The Great Outdoors...

[bonzo]

Did a bit of cycling around Bute on Saturday...

[TDYER63]

Went to Devils Pulpit on Tuesday and experienced what has to be the most frightening day of my life.. 

We initially couldn’t find the steps to get down the gorge but Mr Tidy found an ‘alternative entrance’ through a bit of broken fence.  I had to hunch down under branches to get in and  clamber over tree stumps, my feet were slipping everywhere,  I had a pair of old trainers on.  I knew almost immediately that there was no way I was going down that route, it was a 60 foot drop and nothing but red soil and the occasional tree branch to grab hold of. I tried to turn back but the earth beneath my feet started  crumbling away and I had no grip. To say I was totally shiteing myself is an understatement.
I grabbed onto Mr Tidy with one hand and an overhanging tree branch with the other, but the branch was too thick to hold onto for long.

See these folk in movies that are clinging onto the edge of buildings for 5 mins well it is utter shite. I lasted about 30 seconds. I let go of the branch and was lying flat on my back on the earth in a downwards sloping position , Mr Tidy grabbing my other arm. I could not get any grip with my feet to try and push myself back up. All I could think was ‘ fuck fuck fuck i am going to die in Devils Pulpit’.

I lay there for a couple of minutes, whimpering. Mr Tidy then managed to hoist me up a bit til I could reach a bit of rock to stick my foot on . I managed to turn myself over then clamber back up to the entrance. I was honestly scared out my skin. 

We eventually found the proper steps, and tbh they were also pretty scary to go down too.  Probably because I had just saw my life flash in front of me 5 minutes earlier. I just bumped  my way down the steps on my arse. Mr Tidy , on the other hand, found it highly amusing and said it was the funniest thing he had seen in years. 

If anyone thinks of going there do not even try and find an alternative route down and wear shoes with proper grips. 
It was very nice though when we did get there and I had a paddle to calm me down. 
 

[McTeeko]

Callanish Standing Stones, this morning on the Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[McTeeko]

Decided to disappear at the start of this week, just me and the dug while the wife was at work and the wee man was at school. Headed up to Kinlochleven and stayed in a wee pod by the river right on the West Highland Way. Went to the pub on the Monday night thinking it would be awfy quiet - by 9pm the place was jumping with WHW walkers and the jukebox was blaring as I sampled a few malts with an American guy!
Anyway, as well as the pub we did a few walks too - this pic was taken on Tuesday morning in the Lost Valley in Glencoe 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍🏼
 

[bonzo]

Spring has sprung, a wee cycle doon around Alloway this morning..

 

[Grim Jim]

8 minutes ago, bonzo said:

Spring has sprung, a wee cycle doon around Alloway this morning..

 

Feck me, it is just like a scene from Brigadoon.   Oh wait a minute 🤔

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Well this was market day 😇

[bonzo]

8 minutes ago, Grim Jim said:

Feck me, it is just like a scene from Brigadoon.   Oh wait a minute 🤔

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.

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Well this was market day 😇

Hahaha, the once every 500 years thing isnae real I cycle past it quite often 😁

[phart]

I'm going to start hill walking. I could google everything but wonder if anyone got links to equipment lists i'll need etc.

Beginner guide sort of stuff.

EDIT: forgot to say please.

Edited March 20, 2022 by phart

[Grim Jim]

1 hour ago, phart said:

I'm going to start hill walking. I could google everything but wonder if anyone got links to equipment lists i'll need etc.

Beginner guide sort of stuff.

EDIT: forgot to say please.

Brilliant!   I should give you my stuff as I've done nothing for two years and can hardly climb the stairs now!

As a beginner, I recommend you start on popular hills with good paths and in good weather, so avoid winter conditions and low cloud.   Mist can be seriously disorienting.   Try something like Cairngorm, Ben Lomond, Ben Lawers or The Cobbler.   (Some have pay car parks though.)

Equipment:   Boots obviously.   If you get into this, you will get very mucky on some hills, so I prefer ones that are easy to clean.   I'm most comfortable with 2-layer socks, for reducing blisters.

Even in summer in Scotland you should always carry a lightweight waterproof, even if it's just to keep the wind off you.   Wear lightweight layers below that including a fleece, which can be pulled on/off.   Temperature drops about 3°/1000ft I think, and wind/rain will feel much colder.   That sounds obvious, but it will still surprise you some day how cold and scary things can get.

You'll need a small rucksack to shove all those layers in when the sun comes out, plus room for lunch and lots of water (though free refills are available from mountain streams on many hills ...but not all).   Some salted crisps can help fend off cramp on long days, of if you start with a hangover (as I learned to my cost 🙄 ).

With luck you'll need sunglasses, sun cream and maybe a hat for your baldy bits.   I'd pick shorts/trousers that don't soak in water too easily or at least blow dry quickly... the opposite of denim for instance which is terrible in sun or rain.

A pair of walking poles will save wear and tear on your knees coming downhill, can help push you up loose scree and help balance wading through streams.   (Avoid fast or deep water!)   Try to find a rucksack that can carry the poles when not in use such that they are not in the way, and poles that can be instantly adjusted for length are good, so not faffing around all the time.

Luxury items?   A pair of flip flops for keeping your boots dry in streams.   A small folding pad to sit on to keep your arse dry/warm having lunch.   Isotonic Lucozade.

Navigation?   O.S. 1:50,000 map & compass.   We had a fancy GPS that got dropped in a burn, so best to have backup.   Even on easy, busy paths you should practice using the map+compass, then when the day comes that you are lost in the mist you will be better prepared.

Speaking of busy paths, Ben Nevis 'tourist route' crowds might drive you nuts.   Off the busy paths people regularly get into trouble there.   I would save that hill for when you've built up some fitness/experience and make a long day of it via the Carn Mor Dearg Arrette.

What did I forget?   I dunno, get out and enjoy!

Right, where are my boots?

[Grim Jim]

https://www.mwis.org.uk/forecasts/scottish

https://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/

 

[Grim Jim]

Re. the rucksack, find one that fits such that the weight is taken on your hips rather than shoulders.   Better for your back if heavy.

[phart]

Cheers I'll have a read through this later. That's great starting point

When I was young I climbed about 8 or 9 munros. I also went over 9000 ft in Kenya acouple of years ago although didn't start st sea level haha, plus weather a lot different.

Going to start with the pentlands and ochils with a mate or two and then start ticking off munros. I know how to read maps and navigate pretty well and i'll be starting over the summer to mitigate bad weather although i'm aware how fast things can change.

 

[Grim Jim]

Well you did say beginner, so I went all matronly 😃

I know I did some daft things when I started.   I've been scanning in some of my old photos lately and have a picture on top of my first Munro in jeans (roasting weather, small day-bag, no sticks, no free water top-ups, got burnt & blistered, and coming down followed a rabbit run into a very steep corrie) and another of Mrs Grimm hanging onto a stone slab as we scrambled up the wrong side of Buachaille Etive Beag (her first) thanks to my route planning.

[Grim Jim]

A long time ago...

[Grim Jim]

I'm not posting the pic from the other summit, Tom na Gruagaich.   I've whupped the jeans off in that one.

[phart]

17 minutes ago, Grim Jim said:

Well you did say beginner, so I went all matronly 😃

I know I did some daft things when I started.   I've been scanning in some of my old photos lately and have a picture on top of my first Munro in jeans (roasting weather, small day-bag, no sticks, no free water top-ups, got burnt & blistered, and coming down followed a rabbit run into a very steep corrie) and another of Mrs Grimm hanging onto a stone slab as we scrambled up the wrong side of Buachaille Etive Beag (her first) thanks to my route planning.

No, the advice was good!

 

[TDYER63]

On 3/20/2022 at 4:55 PM, Grim Jim said:

A long time ago...

You are looking rather wistful Jim, what were you thinking of ?

On 3/20/2022 at 4:57 PM, Grim Jim said:

I'm not posting the pic from the other summit, Tom na Gruagaich.   I've whupped the jeans off in that one.

Och go on , dont be shy!  😁

[TDYER63]

Mr Fox sunbathing in my garden. I was battering on the kitchen window and he didn’t even flinch. 

[Orraloon]

47 minutes ago, TDYER63 said:

Mr Fox sunbathing in my garden. I was battering on the kitchen window and he didn’t even flinch. 

I thought your fur coat had fallen off the washing line?

[TDYER63]

54 minutes ago, Orraloon said:

I thought your fur coat had fallen off the washing line?

😂 aye well it is a bit ‘fur coat nae knickers’ around here . 

[Grim Jim]

18 hours ago, TDYER63 said:

You are looking rather wistful Jim, what were you thinking of ?

Och go on , dont be shy!  😁

I'm thinking it would be handy if I had one of those Man From U.N.C.L.E. phones so I could tell her I'm going to be back later than expected.

And NAW, those shorts were ridiculous, and I'm sober at the moment.

[TDYER63]

2 hours ago, Grim Jim said:

I'm thinking it would be handy if I had one of those Man From U.N.C.L.E. phones so I could tell her I'm going to be back later than expected.

And NAW, those shorts were ridiculous, and I'm sober at the moment.

Not a chance. I canny get a signal on a train from Newcastle at the moment there is not a hope in hell of that phone working up a mountain.

I think you are thinking,’ if I left now I might catch last orders at The Bull Inn’. 

We could maybe start a caption competition. 

[bonzo]

Out a wee cycle after work and passed this big bugger at Prestwick airport. Wonder where it's going 🤔

 

[Grim Jim]

4 hours ago, bonzo said:

Out a wee cycle after work and passed this big bugger at Prestwick airport. Wonder where it's going 🤔

Dunno, but it came from Dover AFB, Delaware.   9th Airlift Sqn.

[Grim Jim]

Most appropriate thread for my new rant?

Been out and about in the Highlands in a motorhome for first time in a while.   Found it really difficult to find nice overnight spots to park in for free now.   Last year was awfy busy with staycationers.   This year it's money grabbin' bawbags that've upset me!

Glen Nevis was not a surprise and the no-overnight signs in every lay-by may not be new.   They look like Glen Nevis Estate have put them up.    I wonder who owns the camp site there? 🥺   I can actually understand this one though, as it is so busy that there could be no lay-bys to pause in due to being hogged by long-stayers.    It was a long drive though to a free nature reserve car park.

Next day we spent some time cycling below Cairngorm knowing we could retire for grub & bed in the Lower Cairngorm car park we've stopped in many a time.   It's massive and airy+breezy on warm days and was popular.   It's now gated and you have to pay to get in.   I've no interest in subsidising skiers.   They say they have water and waste disposal so is effectively an aire, but you don't need to dump & fill every stop and it was almost empty.

So drove down to Feshiebridge where I'd previously stayed in a forest clearing.   It and every lay-by and forest car park now had No Overnight signs up.   Found a bit of waste ground.   Next day we surveyed other forest areas and found that a lot of pay-machines for day use have popped up.   Their web site says they now do it anywhere that pays for machines & wardens.   FFS this is an agency which WE OWN now charging us for the pleasure! 😡   Even those had No Overnight signs apart from a couple of places, and they of course now have overnight charges ...with no facilities.

Question is why is overnight parking not allowed?   Have the covid staycationers fukkt it for everyone with the irresponsible behaviour (dumping shit & litter) by some of them?