Distance: 9.7 miles
Time: 5 hours (including stops) Route: View on OS Maps

For once the malevolent weather gods of Aberdeen had taken a Sunday off, the coach arrived early and we even got a stop for bacon rolls at the services of Strathcaro where the authentic seventies experience is free. At the back of the coach it was Baltic and so the frigid air at Lumley Den was not much of a surprise as we kitted up under promisingly blue skies.

This time last year I was heading up the flanks of Morrone in a deep covering of fresh snow. This year's detox walk was somewhat different with ice and winds providing the entertainment as Dave and I crossed the mysterious Sgor Buidhe plateau above Ballater.

There was excitement, adventure and bacon rolls even before we hit the hill on our trip to Glen Esk for the November 2008 walk. The coach turned up a few minutes late but our troop of 19 souls who braved an inclement, dark, cold Aberdeen morning were soon being whisked down the A90 at a good pace. The rain died away, the sun rose over a steel-grey sea and our souls lifted. Unfortunately, so did the bus’ engine temperature which caused us to dive into a lay-by shortly after we had sped past the Fettercairn turn off.

Fourteen hardy Stockets climbed aboard Gordon’s Luxury Coach at Mile End School early on Saturday morning. Silvester did an excellent job of tearing around the top of the Cairngorms but even so it was more than three hours after leaving Aberdeen that we rolled past turf-roofed houses in Glen Feshie and were deposited at the end of the road.

I don't think it is too often that a weather dependent plan works out on the west coast of Scotland but luckily for us today it did. A forecasted shift in the wind from south west (laden with moisture) to north-east (dry and cold) occured sometime in the wee small hours. By Friday morning the skies were clear, Beinn Damh could be seen from the window (complete with summit) and the air felt fresh and full of optimisim.

A circuit of Beinn Bhan with a scramble up one of its eastern arms and a return along its summit ridge

Beinn Eighe apparently means File Mountain, but to call it just a mountain doesn't seem to quite do it justice. It's a massive, sprawling massif that occupies a good proportion of the land between Loch Maree and Upper Loch Torridon. With its cap of quartzite it has a particularly distinct, almost Pyranean look about it, particularly once you breach the defenses and get inside the huge central coire.

Date: 23rd August 2008
Distance: 13.4km
Ascent: 1,401m
Time: 6 hours 40 mins
Hills: Stob Coire Sgreamach (Munro, 1,072m), Bidean nam Bian (Munro, 1,150m)
Weather: Early sunshine giving way to cloudy summits. Clearing later in the day.

It was a misty morning deep in the Carske but as we climbed out of Callendar and up to the shores of Loch Loraig already it was looking much more promising. The higher peaks maintained a covering of cloud but the valley roads were enjoying early morning sunshine. The journey was spectacular, leading eventually up onto the barren expanse of Rannoch Moor and then, after passing the King’s House and the Glencoe Ski Centre, the enigmatic sight of the big Buchaile marking the entrance to Glen Coe.

Our day started with a close encounter with Morning Prayer on Radio Scotland but sadly, as we trudged along the landrover track towards the foot of Beinn Iutharn Mhor, it became increasingly clear that the rain gods had not been appeased by this.

For once I was actually at the rendezvous point before Dave, who in turn arrived a fair amount of time before the driver of our bus out to Braemar. Despite leaving Aberdeen slightly late we made good time along the quiet North Deeside road and after dropping off the lady with the lamp in Ballater were soon looking out for our stop just before the Inver Hotel. For anyone attempting to do this the best thing to look out for is the large green sign on the south side the road advertising the hotel ahead. Leave the bus here and backtrack a short distance to where a green Scottish Right of Way sign is located on the north side.