TGOC Plockton to Redcastle - #2 Cougie to Feshie

 Cougie is writ large in the history of the TGOC so I was a little surprised it was not busier. Most TGOers arrive here on the Saturday however, and anyway time has moved on and some of the people there have changed. My trip notes recorded 'fantastic bird calls' at the camping site here.

The place is quite remote, so to be kept awake by music until after 1am is strange experience and probably new in TGOC history!


Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 
This did not impede my morning start and a little later than Dave I packed my tent and headed over the hill to Torgyle Bridge. We'd been led to believe that beyond the watershed was a pathless and boggy wasteland to be negotiated before the comfort of a path in the forest which adjoins the road. In fact this was far from what we experienced.

Gate to nowhere - the watershed above Cougie

The hillside was dry and provided easy walking, but once on the path in the forest all progress was frustrated by a huge area - approaching a kilometre square - of fallen trees. The only way was around at a cost of an hour or more delay. I heard that TGOers got completely lost in this jumble of timber and although a satnav provided useful information it does not help climbing over the obstructions.

The road to the bridge is marked with new and smart houses, widely spaced and mostly empty. I  found a local resident from the West Midlands who confirmed that they are mostly holiday homes and largely bought for investment - many changing hands after 6 months or so.

Beyond here is a march up and over the hill to reach Fort Augustus. Already en route are several lines of electricity pylons, and the service road which starts near to the bridge is hard to ignore. This is one of those TGO highways which are not so interesting or pleasant. Near the top the road is joined by General Wade's Military Road.

After a day of trudgery the last kilometre into Fort Augustus is charming with mixed woodland and an abundance of wild flowers and birdsong.


The campsite here held much promise with a bar and restaurant - but these were unfortunately closed. The village however provides a couple of pubs and restaurants enough for TGOers' needs and there is a garage shop for supplies open until 8pm.

Here I learned again - as I do most years - that two sessions of a dryer machine in the launderette is not enough to dry one pair of woollen socks. One sympathetic TGOer Sheila advised putting the socks on my walking poles in the morning for a couple of  hours - that did the trick and by lunchtime they were dry.

We were about 10 on the small field and were much entertained by the bird population. They went about their business as if we didn't exist - popping into tents to explore for tidbits, and leaving their mark.


Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 

At 7:45 I was one of the first to leave, passing opposite the entrance a patch of woodland impressively abundant with handsome ransoms (wild garlic).

South from Fort Augustus is a path obvious only to me it seems, and I headed alone up Glen Tarf as I did on my very first challenge. This quiet track is banked with wild flowers and runs past a picturesque waterfall, and over some old stone bridges eventually leading to an abandoned and ruined settlement.

As the valley swings round to the east I continued up hill to the top Meallan Odhar and over to the military road so beloved by TGOers.


Here I found two other early starters resting and admiring the electric pylons. They were puzzling over their map which showed the pylons above the road, when they were very obviously below. To help them out I consulted my map - this showed two sets of pylons one above and one below. Also wrong!

Melgarve Bothy & Nik in the distance

Whatever, marching alongside pylons is not my favourite place to walk and I headed over the watershed and started the downward route towards Garva Bridge. Below, travelling very slowly I found another early starter Lindy Griffiths who seemed in trouble - a chat confirmed that she we not in need of help and she followed me into Melgarve Bothy for a cuppa a short while later. I arrived here with Nik Lawcock; Kirsty Patterson arrived shortly later having tried to walk along the 'parallel roads' above River Roy. Next came Lindy and as I was leaving first timer Paul Southward from Southend turned up.

The Iain Sheilmobile

There were lots of deer here on both sides of the track down to Garva Bridge and at the bottom, in the parking place, was a small camper van with the big and welcoming frame of Iain Sheil at the door. Another cuppa is always welcome; and a chat with Iain and giant ham sandwich doubly so. He was spending a couple of nights here meeting some friends on their route and welcoming any other TGOers that were aware enough to notice him. Apparently several had walked past oblivious to
his TGO sign beside the road.

1-2 km further on is Glenhero lodge, here I took off to the south to camp at the edge of the plantation overlooking Glen Shirra. A large flock of deer grazed on the other side of the fence and the view towards the loch and the hills beyond made a pleasant backdrop.

Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 

Laggan with Electricity

Laggan without Electricity

A good path leads towards Kinloch Laggan with beautiful views of the lake spoilt by more electric pylons. I headed to the bridge near Inverpattack Lodge in order to investigate Pattack Falls. Both the falls and the Linn of Pattack were impressive after rain during the night.

Looking towards Inverpattack

Pattack Falls

My target is Dalwhinnie so from here I headed east on a path which takes me almost all the way the rising ridge of Meall Liath. My vetter made some intriguing remarks about Dirc Mohr which features here near my route and I determined to investigate.

Linn of Pattack

Dirc Mohr is a narrow sloping canyon a kilometre or so long between two parallel cliff faces. Imagine both cliffs have been used for artillery practice - over a period of time - so much of the facing rock lies fractured and jumbled in the base of the canyon. Although pointing in the right direction this is hardly recommendable route to Dalwhinnie. The rock are covered with different grades of lichen  and in the wet some are treacherously slippy. The route is committing with no let-up for the whole length. Slow and careful going.

Once through, a kilometre or more brings you to the track down to the valley and the road.

The bunkhouse and cafe at Dalwhinnie is a welcoming spot with a bit of a holiday atmosphere. 10 or so TGOers rested here - some camping, others using the bunkhouse. Ron and his wife provide great hospitality and good value food and drink. They had a wall of resupply parcels that people had sent for collection and they even sourced gas canisters for those who requested it.

Ron opened the cafe early for the TGOers on Thursday morning with a big table laid for breakfast. An extra kilo or so in the stomach feels better than an extra kilo in the pack!

Most were heading towards Glen Feshie from here. In ones and twos people left for the path alongside the water viaduct which led into the hills to the east. This is reached to the south of Dalwhinnie - al little different from the planned start shown in the map below.


Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 
I soon caught up with David (Aylemore?) & David (Poole?). We walked together a short way until their paths divided. I continued little further, but lost the second Dave as he stopped to brew tea. As rain started Julie Harle came powering up the hill. We had the same idea - to navigate over the top and drop down to Gaick Lodge while many of the other chose a lower path further north.

Julie Harle in the mist

  We joined forces to find the route. In mist and cold, cold rain we used compass and GPS to keep us on track. After more than an hour of walking blind Gaick Lodge and the loch appeared through the mist below.

Gaick Lodge appears below

My apprehension about crossing the river was unfounded and we reached the other side with dry feet. Time to find shelter and a bite to eat. We found a small plantation nearby, but no sooner did we get our packs off than a Landrover appeared and the offer to use one of the sheds by the Lodge. Actually just as cold and also dark but we thanked them graciously before heading off again.

Now we went north then, beyond the loch, we sought out a path to the east to take us across to the dam on Allt Bran. Here we found Dave 2 seated by the wall eating his lunch.

This valley was strangely busy for such a remote place, with walkers, photographers, campers and not all on the TGO challenge. Soon we were on a track which lead down to the River Feshie and around 4pm we passed above the location of the TGO Cheese and Wine Party. We weren't sure if it was a tent down there by the river or a rock - young Julie's eyes were not much better than mine - so we walked on by.

We passed several wild horses on watch as we approached the river. Here it was necessary to remove boots before crossing. The water was cold but not too deep JH charged ahead while I tried to follow BMC guidelines about river crossings. It is always good to finish something like this when it has been hanging over you all day as a Big obstacle! For Julie this was not the end however as she had mislaid her gloves and I advised her to go back and find them. She crossed the river again, and of course once more having not found them. They were in her pack all along.

On her third crossing she came back with several young men she had found doing their mountain leader training. And then came Dave 2 from Dalwhinnie. To the north we could see smoke rising from the chimney at the Ruigh Aiteachian bothie, and before long we were joining several encampments around the building in this very pleasant spot, and chatting with the large group sitting inside by the fire.

TGOC Plockton to Redcastle Lunan Bay - #1 Plockton to Cougie

Plockton village is in an enclosed picturesque bay facing across the water to a bulky and barren rocky mass hiding Applecross. Easily accessible by train on the Inverness to Kyle of Lochalsh line and handy for excursions to the Isle of Skye, this is a popular tourist destination.

Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 
Someone told me it is their least favourite starting point for the TGO because it involves a start of 5+ miles on the road to Dornie which is another starting point. The town is backed by some low hills however with many small lakes and excellent far-ranging views in all directions. Who wants to walk on the road?

The outstanding excursion on foot from Plockton is to the 'TV mast'. And this provides a good enough TGO start, a short section around the shoreline then upwards through woodland rich with primroses to reach about 350m - with spectacular views.

From here there's some cross country via some unexplained ancient buildings - to reach the A890. The ridge beyond is pathless and not high, so heather dominates the landscape.

A890 down below with Lochailsh Reservoir

Its nice to look down on Dornie and the impressive intersection of lochs below.

I came down to Loch Long a little earlier than planned and enjoyed some interaction with local school children before marching along the side of the Loch in the sunshine.

This is a beautiful valley and towards the end of the loch there were glimpses of snow patches on the ridge which was part of tomorrow's route. Camas Luinie was tonight's target. There is a bunkhouse here, but my plan was to camp on the land beyond the end of the road.

The streams from the hillside crossing the path were completely dry, but there was a trickling sound above and with a bit of a scramble I could find enough for my needs.  Despite uneven ground a good first night.


An eight o'clock start toward Falls of Glomach brought me in a short distance to the camp-site of 3 TGO starters from Plockton - Garry (Ben2Ben on Twitter), and Tony Bowe and Lee Wells. Tony and Lee would follow me up the Falls which Garry branched off ealier towards Morvich.

Koos on the path beyond Camas Luinie

Glomach this way

The path by the Falls of Glomach is narrow and high above the river and dramatic with one or two scrambly bits. I was happy that the weather was fine. Following the obvious route I did not come very close to the falls; I learned later that there is a closer approach - probably best taken back from the top without a pack to a viewing point.

The river was quite low, much lower than on my last visit at the same time last year. Crossing was possible anywhere above the falls, but for a dry passage I moved up further a few hundred metres beyond where the river divided in two. Heading up the ridge I was attracted by about 30 deer that moved in stages up a sloping terrace in front of me. This took me onto Creag Glass.

From here the route to the main Glen Affric ridge is straight forward - with the three tops Stuc Fraoch Choire, Stuc Mor, and Stuc Bheag high enough to be Munros, it is only the last Sgurr nan Ceathramhnan which qualifies. At the West Top the direction changes from south to east and the narrow path to the summit is pleasantly airey.

A full 3 km in this direction brings you to the far side of Stob Coire na Cloiche where the path heads down to the Altbeithe youth hostel in the valley below. From studying the map it looked like this was the best place on the ridge to camp. I spent a full hour looking for the ideal spot - in vain - eventually using a small piece of level ground quite close to the top of the ridge. Water possibilities were not attractive - with a few algae covered pools and trickly streams fed by snow melt.

My pitch was small - just the right shape to back my tent into the wind from the north. An hour later this turned 180 degrees and my tent began to flap and inflate and became very cold. With no possibility to change orientation I was nervous about how this might develop - fortunately the wind dropped and I had a quite night.

Push and pull the map in the window below to see the route in blue.
 
I awoke to clear blue sky, but before I could get out of my sleeping bag large snow flakes drifted down across the tent opening. An hour or so later I was on the way up An Socach in cloudy and drizzley snow and rain. A day walker arrived out of the mist when I was on the summit - heading for Beinn Fhionnlaidh he had started out at 6am cycling in from his car. I left him eating his breakfast.

He appeared again out of the mist as I took a sandwich on the top of Carn Eighe. A quick check indicated a temperature of 2-3 deg celsius and a wind speed between 12 and 16 mph. He headed north while I went east following a route that despite the cloud was full of interest with many twists and turns down to Sron Garbh.

From here a direct route to the river below, circumnavigating snow patches and only in the lower reaches finding the hint of the path marked on the map. The river crossing was highlighted by signs placed by the local mountain rescue team. On the other side there is a well-made track heading over the hill and down to Glen Affric Lodge.

Keepers Cottage Cougie

 The way to Cougie requires a bit of cross country from the shore of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin to the track which runs past Loch nan Gillean. This is tough going, soft underfoot and subject to a long diatribe by Iain at Cougie who maintains that the west side of the river is firmer ground but because of complaints by walkers the right of way was moved to the east side of the river. As far as I could see there was no path on either side and I was please to pop out of the undergrowth to join Stephen Rouse and Dave Stokes on the track for the last 3 or 4 km to Cougie.

Stephen took B&B at the Lodge while Dave and I camped at the Keepers Cottage. Having ordered a meal I joined the other visitor Brad Williamson at the impressive elm table and collected a resupply package which Iain and Sasha kindly held onto for me. This was Sunday night and some young people were drinking beers by their cars with sound systems blaring out.

Later, at around 9pm, many cars arrived in the next field, fires were lit, and a band started singing on a stage set up with a sound system. A party started and went on until about 1am. This was a bizarre SNP rally which apparently started in a big way on Friday then moved to the north for Saturday night only to return as we were getting into our sleeping bags on Sunday.