Out and About - Scotland

Ben Nevis

Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in the British Isles. It is located at the western end of the Grampian Mountains in the Lochaber area of Scotland, close to the town of Fort William. It attracts an estimated 100,000 ascents a year, around three-quarters of which are made using the well-constructed Pony Track from Glen Nevis on the south side of the mountain. I've been up this track and have found it totally boring because of the monotonous never-ending path. For climbers and mountaineers, the main attraction lies in the 700-metre-high cliffs of the north face: among the highest cliffs in Britain, they harbour some classic scrambles and rock climbs of all difficulties, and are one of the principal locations in the UK for ice climbing.This one of the more exciting bits if you have time to sit and watch this helps make the trip worth while.

The summit, at 1,344 metres (4,406 ft) above sea level, features the ruins of an observatory which was permanently staffed between 1883 and 1904. The meteorological data collected during this period is still important for an understanding of Scottish mountain weather.

The first recorded ascent of Ben Nevis was made on 17 August 1771 by James Robertson, an Edinburgh botanist, who was in the region to collect botanical specimens. Another early ascent was in 1774 by John Williams, who provided the first account of the mountain's geological structure. John Keats climbed the mountain in 1818, comparing the ascent to "mounting ten St Paul's without the convenience of a staircase". It was not until 1847 that Ben Nevis was confirmed by the Ordnance Survey as the highest mountain in Britain, ahead of its rival Ben Macdui.

The summit observatory was built in the summer of 1883, and would remain in operation for 21 years. The first path to the summit was built at the same time as the observatory and was designed to allow ponies to carry up supplies, with a maximum gradient of one in five. The opening of the path and the observatory made the ascent of the Ben increasingly popular, all the more so after the arrival of the West Highland Railway in Fort William in 1894.

Recommended map:

Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map 38.

Ascent routes

The 1883 Pony Track to the summit (also known as the Ben Path, the Mountain Path, or the Tourist Route) remains the simplest and most popular route of ascent. It begins at Achintee on the east side of Glen Nevis about 2 km (1.5 miles) from Fort William town centre, at around 20 metres above sea level. Bridges from the Visitor Centre and the youth hostel now allow access from the west side of Glen Nevis. The path climbs steeply to the saddle by Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe at 570 metres, then ascends the remaining 700 metres up the stony west flank of Ben Nevis in a series of zig-zags. It is well made and maintained throughout its length, and, thanks to the zig-zags, not unusually steep apart from in the initial stages. While its not steep for me the zig-zags make the walk manotinus, not like Snowdon or Sca Fell Pike where there is something different with every step.

A route popular with experienced hillwalkers which unfortunately I haven't tried yet starts at Torlundy, a few miles north-east of Fort William on the A82 road, and follows the path alongside the Allt a' Mhuilinn. It can also be reached from Glen Nevis by following the Pony Track as far as Lochan Meall an t-Suidhe, then descending slightly to the CIC Hut. The route then ascends Carn Mòr Dearg and continues along the Carn Mòr Dearg Arête ("CMD Arête") before climbing steeply to the summit of Ben Nevis. This route involves a total of 1,500 metres of ascent and requires modest scrambling ability and a head for heights. In common with other approaches on this side of the mountain, it has the advantage of giving an extensive view of the cliffs of the north face, which are hidden from the Pony Track.

It is also possible to climb Ben Nevis from the Nevis Gorge car park at the head of the road up Glen Nevis, either by the south-east ridge or via the summit of Carn Dearg (south-west). These routes do not require scrambling, but are shorter and steeper, and tend to be used by experienced hill walkers.

The summit

The summit of Ben Nevis comprises a large stony plateau of around 40 hectares (100 acres). The highest point is marked with a large, solidly built cairn atop which sits an Ordnance Survey trig point.

The ruined walls of the observatory are a prominent feature on the summit. An emergency shelter has been built on top of the observatory tower for the benefit of those caught out by bad weather, and, although the base of the tower is slightly lower than the true summit of the mountain, the roof of the shelter overtops the trig point by several feet, making it the highest man-made structure in Britain. A war memorial to the dead of World War II is located next to the observatory. The view from Britain's highest point is extensive. In ideal conditions it can extend up to 120 miles (190 km), including such mountains as the Torridon Hills, Morven in Caithness, Lochnagar, Ben Lomond, Barra Head, and 123 miles (198 km) to Knocklayd in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Out and about on the mountain

Ben Nevis' popularity, climate and complex topography contribute to a high number of mountain rescue incidents. In 1999, for example, there were 41 rescues and four fatalities on the mountain. Some accidents arise over difficulties in navigating to or from the summit, especially in poor visibility. The problem stems from the fact that the summit plateau is roughly kidney-shaped, and surrounded by cliffs on three sides; the danger is particularly accentuated when the main path is obscured by snow. Two precise compass bearings taken in succession are necessary to navigate from the summit cairn to the west flank, from where a descent can be made on the Pony Track in relative safety.

As throughout these pages I hark on about safety, proper clothing and the ability to use a map and compass. Although Ben Nevis is a tourist trap it is still a mountain and treat it with due respect.

Isle of Mull

From Oban, the Isle of Mull is just a 40 minute ride on the ferry. I found it easy to book and the staff very helpful, go to the Caledonian MacBrayne Hebridean & Clyde Ferries website for times and fares, not only to Mull but to the many other Islands around the west coast of Scotland.

The island itself reminds me of New Zealand with its wild beauty, the mountains, the wildlife and the sheep! It's a birdwatcher's paradise with every kind of bird with a hook bill you could think of! Apart from birds there is plenty of other things to see, red and fallow deer, otters and seals. Many butterflies such as the Marsh Fritillary and Green Hairstreak and dragonflies such as the Four-spotted Chaser and Azure Damselfly.

There are boat trips to other islands and whale watching trips, which unfortunately I didn't do as I ran out of time which I plan to do next visit. A trip to the Island of Iona is a good idea. I went over to see the Corncrake, but although I heard loads they were just too crafty for me and didn't get a view!

Also on the island are the two largest birds in the UK the Golden and White Tailed Eagle. The latter is heavily protected as they have been a target for egg thieves. They are a fantastic sight to see them soaring in the sky. I don't think you realise how big they are until you see them with a crow or buzzard.

If you are there just for a day, there are plenty of guided wildlife tours around the island. Although I didn't go one any the trips, the people on the trips I saw all looked happy enough with their experience.

A great web site is Mullbirds Online run by Alan Spellman, which has lots of great information on and for those going bird watching. Get the bird report for the island which also has lots of great information about the birds and where to see them. While the birds don't read the book and don't turn up on queue the information is pretty accurate!

I met lots of great people on the island such as the only 'Geordie Scotsman' I've ever met - Bryan Rains from Pennyghael stores who also runs Wild About Mull Wildlife Tours who was very helpful. (I recommend the steak pies from the stores :o) kept me going all week!) Scott from Scoor House was incredibly helpful. Mike Story and his family made my stay just wonderful, I stayed in their self catering at Achnadrish House which is close to Dervaig in the north of the island for the week and was just great value for money! I certainly will be making a visit back, just brilliant.

One moan is some of the driving that goes on. There are many single track roads with passing places and the trouble is some people don't know how to reverse and the other which really winds me up is how rude some people are. It takes no time at all to put your hand up to say thank you, but some people are just ignorant! Apart from that I thought the place was just heaven especially as the sun goes down over the sea, just magical.

Recommended map:

Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps 373, 374 and 375 will cover the Island

Isle of Skye

What a special place! I cant recommend it enough.

The Isle of Skye is quite easy to get too with several options, the Skye bridge and ferries operated by Skyeferrys and Caledonian Macbrayne. Love it or hate it, the Skye Bridge, spanning from Kyle of Lochalsh to Kyleakin, is here to stay and for most people it will be your gateway to Skye. Though originally a toll bridge, there is now no toll so access to the Island across the bridge is free.

There is a unique six car turntable ferry that operates across the narrows through the summer months (April to October). The Kylerhea ferry now has its own website at www.skyeferry.co.uk. Caledondian MacBrayne operate ferry services to and from the island on routes from Armadale to Mallaig and from Uig to The Western Isles. In addition, there are CalMac ferries serving Raasay from Sconser and The Small Isles (Canna, Rùm, Eigg and Muck) from Mallaig. Go to the Caledonian MacBrayne website for current details of the routes and timings.

Wildlife abounds on the island, with birds from the tiny Goldcrest to magnificent Golden Eagle, mammals from Pygmy Shrew to Red Deer and fish from Saithe to Salmon. If you are lucky you might catch sight of the elusive Otter playing on the shore. The wide range of geology and topography provides habitats for many wild flowers. To get more information go to Skye Birds website.

At 1,656 km² (639 square miles), Skye is the second-largest island in Scotland after Lewis and Harris. It is the largest and most northerly island in the Inner Hebrides. The coastline of Skye is a series of peninsulas which are great for sea watching both for birds and sea mammals such as whales and porpoises, bays radiating out from a centre dominated by the Cuillin Hills, which is a great place to see Golden Eagles. (I saw my first here which was a great experience.) The main peninsulas include Trotternish in the north, Waternish, Duirinish, Minginish and Strathaird to the west and Sleat in the south. Surrounding islands include Isay, Longay, Pabay, Raasay, Rona, Scalpay, Soay and Wiay. You should be able to get to these by ferry.

The Black Cuillin, which are mainly composed of basalt and gabbro, include 12 Munros and provide some of the most dramatic and challenging mountain terrain in Scotland. The ascent of Sgurr a' Ghreadaidh is one of the longest rock climbs in Britain and the Inaccessible Pinnacle is the only peak in Scotland that requires technical climbing skills to reach the summit. A full traverse of the Cuillin ridge may take 15-20 hours to complete. The Red Hills to the south are sometimes also known as the Red Cuillin. They are mainly composed of granite that has weathered into more rounded hills with many long screes slopes on their flanks. The highest point of these hills is Glamaig, one of only two Corbetts on Skye.

Trotternish is underlain by basalt, which provides relatively rich soils and a variety of unusual rock features. The Kilt Rock is named for the tartan-like patterns in the 105 metre (350 ft) cliffs. The Quirang is a spectacular series of rock pinnacles on the eastern side of the main spine of the peninsula and further south is the rock pillar of the Old Man of Storr.

Beyond Loch Snizort to the west of Trotternish is the Waternish peninsula, which ends in Ardmore Point's double rock arch. Duirinish is separated from Waternish by Loch Dunvegan. It is ringed by sea cliffs which reach 295 metres (967 ft) at Waterstein Head. Lochs Bracadale and Harport lie between Duirinish and Minginish which includes the narrow valleys of Talisker and Glen Brittle and whose beaches are formed from black basaltic sands. Strathaird is a relatively small peninsula close to the Cuillin hills with several small crofting communities. The bedrock of Sleat is Torridonian sandstone which produces poor soils and boggy ground, although its lower elevations and relatively sheltered eastern shores produces a lush growth of hedgerows and crops.

As I've already said there is plenty to see if you have the patience to look and to be honest when you go to Skye why wouldn't you? Corncrake, Red-throated Diver, Rock Dove, Kittiwake, Atlantic Puffin, Goldeneye, Golden Eagle and White-tailed Sea Eagle can be found with a little effort, Mountain Hare and Rabbit are now abundant and predated on by Wild Cat and Pine Marten. The rich fresh water streams contain Brown Trout, Atlantic Salmon and Water Shrew. Offshore the Edible Crab and Oyster are also found, the latter especially in the Sound of Scalpay. There are also nationally important Horse Mussel and Brittlestar beds in the sea lochs. Heather moor containing Ling, Bell Heather, Cross-leaved Heath, Bog Myrtle and Fescues is everywhere abundant.

I recommend you spend time on this wonderful island. There is plenty of accommodation, when I've gone I've camped by the coast. The age-old problem of midges can be irritating, but I just love the place as you probably noticed. :o)

Recommended map:

Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps 407, 408, 409, 410, 411 and 412 will cover the Island

The Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides, comprise an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands form part of the Hebrides, separated from the Scottish mainland and from the Inner Hebrides by the stormy waters of the Minch, the Little Minch and the Sea of the Hebrides. Formerly the dominant language of the Islands, Scottish Gaelic remains widely spoken even though it has now been largely supplanted by English in some parts.

The main islands form an archipelago with their smaller surrounding islands; these are sometimes known poetically as the Long Isle. The major islands include Lewis and Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist and Barra. Much of the western coastline of the islands is machair, a fertile low-lying dune pastureland. Much of the islands is protected habitat, and this includes both the islands and the surrounding waters. There are numerous rare species, including the golden eagle, basking shark, whale, dolphin, otter and corncrake.

There is a total of 70 islands which make up the Outer Hebrides. 14 are populated islands and 56 are unpopulated, although some have part-time wardens and a military presence at times such as St Kilda. Small islands and island groups pepper the North Atlantic surrounding the main island group. To the west lie the Monach Islands, Flannan Isles, St Kilda, and Rockall, in increasing order of distance. The status of Rockall as part of the United Kingdom remains a matter of international dispute. About halfway between St Kilda and Rockall is Anton Dohrn Seamount, a large submerged volcano. To the north lie North Rona and Sula Sgeir, two small and remote islands. Not often included as part of the Outer Hebrides, they nevertheless come under the administration of the Western Isles district.

I have been privileged to be on five of these islands and will be talking about these. Getting yourself there is relatively easy with ferries from the mainland and the Isle of Skye, go to the Caledonian MacBrayne website. Flights out of Glasgow can be found on the Scotia Travel website which goes to several destinations on the islands. A good web site for accommodation is Visit Hebrides, which has plenty of information on where to stay. If you want information about climbing, sea kayaking, canoeing and hill walking Adventure Hebrides is a great site. I camped around the islands with my son and found it to be a friendly and hospitable place to be. There is plenty to see and do.

Lewis and Harris

Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. Indeed, this island is easily the largest of the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland. It has an area of 841 square miles (2,180 km²) - slightly under one per cent of the area of Great Britain. It is 24 miles (39 km) from the nearest point of the mainland, from which it is separated by the Minch.

The northern part of the island is called Lewis, the southern is Harris and both are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The boundary between Lewis and Harris is formed by a line with Loch Resort on the west and Loch Seaforth on the east. The island does not actually have a common name in either English or Scots Gaelic. Rarely, the collective name of the Long Island is used.

Most of Harris is mountainous, with more than thirty peaks above 1,000 ft (300 m) high. Lewis is comparatively flat, save in the south-east, where Ben More reaches 1,874 ft (571 m), and in the south-west, where Mealasbhal (1885 ft) is the highest point.

There is plenty to see such as the most northerly point the "Butt of Lewis" and the truly magnificent "Calanais Standing stones" - awesome! As with all the beaches, such as Uig Sands, the sand is white and the beaches wild and windy with the next stop America. The water was clear and warm, which was a bit of a shock.

North Uist

North Uist is the ninth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of 117 square miles (303.05 km²), slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula via Grimsay, to Berneray, and to Baleshare. With the exception of the south east, the island is very flat, and covered with a patchwork of peat bogs, low hills and lochans, with more than half the land being covered by water. Some of the lochs contain a mixture of fresh and tidal salt water, giving rise to some complex and unusual habitats.

North Uist has many prehistoric structures, including the Barpa Langass chambered cairn, the Pobull Fhinn stone circle, the Fir Bhreige standing stones, the islet of Eilean Dòmhnuill (which may be the earliest crannog site in Scotland), and the Baile Sear roundhouses, which were exposed by storms in January, 2005.

The island is also known for its birdlife, including corncrakes, arctic terns, gannets, corn buntings and Manx shearwaters. The RSPB has a nature reserve at Balranald which is well worth a visit, but I would say that if you keep your eyes open there is loads to see all over the island.

Benbecula

The island lies between the islands of North Uist and South Uist, to which it is connected by road causeways. Travel to any of the other main Hebridean islands, or to the Scottish mainland, must be done by air or sea. Benbecula's main settlement is Balivanich in the northwest. Other villages include Craigstrome, which lies on the eastern half of Benbecula. In contrast to the cultivated west coast of the island, the eastern half is a mixture of freshwater lochs, moorland, bog and deeply indenting sea lochs. Craigstrome is near Ruabhal, Benbecula's highest hill at 124 metres (407 ft).

There is a military presence in the form of the RAF radar station RRH Benbecula, which monitors the northern Atlantic.

South Uist

One of my over riding memories of South Uist is the long white beach - we walked along it and it felt no one had been here for years. The sand was white and clean except for the flotsam and jetsam of the North Atlantic, if the temperature was warmer you could have been on a Pacific island.

South Uist has a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest. This includes the archaeological site of Cladh Hallan, which is the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the last remaining strongholds of the Gaelic language in Scotland. In the north west there is a military presence in the form of a missile testing range so keep your head down. :o)

The west is machair (fertile low-lying coastal plain) with a continuous sandy beach whilst the east coast is mountainous with the peaks of Beinn Mhòr 620 m (2,033 ft) and Hecla 606 m (1,988 ft). The main village on the island is Lochboisdale, from which ferries sail to Oban on the mainland and to Castlebay on Barra. The island is also linked to Eriskay and Benbecula by causeways. Smaller settlements include Daliburgh, Howmore and Ludag.

Loch Druidibeg in the north of the island is a National Nature Reserve owned and managed by Scottish Natural Heritage. The reserve covers 1,677 hectares of machair, bog, freshwater lochs, estuary heather moorland and hill. Over 200 species of flowering plants have been recorded on the reserve, some of which are nationally scarce. South Uist is considered the best place in the UK for the aquatic plant Slender Naiad (Najas flexilis) which is a European Protected Species. Nationally important populations of breeding waders are also present, including redshank, dunlin, lapwing and ringed plover. The reserve is also home to greylag geese on the loch and in summer corncrakes on the machair. Otters and hen harriers are also seen.

Barra

The Isle of Barra apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides. The area of Barra is 23 square miles, the main village being Castlebay. Barra is now linked by a man-made causeway to the neighbouring island of Vatersay.

The west of the island has white sandy beaches backed by shell-sand machair and the east has numerous rocky inlets. Barra is abundant with stunning scenery, rare flowers and wildlife, which can be appreciated by coastal or hill walks, drives or cycle rides along the various small roads. Car and bicycle hire are available locally.

Kisimul Castle at Castlebay is located on an island in the bay, so giving the village its name.

Places of interest on the island include a ruined church and museum at Cille Bharra, a number of Iron Age brochs such as those at Dùn Chuidhir and An Dùn Bàn and a whole range of other Iron Age and later structures which have recently been excavated and recorded.

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