eBothy Blog

It’s a cracking wee shop and now it’s selling online. 9-1-4 Outdoor now has an eShop, with low postal rates to IV post codes. 9-1-4 is the place I finally found a new top after scouring the big names shops in the big cities. Thoroughly recommended. Also, if you live in the Eilean Donan/Skye/Kintail area, Patrick runs the Lochalsh Trail Club, a local hillwalking club.

What a weird topic for an outdoors blog! I just had to comment on the situation though. The latter is a result of a mini war going on in Elgol between the Bella Jane and Misty Isle Boat Trips. The original fisticuffs started over Misty Isle accusing Bella Jane of being economical with the truth over wildlife sightings. Bella Jane replied with a broadside accusing Misty Isle of being economical with the truth about being the only locally owned boat trip business in the village, conveniently forgetting Bella Jane are York and Inverness based and receiving a slap on the hand for their efforts. Now it seems the spat has spilled over onto dry land with the incumbents arguing over berthing rights, resulting in the cooncil installing CCTV! Visiting touroids now ask the locals whether it’s safe to park their cars in the village! I ask you. Elgol, crime? It might have made a curious webcam but it’s not being monitored, so I don’t know how it’s being used. Would be funny to sit with a cuppa and watch the Captain Pugwash shenanigans as the rival boats come in at the same time.

Last Saturday, myself and Dawn went for a bimble along the path from Trumpan to Waternish point, in the north of Skye. The forecast was clag on the hills and a strong east wind so the low hills of Beinn a’Ghobhainn and Beinn Bhuidhe would shelter us from the icy blast. After 3 months without rain earlier in the summer, we’d have constant heavy rain for weeks but as we set off from the old chapel at Trumpan the sun was blazing down from a clear blue sky and we were treated to the sound of a Corncrake in the meadow on the right. A rare visitor to Skye, various crofting subsidies have helped maintain the bird’s habitat in the remoter places and it’s a wonderful sound to hear.

Just back from a week’s leading for the HF on Arran, at their Altachorvie house. I took the bus to Glasgow, then train to Ardrossan and bus from Brodick to Lamlash, arriving just in time for the piping in of the haggis, which is a traditional Friday evening slot in the HF Scottish houses (Arran and Glencoe). I arrived with John no1 and hung back until the piper had done his work, then headed for the grub, which is always superb at HF houses. On the Saturday morning, Jon no2 arrived and we had our wee leader meeting to work out who leads what routes during the week and were then joined by John no3. You’re always bound to meet interesting people on HF holidays and this week was no different, as John no3 turned out to be a 70s rock star, being one half of the Rhead Brothers. These days John is an expert on all things Arran to do with flora and fauna and he was leading the special interest wildlife week.

It was tough year least year, what with ML assessment, work commitments and OU courses but I’ve just heard from the OU that my certificate in Astronomy and Planetary Science will be winging it’s way northwards sometime after the next conferment in August, so it’ll be on the wall in September. Conferment, sounds awfully posh! Perhaps I’ll start a new Astronomy category at the eBothy. Astronomy and Gaelic, now there’a a thought. Did you know what the Gaelic for the Pleiades was? Well, it’s a fascinating tale. One that I’ll blog I think. Watch this space (ho ho!)

Sometimes I wonder if I’ve lost the plot. I used to just grab a map, yellowing and weather beaten, from the shelf and head up the hill. As long as I had the compass and a couple of rolls, that was me for the day. Now it’s computers computers computers!

I should be out on the hill today but I’ve just finished marking my students’ TMA submissions, on the computer and moved on to the next task, coming up with a quiz for one of the evening entertainments when I’ll be leading for the HF, on the computer. Google and Google Earth instead of Cuillin and real earth beneath my boots. Not to mention loading up the GPS with route info for the trip. (more…)

Just plugging a colleague’s charity cycle from Dungeness to Port of Ness, on the Isle of Lewis. Pop over and donate if you feel like it.

A quick, vacuously simple posting to mark a momentous occasion. After 2.5 months without any rain other than a few quick bursts in the night, today it is gale force winds and torrential rain! The mosses had started to turn yellow and die off. The grass had stopped growing almost. The neebs had run out of water and Broadford is overrun with Touroids (got that word from Ruth at Scizzors!). Forecast is for much more chilly weather in the north. I almost bivvied on top of Blaven last night it was so beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky(e).

This might sound a bit of an oxymoron at first sight. It might also seem a ridiculously pretentious post but what I’m trying to do is work out why I blog. Whereas I’ve got 25 years of hill diaries tucked away on the top shelf, this blog has only been going for about 18 months, with my first post back in December 2006. Looking back, it was a change in direction for me, with respect to wandering the hills. I’d decided that I’d go for the ML and start leading folk and to mark the occasion I thought I’d also launch into the blogosphere. Since then I’ve mainly posted about stravaiging, training and guiding, which is what I’ve written about in my diaries, minus the training and guiding. The diaries are personal accounts, to remind me of the friends, weather, conditions and routes we did and the solo trips I’ve done but the blog started to include articles that other people might find informative. The audience I was writing for slowly changed from my humble self, to whoever was interested in my electronically distributed opinions.

So why write a blog? (more…)