Hi,
I’m a friend of Rachel’s. We sometimes embark upon mountain marathon adventures together, in fact we’re hoping to do the LAMM really soon.
But I also like all sorts of other adventures including fell running, mountain biking, rock climbing and especially Scottish winter climbing which I’ve only recently discovered.
But just now I’ve put away my ice axe for another year and dusted out my rock shoes.
Last weekend we went climbing at Ardnamurchan (the western most point on mainland Scotland) in search of dry weather and warmer temperatures.
It was quite a strange but beautiful and remote place. The crags are all part of the rim of an extinct volcano, and it’s flat and marshy in the middle. We climbed four two pitch routes which were all named after volcanos like Crater Comforts and Volcane.
This weekend we went off again in search of warmth and sunshine, so we went to the Mull of Galloway, the southern most point on mainland Scotland. I think it recorded the highest temperatures in the UK on Saturday, it was certainly nice and warm!
We went to a sea cliff called Crammag Head. It was really clear so you could see for miles, and we could even see Ireland and the Isle of Man.
We climbed some nice easy routes routes by the lighthouse and my friend Jo even lead her first proper trad route. We had soon exhausted that sector so went off to find some other climbs, it took ages to locate another section of the cliff with suitable routes, and when we had scrambled down, the HS which I wanted to climb looked loose and crumbly, so I decided to climb the HVS 5a next to it. It turned out to be a really nice route and surprisingly I didn’t find it too difficult. So I left feeling very satisfied as it was my 2nd ever HVS lead. (I lead another HVS back in 2008, but it was so scary I didn’t try again until now!)
So now all that’s left is to visit the Eastern and Northern most points of mainland Scotland, oh and eat cake of course!
Hey Elsie, Nice pictures – the bottom one looks particularly difficile. Was the orange lichen slimy? My parents are in the Hebrides and are full of glee with regards to the nice weather!
Hello, nice to have a new blogger!
Hi,
No it wasn’t as bad as it looks, the green lichen was actually quite sharp rather than slimy! Yes it’s nice when we get better weather up here- it doesn’t seem to happen often!
Fantastic pictures. Well done on your HVS… bet you’re glad the HS looked crumbly after-all. Result.
How were the midges? Thought I’d like go to Scotland next week but was wondering how bad it might be.
The midges don’t seem bad at all yet, they seem to be slow in coming out this year, probably after the cold weather, but it probably depends where you go.
Hope you have a good trip! Scotland is fab! I’ve been living here 3 years and I love it, there is so much to explore!