Benbecula - the Dark Isle
February 8, 2009 on 7:47 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
Known as the Dark Isle, Benbecula is often over looked as you journey through the islands. I have just strolled back from the Dark Island Hotel to my diggs, the sky was clear, the moon almost full and air frost chilled. With a light dusting of snow the island had the feel of the alps, mountains fringed with snow, stars glistening, footsteps crunching, a magical walk back from the pub.
Walking ‘home’ doesn’t get much better.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
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A Winter Drive Through the Highlands
January 17, 2009 on 10:13 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
We drove off the ferry in Uig on to Skye just as the sun was coming up. The purr of the Jaguar’s engine pulling the car quickly and effortlessly over the island. The light dusting of snow on the Black Cullin as we hurled passed.
Over the beautiful curve of the Skye Bridge and on past Eilean Donan Castle. Etched from the battle scene in Highlander. Prompting poor Sean Connery impersonations.
Up Glen Sheil the outside temperature falling fast; minus 6, minus 8 and the turn to head over to Glen Garry, here minus 11.
As we crested the hill the vista burst upon us and we were forced to stop to marvel in the view.
As the journey headed down into Glen Garry we fell into the Scotch Mist and the world became white with haw frost on all the trees. Almost a the dam we were drawn to a halt as the sun burned through and it was like a scene from an Autherial painting.
Glen Coe was amazing, and the White Corries majestic but it willhas to be hard to beat the descent through the mist to see the ‘Lady of the Lake’.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
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Early Winter Climbing on Ben Nevis
November 3, 2008 on 11:05 am | In Outdoor Climbing, Hillwalking, Uncategorized | No Comments
The good, cold weather has been with us for a week now and ice is forming. It’s been a great early start to the winter and plenty of climbing has been done by those ready and able to jump on the crags.
Donald and I had a day out on Ben Nevis today and we were surprised at how much ice there is in the drainage lines. It was very wet before it went cold and it has been cold now for a week so gullies such as Point Five Gully and Green Gully, and drainage lines such as Waterfall Gully and The Curtain all have a reasonable amount of ice in them.
The highest crags were well rimed up as well so we went up North Gully on Creag Coire na Ciste to reach the very steep wall above. We climbed a groove / chimney between Place Your Bets and North Gully Left Branch which was quite hard at the start (VII,8) but eased off to give great chimney climbing and a through route to escape onto the plateau. There was a peg and some tat under the through route so it might have been climbed before - if anyone knows please get in touch.
Mike Pescod
http://www.abacusmountaineering.com
Mountain Guide and Instructor with a passion for the hills. Scottish winter climbing is my favourite but scrambling, rock climbing, walking and ice climbing here and in the Alps are pretty good too!
Perfect Winter Walking in the Mamores
November 3, 2008 on 10:42 am | In Scrambling, Hillwalking, Uncategorized | No Comments
Days like today are rare in November and should be made the most of. Warm sunshine, crisp air, pristine snow and amazing colours in the hills made it a brilliant day to be out in the hills. The snow is down to 600m and has been for a week now with sub-zero temperatures. Christine, Davie and I went for a walk up the North Ridge of Stob Ban in the Mamores. Where the snow was in the shade and had been walked on it was compacted and icy so we wore the crampons on the steep, scrambling section going up to the North Top of Stob Ban. This is beyond simple walking and a very good head for heights is required plus some ability in basic scrambling.
After a Forfar Bridie on top we carried on around to the Devil’s Ridge and up to Sgurr a’Mhaim. This is a very narrow and exposed section of ridge with a really tricky step at the narrowest bit. Again, great care is needed but in the perfect conditions we found with no wind we were able to take our time. We made it up Sgurr a’Mhaim to see the brilliant light on Ben Nevis from the afternoon sun before facing the unrelenting walk down back to the Lower Falls in Glen Nevis. Altogether, a fantastic day out.
Mike Pescod
http://www.abacusmountaineering.com
Mountain Guide and Instructor with a passion for the hills. Scottish winter climbing is my favourite but scrambling, rock climbing, walking and ice climbing here and in the Alps are pretty good too!
Climbing my First Munro
August 20, 2008 on 3:35 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
It took a good few hours to get to Aviemore from the Borders but the drive up there takes you through some amazing scenery. We were aiming to “bag our first Munro” and what a Munro we chose - the sixth highest in Scotland!
Our day started of well with us taking the car to the base of Cairngorm and then a visit to the Ranger station which has loads of really good information if you are taking a trip up the mountain. Themist ingeniousthing is the Poo Project - a pioneering project launched at CairnGorm Mountain to manage the increasing amount of human waste left behind by winter walkers and climbers particularly those particpating in snow hole activities!
For further information see: http://www.cairngormmountain.org.uk/cairngorm-ranger-service
We chose a route that wasn’t the most strenuous as we wanted to make this the first of many Munro Bagging weekends. When I say it wasn’t strenuous it was still pretty hard going. We did have a few stops for water and to take in the views and of course a lunch break halfway up.
It eventually took us three hours to reach the top which wasn’t bad going. The downhill to the Ptarmigan was a lot quicker. We enjoyed a hot cup of tea and the amazing view from the restuarant then made our way down in the funicular railway.
Gillian Thompson
http://www.visitscotland.com/adventure
Works with adventure sports in Scotland and has a keen interest in keeping fit and walking and a new passion for surfing.
There is something not right about this
April 1, 2008 on 8:34 am | In Uncategorized | No Comments
We decided to take a couple of the new mountain bikes (Bike Hebrides) for a trial round the Castle Grounds in Stornoway and all I keep hearing from behind me was ‘There is something not right about this’
Tommy comes from a road racing background and he found he was having to unlearn all of the techniques of road racing. The consiquences were a couple of spectacular falls . I looked back at one bend and the bike was int he middle of the track and there were a pair of legs sticking out of the bushes.
The ground was very wet after all the rain over the last week so it wasn’t just Tommy who was riding without the bike. I ended up running through the undergrowth after pressing the ejector seat on the bike which had decided it wanted to take a close look at a grabby mud hole.
The two things Tommy learnt were; you need to hang yourself off the back of the bike on decents, the saddle needs to be low enough to get your bum over the back wheel and you can’t stand up in the peddles on slippery ground or the back wheel just spins, so on steep slippery accents you need to keep your bum on the seat or at the very least your wieght over the back wheel.
Hopefully the tumbles won’t stop him coming out for another blast.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
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Deer Stalking
March 4, 2008 on 10:58 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
I have returned from running with the deer and ohh how I ache.
I flew away on Thursday and we had a business meeting in Edinburgh, this gave me a chance to nip into the Edinburgh Bike Coop for some bits for the new fleet of bikes we have for Bike Hebrides
Saturday found Jez and I wandering round Glasgow looking for braces and shirts, we also had to pop into Laura Ashley to pick up our waist coats and shorts. After meeting Jamie the team was complete and we laughed our way to the race start.
This is where the organisation of the race started to show a few limitations. We were standing in the queue and getting closer to the desk when they said they were closing until quarter past two. This was because of the 5k race but it would have been nice to tell us so we didn’t spend 30 minutes standing around. It was worth going out to watch the start of the 5k it was hilarious. The start line with the backdrop of Traquair House. Then on the start there was a mad dash up to the first hurdle a line of bales of straw. There was carnage when they all arrived.
We checked in and then off to the pub for lunch. Jez and Jamie found the new food of the elite sports person The Sports Burger. Jamie did resist the chips in the name of training.
We doned our tailormade tweeds courtesy of Breanish Tweed suitably refreshed we made our way to the start.
At the start as we walked though to the start line we caused a bit of a stir, one of the comments ‘You have already won the award for satorial elegance’
At the race start we were joined by Dave Wiseman and we decided the best start was to be over the bales as fast as possible and then accept we were going to get over hauled and settle into our own races. The start saw us perfectly positioned and then we were off. Over the bales and then into the corner at which point I discovered I was in serious oxygen debt and I needed to slow down. So, I settled back into my own pace and accepted I was going to get overhauled.
The first obstacle was a muddy ditch and then the start of the accent, the lung busting hill. We just seemed to keep going up. My lungs were bursting and my legs screaming it was time to stop. Finally though, we topped out and there was a fantastic downhill tear through the forest. Into the river and then another up hill, it wasn’t to bad until we rounded the corner and faced the ’stone shoot’. It seemed to go up into the clouds. As I climbed I started to pass people, I decided there was no way I could stop or I would never get started again. Reaching the top I realised it was so dark I had to get out the head torch another down hill and into the forest, slippery and a little less exciting and more scarey. There was an amusing interlude here with flashing lights and dark music a sureal experience in the middle of a 10k mountain run?
It was here the organisation of the race started to see a few more problems. At some of the junctions on the way up the route marking hadn’t been great but as the dark fell the lack of marking made finding our way more difficult. At the junctions there was a distinct lack of waymarking and at one stream we came out and there was no markers on the exit and we had to ask some local kids for directions. Then we went over the river Tweed and again there confusion over where the route went eventually we found it and ran for the finish.
There was a little disapointment when we also discovered there was no free beer as promised on the web site if you came in tweeds.
It was a good run but the niggles, which talking to competitors from last year were the same, let the event down. A little thought and it would have been not just good but fantastic.
Next there was a suggestion of doing the Jura Fell run I will need to see what my legs are saying about it at the end of the week - 16 miles and 2500 feet of accent …
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
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Running like the wind or perhaps running from the hail?
February 24, 2008 on 9:31 pm | In Hillwalking, Uncategorized | 1 Comment
Sometimes the Hebrides has the ability to take your breath away both physically and methaphorically.
As the final run in the training for the Mighty Deer Stalker next weekend, I went out with Mike. Mike had just bought a new camera and was keen to take some pictures. So with the blue skies punctuated with vicious showers we decided to go for a run. Mike suggested the West Coast of Lewis from the Gearrannan Black House Village up to Shawbost where we parked my car. Jayne dropped us off and was then going to take the kid’s for a walk.
The wind was a strong westerly so we were in for a push but the thing is westerlies bring showers.
The first hill was a killer and I was glad when Mike stopped to get the camera out.
Running on, we rose and fell to reach each headland, time and again we were treated to another stunning vista.
The running was varied with very little level ground, I am convinced there was more up hill than down though.
As we ran, we became aware of an impending sense of doom, each time we glanced over our shoulders there was gathering cloud, threatening to deliver its payload on us.
It was noticable the pace quickened and as we crested the hill above Dalbeag, we were suddenly being pushed along by the freshening wind. First there was a few flecks of rain in the air, then the rain got a little harder, then it got much ‘harder’ as it turned to hail. By this time we were hurtling head long over the bog, we could see the car, all be it about half a mile away. The dogs were haring in front of us, perhaps a sign?
The backs of my legs were stinging, to the point I thought it might cut the skin. Through the pain I heard Mike’s cheery comment ‘Just wait until they get to the size of golf balls’. I ran faster.
The shelter of the car was a welcome restbite and the heater even better.
Thanks to Mike for the pictures, I am looking fowards to more runs with the camera . ‘Oh look there is a great picture … shall we stop for a second?’
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
The Mighty Deer Stalker Looms Large
February 18, 2008 on 9:42 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
I am into the final week of running like a mad man, until the wind down, in preperation for the Mighty Deer Stalker. So yesterday had a great run through the bogs of northern Lewis just to get in the mood
We have managed to get sponsorship for our tweeds, are are going to be wearing plus fours, waist coats and the obligatory deer stalker. Breanish Tweed here in Lewis have kindly agreed to let us have some of their tweed and it is off at the tailors, being made, as I type. The Tweed is high end, hand woven here in the Isle of Lewis.
I had the sureal experience of being measured up by a tailor in my kitchen !
I have to declare a slight interest here as Anna owns Breanish Tweed and blagging sponsorship wasn’t to hard, but that aside I am glad it is a light weight tweed or I suspect there might be some interesting chaffing.
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
Buelligans ride to Harris
January 3, 2008 on 10:17 pm | In Uncategorized | No Comments
The strong easterly wind means the roads were dry but it was bitterly cold. So after climbing into all the warm gear we owned, the bike is taken out from under the covers in the barn and woken from it’s winter hibernation, growling into life like a disturbed grizzly.
The Buell XB9R Firebolt (Link to technical bumf) is a great bike for the roads of the Outer Hebrides, it has loads of torque and is a little forgiving. The road from Stornoway in Lewis to Tarbert in Harris with the new surfaces and the two lane all the way, is a 35 mile blast. I have ridden may miles in a previous life as a dispatch rider and this is a very special piece of road. The set of bends through the Aline Forest are close to perfection.
I think I overtook three cars on the way and two on the way back, so it was busy. Puncuated with tea in the Harris Hotel, it was an afternoon of pure unadulterated pleasure stolen from Höðr.
I can’t wait for an excuse to ride to Inverness or even better to Fort William through Skye …
Tim Pickering
http://www.canoehebrides.com
Living in the world's biggest adventure playground - The Outer Hebrides
CanoeHebrides.com - Sea kayaking Expeditions
BikeHebrides.com -Quality Mountain Bike Hire
