MADEIRA
SIERRA NEVADA
THE MUNROS
IRELAND
THE LAKES
-
Recent Comments
THE MUNROS
THE PYRENEES
THE LAKES
THE PENNINES
Tag Archives: Cairngorms
Mount Keen, The Mounth, and a Pan of Polish Borscht
Mountain climbed, you need good food to finish the day . . . Continue reading
Posted in Allotments, Beetroot, Borscht, Climbing, Cookery, Cycling, Food, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
2 Comments
The Smell of Men (Monadh Mor and Beinn Bhrotain)
There’s smoke on the wind – and the unmistakable aroma of men who have spent the night in a bothy . . . Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Environment, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
6 Comments
Snakes Alive on Cairn Bannoch and Broad Cairn
There’s a snake in the grit. It’s an adder. And there’s an old man with gold teeth and a raven with black beady eyes. Must be time to eat a scotch pie . . . Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
6 Comments
On the Road from Dundee
YOU drive for hours along weary roads to quiet mountains. And as midnight strikes you chance upon a remote lay-by in the middle of nowhere – a place to snatch some sleep. But officialdom has left its mark in the … Continue reading
Posted in Environment, Hiking, Mountains, Politics, Ranting, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Scotland
Leave a comment
Me and Carole King on Beinn Iutharn Mhor and Carn Bhac
THE big mistake of the day is to gaze at the horizon and mouth the words: Way Over Yonder. This rattles a brain cell that has lain happily dormant for about 35 years, and before I’ve left the car park … Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Hunting, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
Glenshee Munros, the Cowie Line and tank traps (Part 3)
I’M sitting in a draughty pillbox above the Glenshee ski station peering through a machine-gun slit at cars streaming down the A93 above the Devil’s Elbow. Like a British agent scanning the airwaves in a Bordeaux garret for snippets of enemy intelligence, … Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Environment, Food, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
The Yellow Brick Road to Geldie Lodge
The plan is to climb Carn an Fhidhleir and An Sgarsoch – but a pregnant cow, a yellow house-brick, Braemar fish suppers, three fat ladies and a Chilean meat processing plant almost prove too much of a distraction. And that’s before we get to the UFOs . . . Continue reading
Halfway House – Beinn Mheadhoin and Derry Cairngorm
HALFWAY House is many things – a bothy in the middle of nowhere; mountain number 142 of 284; a Joe Budden album; an Ellery Queen novel; a 1944 film set in a remote Welsh village . . . a state of mind just beyond reality. But it exists beneath Beinn Mheadhoin. And it IS Beinn Mheadhoin . . . Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
The Old Dutchman of Lochnagar – And Other Stories
GOD it’s cold. This is bloody history repeating itself. Last time I camped at Braemar the temperature dropped below zero quite unexpectedly. It’s not below zero tonight – or 5am to be precise – but by God it’s cold
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
An Socach and tank traps (Part 2)
The scars of forgotten conflicts litter the Highlands. In Glenshee, at the side of a military road laid to control the Jacobite rebellions, are the remains of fortifications built to combat a more recent threat – fascist invaders Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, History, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
Glas Maol, Creag Leacach . . . and tank traps (Part 1)
THE alarm goes off at 6.45am but it has been eclipsed by events. The Braemar campsite ducks have been creating a racket for more than an hour – to the point where someone emerges from a tent and kicks a … Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
Ice Cold on Carn an Tuirc, Cairn of Claise, Tolmount and Tom Buidhe
CROSSING a wide and windy bealach to the northern slopes of Cairn of Claise. A Land-Rover heaves into view carrying stalkers. They cannot see me because I’ve dropped to the ground, but I catch the glint of cold sunlight on their … Continue reading
Posted in Climbing, Hiking, Mountains, Walking
Tagged Cairngorms, Munros, Scotland, The Munros
Leave a comment
