Two out of Three ain`t bad I suppose ?

[tall-story]

As I have lived all of my life in Scotland and not been on any islands other than Skye, (ok Arran last year) I thought it was about time I did something about that So as my wee dog was called Jura (after my favourite Malt) it was about time I got my ass over there, and as I was sneakily picking away at Corbetts what better than a bit of a walk when I was there
I remember reading somewhere that the Corbetts required a lot more planning and motivation to complete as they were so far apart and not as interesting Well the first part of that may be correct as they don't seem as easy to get at, as most of the Corbetts were and are mostly in groups of one or maybe two unlike Munros which often are grouped two, three or often more per trip which makes the challenge less so than the Corbetts. And the second part is just not true (at the moment) as the Corbetts I have climbed have been as hard a day if not more so than a good lot of the Munros
So the plan was hatched, first I had to get a half decent day or two (as I planned on camping at least over night) then I had to sort out travel, which turned out a bit of a challenge from Doune, firstly I could drive to Kennacraig for a ferry then across to Islay then another ferry to Feolin on Jura then a bus to at least Craighouse or I could drive to Tayvalich and get the Jura passenger Ferry at a more reasonable time and less of a drive, also it let me see another bit of Scotland (Knapdale) I have never seen before while I drove. It was a wee bit dearer than the other means of transport At £20 each way but far more convenient times and it went direct to Craighouse on Jura

Arrival on Jura

So there I was on a less than perfect start weather wise, but the beeb had promised it would clear up and so it did The service bus times on the island are not the best so after setting the tent up in the hotel grounds (£5)

All set up and ready to go :-)

I decided just to walk the 3.5k to the start at the three arch bridge and if a bus passed then I would wave it down (that walk took an hour exactly)

The Three Arch Bridge

This Way please

The walk begins at the three arch bridge and almost as soon as you are over the deer fence it becomes obvious that its a bit of a bog fest I decided to take a more direct route to the outflow of Loch an t-siob

It looks easy, but don't be fooled...go on a dry day!

A Wee well deserved breather

Stepping stones

, which proved to be a right pain in the arse because of tussocks with two feet of grass on them but less of a pain than the mucky trench of a path that follows the burn it was awful as I found out on my return !
These hills are steep! I had seen them many times before from Arrochar etc and thought they would be easy, but how wrong I was They were very steep and had very loose scree, on I went though and before long I was feeling it on my butt cheeks and calf muscles , as I hadn't been out walking for 7-8 weeks I guess I had lost my hill fitness, this went on for around an hour with lots of stops to groan with pain and wiping sweat and there I was on the summit of Beinn Shaintaidh and what a view you get up there

Summit of Beinn Shiantaidh

, as I had said earlier the weather did clear up so the views all round were pretty good

Loch an t-siob and craighouse on the right in the distance

A wee rest for me and poor wee Jura

Cookie time :-)

and off we went down the SW side of Beinn Shiantaidh being careful of the rocks and scree with a bit of easy scrambling thrown in for good measure, wee soon reached the the bealach and there was a fairly obvious path to follow at the foot of Beinn an Oir

Wee Jura just doing what she is good at ;-)

, first it went N for a while then turned W for the last 300mts or so then a final wee push SW after the two ruined buildings and we were at the summit , and I was Pooped

Summit pose on Beinn an Oir with Beinn Shiantaidh in the bacground

. It was then that I decided that enough was enough and I wasn`t doing the third summit as I not only had the walk back to the bridge

Pano of decent

but also another 3.5k back to the tent and food which if I left any later then I might miss last food orders at the hotel So the walk back was almost a reversal but instead of following my footsteps I took a line directly to the outflow of the loch where I eventually met up with paths along the loch side which led me to the tourist track

Stunning ???

back to the Three Arch Bridge which was the most awful path I think I have ever walked, it was full of deep mucky holes and lots of tussocks which if you slipped on you were getting wet, which I did in the end and it went knee deep and I was not a happy bunny as I had to walk back the 3.5k to the tent etc with a wet foot ! So with the lure of food and a dram or two I had to get a march on and fairly quickly it seemed I was back at base, dog fed and a quick change and it was time to eat I left at 1130am and was back at 830pm which was not bad I thought considering I had started my day at Doune at 6am.

Back at camp and all done :-)

I would usually go for Steak or Steak pie but on this occasion I had Scallops and they were far nicer than I thought they might be

Dinner

, so as you can imagine a couple of beers and a couple of half's later I was a bit wobbly and of course it was too early to retire for the night so I had a wee wander around Craighouse, which is not very big to be fair but on my travels I watched two otters in the bay between the campsite and the pier and that apart from the midges held my attention for a good half hour

. A few photos later and it was time for bed, and my wee Vango was barely big enough for me but I also had a small cocker to deal with, and that was for me one of the most amazing things just how well she settled having never been in a tent before, she just couried down and I never heard or felt a twitch all night

First thing :-)

I slept well as you could imagine but I had to get up fairly early to catch my ferry back to Tayvalich (845am)

Swans out front of the tent

which was there bang on time and it was time to leave

My taxi

. The sea was flat calm which made for a great crossing and another heap of photos

Captain of the ship ;-)

The lovely Jura

and before long I was back at Tayvalich and what a stunning place that is more so maybe because of the morning light, it was just gorgeous

Tayvalich

. So there we have it Jura is a stunning place which I will go back to, and I would recommend to anyone thinking of a trip, Just Do It ! You`ll love it.
All that was left to do was the drive back which was long but driving through such a gorgeous bit of Scotland made it a pleasure

[KatTai]

Great report and love the photos, especially the one of Jura looking out of the ferry window!

[elliebelle]

Stunning pictures tall story. Wee jura is a wee cutie. Wod love to join you on some of your adventures

[tall-story]

Great report and love the photos, especially the one of Jura looking out of the ferry window!

Thanks Kat Tai It was a bit of an adventure for both of us, but it all worked out well.

Oh n` elliebelle just get in touch if you fancy joining me on my adventures

[malky_c]

Great set of photos . Seems that you got the weather, which is easier said than done, judging by many other reports I have seen. Im hoping to get over there sometime this autumn. There's so much good walking to be had on the NW coast but I'll be more than happy enough with the Paps for my first visit. Cheers

[Beaner001]

Cracking report Colin, was hoping you'd report on it after seeing your Facebook post as I've no idea of the logistics of it and would like to go there someday
I like the pic of captain Jura too, oh and it's a very fine malt, me and my mates shared a bottle in the Shenevall bothy last year
Cheers

[litljortindan]

Looks a fantastic day. A beautiful dog you have there too.

[spiderwebb]

Beautiful pics of a beautiful place, and yes my favourite dram too. Love the pics of Jura too (Jura the dog....gets a bit confusing this one )

[dooterbang]

Wonderful report. Great photos and a good read that flowed well.

Been thinking of doing the Paps, obviously I'll wait till its dry

Cheers

[tall-story]

Aye Dave, it sometimes is a wee bit confusing with two or even three Jura`s in my life, especially if I have been at the one that comes out of the bottle
Thanks to all others for your kind comments I am away today to finish this fantastic journey of Bagging and heading for Mull Right Now Does that mean I will have to re-set my Ballons ?

[SAVAGEALICE]

looks smashing! ...some lovely pics