To the Mamores, and beyond…

A very proud Dyls on a deserted summit.

Secondly, apologies for lack of any blog updates, we have two small children demanding most of our attention nowadays and it’s easier to update Facebook than it is to write a blog.

Despite  Christmas, childcare and some hostel renovations we have managed to squeeze in a few hill days so we’d thought we’d share a few photos.

Firstly, this is from the summit of Sgurr an Utha near glenfinnan, makes a nice wee horseshoe for a quick run.

This is from near the top of Sron a Choire Ghairbh, one of the local Loch Lochy munros.

Round here you don’t need to go up a hill to appreciate the landscape, this is from the banks of Loch Lochy on a fantastic winters day.

Keep up with us on facebook for more regular updates and plenty of photos.

1 See the optical illusion on the Falls of Foyers. – Look at the waterfall, look at the rocks is the water falling or are the rocks climbing!

2 Feel the breeze and admire the views from Suidhe Viewpoint the highest point on road down the south side of the loch. There is an interpretation board and a breathtaking walk to take you even higher

3 Take a walk along the Caledonian Canal to Kytra locks – level and gentle

4 Enjoy freshly baked cakes and Bread at the Baking Birds – Drumnadrochit

5 Take a cruise out on Loch Ness with Jacobite Cruises – everyone must do this at some point during a visit to Loch Ness, it’s the best way to get up close and personal!

6 Look ‘over the edge’ at Plodda Falls – spectacular Victorian bridge worth a visit if you are in Strathglass area.

7 Find out all there is to know about shinty at the Shinty Shop, Drumnadrochit – like hockey but for men! Highlanders favourite sport + Games locally every Saturday in season

8 Enjoy all day good food at the Dores Inn – and walk it off as well some nice walks along Dores beach and the woods along the Caledonian Canal.

9 Visit Loch Ruthven and see the rare Slavonian Grebe – the RSPB have a hide to watch Grebes Osprey and lots of other birds on this reserve.

10 Enjoy the unique splendour of Abriachan Garden and Nursery the only plant nursery on Loch Ness _ see St Columbas Well.

11 Walk the Great Glen Way, all the way from Fort William to Inverness

12 Go fishing on the River Farrar with Culligan Fishing

13 Find the ‘Preacher’s Footprints’ in Glenmoriston.

In 1827 a travelling preacher, Finlay Munro, was heckled by two young men, who called him a cheat and a liar. He replied that the ground on which he stood would bear witness to the truth of his words until the final Day of Judgement. Two parallel marks in the ground are said to be his footprints wherein no grass grows.

14 Sunbathe on Dores beach the only real beach on Loch Ness and a good place to launch boat or have a swim.

15 Take a walk through Inverfarigaig Woods – print a walk from Loch Ness map

16 Look for red deer in winter at Loch Tarff or any time of year on the loch Killin road. You can find Killin on the dynamic map of South Loch Ness where it shows a bike trail and a scenic walk

17 Explore the long distance ‘Trail of the Seven Lochs’ on horseback, on foot there are some nice stretches you can walk. coming soon, a dedicated map for riders and walkers.

18 Go for a paddle in Loch Ness anywhere but especially good access to the shore from the south side along the B852

19 Camp out at ‘Rockness’ – Annual festival held in June on the shore of Loch Ness quickly becoming one of the top gigs in Scotland’s

20 Relax with a game of golf at Fairways Inverness

21 Buy yourself a big green monster!

22 Decide for yourself about Nessie – visit the Loch Ness Exhibition Centre

23 Buy ‘the T-shirt’ at the Clansman Gift Shop

24 Learn about the history and heritage of Loch Ness with Inverness Tours

25 Walk the 10 miles around Loch Affric

26 Count red squirrels on south Loch Ness

27 Eat home grown strawberries and raspberries at the Larder Tomich Farm Shop

28 Find out about the Caledonian canal at the Caledonian Canal Visitor Centre Fort Augustus

29 Canoe on Loch Ness ( who needs Loch Ness ? – you could canoe down my drive right now ! )

30 Have lunch at the Lovat Arms Hotel Fort Augustus

31 Hire a Cruiser on Loch Ness with Caley Crusiers

32 See the illusive pine marten

33 Visit the most famous castle ruins in the Highlands at Urquhart Castle

34 Find the ‘Black Rock’ a secret hard to find even for locals

35 Take a walk up the Corkscrew and enjoy the views of Loch Ness

36 Run the Loch Ness Marathon in October.

37 Buy some truly original Loch Ness rock (not the kind you eat!) at Dores, ask for Steve?

38 Have a picnic on Inverfarigaig pier

39 Visit the beautiful, historic and just ever so slightly spooky Boleskine Graveyard

40 And while you’re at it.. why not visit Dunlichity Graveyard with it’s enclosure to the memory of the Clan MacGillivray

41 Sit and watch the boats go through the locks at Fort Augustus

42 Cycle the mountain bike trails of Abriachan Woods

43 Have a game of tennis at Fort Augustus

44 Challenge yourself at Balnain Bike Park

45 Climb Mealfurvonie, the highest point around Loch Ness

46 Drive over the Garbole road and look out for Golden Eagles

47 Pack your overnight gear and walk the Corrieyairick Pass

48 Throw stones in to Loch Ness but you won’t hear them reach the bottom!

49 Take a short walk through the enchanting woods to Divach Falls

50 Walk on water with Boots ‘n’ Paddles Outdoor pursuits

51 Play 9 holes of golf on Aigas Golf Course near Beauly

52 Spend a morning shopping in the bustling village of Beauly

53 Enjoy the pleasures of real ale at the Benleva Hotel

54 Find the wall of the old fort at Fort Augustus

55 Climb Craigmonie Hill (150 metres!)

56 Visit ‘Bonnie’ the deer near Croachy

57 Take a drive from Inverfarigaig to Farr

58 Go horse riding along the shores of Loch Ness

59 Go cycling on the quiet south side of Loch Ness

60 Visit the Clog and Craft ship at Invermoriston

61 Stay up late and watch for badgers

62 Enjoy a dram at Fiddlers, award winning malt whisky bar

63 Walk the round trip from Inverfarigaig to Foyers

64 Go and watch the dolphins at Chanonry Point

65 Sit down by the shore and enjoy a sunset over Loch Ness

66 After a long walk enjoy a drink in the relaxed ambience of the Bog Cotton Café, Cannich

67 Stare up at the tallest tree in the UK in Reelig Glen

68 Hit the bulls eye with some archery, Boots ‘n’ Paddles

69 Count the different coloured dragonflies and damsel flies at Dog Falls

70 Find the memorial to Lady Jane Fraser on the shores of Loch Ness near Foyers

71. Photograph Cherry Island, the only island in Loch Ness

72. Find out about wildlife and plants on a Highland Council guided Ranger walk

73. Visit the ancient remains of Corrimony Cairn

74. Enjoy a pint at the Whitebridge Hotel

75. View Loch Ness from the Wellington lay by

76. Wild walk in the Monadhliath Mountains

77. Visit Kilmorack Art Gallery

78. Get your picture taken with Nessie at Fort Augustus

79. Walk down by the River Moriston to St Columba’s Well

80. Visit the Clansman Centre, Fort Augustus

81. Find the ‘totem’ poles at Abriachan Woods

82. Visit the historic Beauly Priory

83. Take a walk in the ancient oak woodlands at Bona

84. Find the ‘secret loch’ at Inverfarigaig

85. Buy your favourite whisky at the Whisky Shop, Drumnadrochit

86. Cruise on Loch Ness from Fort Augustus

87. Walk to the Upper Falls at Foyers

88. Step back in time at the Kettle Hole Lochans, Littlemill Wood, Inverarnie

89. Photograph the water lilies on Loch Bran

90. Drive up Glen Affric ‘ the most beautiful glen in Scotland’ as far as the road goes

91 Run over the Fair Haired Lads Pass on south Loch Ness

92 See the work of local artists at Beauly Gallery & Kirk Coffee Shop

93 Go clay pigeon shooting with Loch Ness Gun Club

94 Have a picnic on the banks of the River Fechlin at Dalcrag

95 View Urquhart Castle from across the water at the Change House lay by

96 Visit the Iceberg glassblowing studio at Fort Augustus

97 Take the kids ‘weaseling’

98 Check out the Craigmonie Centre, Drumnadrochit for music and much much more

99 Simply chill out and relax… you are on holiday at Loch Ness!!

100-Climb the path to Battery Rock and enjoy the view overlooking Ft.

Augustus and Lochness

101- Walk the forest path from Ft. Augustus to Invermoriston, starting at Jenkins Park.

102- Bike the forest trail from The Inch in Ft. Augustus to Invermoriston

103- Enjoy the “Malt whiskey of the month” at the Inchnacardoch Hotel bar

104 – Enjoy a pint of locally Brewed Real Ale from the Loch Ness Brewery at the award winning Benleva Hotel – Drumnadrochit

How many have you done?

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Whilst we had the tools out we decided to recycle some fence posts and knock up some new benches for the front patio.

6 hours kip in the van (not including the locals being ejected from the bar across the street at 2am), 2 lucosades and two flapjacks and I was raring to go.

Happy smiling faces at the start

The first section to Bridge of Orchy flew by in about an hour but the midges soon found us after that and the pull out of BoO was a midgie affair. Before we knew it we where heading down to blackrock cottage in Glencoe for a quick refuel. The encouragement from people spectating and walking the Way was great and really helped, although Ian was beginning to get a little jealous as someone kept shouting my name and not his…my secret fan.

After a short spell of nausea hit me near the Kingshouse we were soon tackling the devils staircase in the baking heat and the long long descent to Kinlochleven for a last chance to refuel…thoughts of a nice cold coke where driving us on.

Kinlochleven was the first time we’d stopped for more than two minutes since we set off and it was a welcome relief, a quick cheese and pickle sandwhich (food of champions, I think that is what Jess Ennis has before a race) and I was ready to go. At this point I had already run farther than I had run in any one go before…and I still had 15 miles to go, including a very hard pull out of Kinlochleven and the sun was still pounding down.

I was beginning to struggle as we headed up to the Lairig Mor and was feeling pretty sick. A very nice man from the wilderness mountain rescue fuelled us up with Irn Bru which helped a little but the sickness came and went all the way to the finish. We’d ran this section a few weeks prior to recce the route so we knew what was coming up and vaguely how far we had left to go which definitely helped mentally. We knew we were close to getting sub 8 hours at this point but also knew it would be very close but I just couldn’t push it any harder.

Ian appeared to be feeling strong over the last section but stayed with me until the finishing line where I promptly collapsed.  Ian got was awarded a spot prize for being handsome (or something) on the finishing line.

Big thanks to Ian for the company, Rick and Joanne for the support at the checkpoints (at least the ones Joanne made it too!) and the good lady wife for putting up with me sloping off for the occasional training run.

We finished with a time of 8 hours and 5 minutes putting us 29th/30th out of 150 entrants. Very happy with that result.

Day one was long and hard, the route planners threw in some nice steep ascent  from sea level to 3,000 ft 3/4 of the way through the day just to top it off. We basically headed up one side of Loch Etive from near Bonawe and back down the other to the overnight camp in Glenkinglass. You can have a look at the courses and routes here http://www.lamm.routegadget.co.uk/

The overnight camp was a midgey death camp, apparently the worst the organisers have ever seen it. Not a pleasant experience for the most part, but there were a few hours on Saturday evening when the breeze picked up and kept them away. Day two was shorter but still with 1,800 metres of ascent, not the reduction we’d hoped for the second day but it all went fairly well despite lots of blisters. No major navigational issues during the whole weekend, a few checkpoints where we could have chosen a slightly better route but generally very happy with the result. We ended up 12th out of 32 starters, with 9 teams retiring.

Thats it’s for Mountain Marathons for me this year…if any one is considering entering any next year, you should really consider the Highlander MM in April/May, it really needs more support or it could be the last one and it is a great event. You’ll be able to see this years on the BBCs Adventure Show on the 20th June.

-Matt

The Highlander is the first mountain marathon of the year so the weather can be variable. This year it was kind to us, good visibility but with a dusting of snow on both days to make it interesting. Fortunately, unlike other MMs the organisers set up a marquee overnight so you can be warm and dry if the weather is really bad. Did I mention they also sell beer and have a ceilidh? Surely the best MM in the calendar!

A Kodak moment halfway between Checkpoints 2 and 3

Day one went fairly well for us, we only made one small mistake that lost us about 10 minutes but some good navigation/route choices served us well overall.

Other teams (Ian far left) heading steeply up to check 5

We were delighted and very very surprised to find ourselves in 3rd place at the over night camp. We were way off second place (about 14 minutes) but had a buffer of about 3 minutes between us and the Swedish team in 4th.

Day 2 was very enjoyable for me, the route planners had been kind and my legs felt good all day, our navigation and route choice was spot on all day. We ended up being the fastest on the course for the second day, and finished third overall in B class, about 4 minutes off second place and a good 8 minutes or so between us and 4th. Our first podium finish!

Heading up to the 1st checkpoint on day 2

Big thanks to Ian for his excellent navigation (again) – he considers the finer point of navigation whilst I nag him to keep moving in what I believe to be the general direction…seems to work well for us as a team despite a tensions getting high as we get tired!

A great weekend and a great event. We heard whispers about the location next year which will be awesome if it turns out to be true. On a sadder note, I’ve also  heard that it may be the last Highlander if numbers don’t pick up…so tell your friends and we’ll see you there in 2013!

-Matt