then drove off down towards Elgol with the intention of going to the base of Bla Beinn and seeing if it wasn't quite so windy round there.......
So in the end, having failed to get up Cairn Gorm and Ben Macdui, and having not even attempted to do my plan B , I settled for plan C: The Storr - a walk I have already done twice.
Still, I've never experienced bright, early morning sunshine in a hailstorm before.
Two of the three walk reports I have posted have been about how I failed to do what I planned to do. It is becoming embarrasing.
