Hill Walk

Discussion in 'Members Hobbies' started by fairygirl, Apr 27, 2024.

  1. Scroggin

    Scroggin Super Gardener

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    Lovely photos @fairygirl and a great narrative to go with them
     
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    • Plantminded

      Plantminded Head Gardener

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      That looks like an exhilarating walk @fairygirl, lovely photos. I’m puzzled by “dreeping” but am sure it’s highly respectable :biggrin:.
       
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      • ViewAhead

        ViewAhead Head Gardener

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        That definitely looks like my kinda scenery. :blue thumb: I like lots of greenery and gentle hill shapes. I live near the coast but never visit. Too stark and not enough trees.
         
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        • Sheal

          Sheal Total Gardener

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          There's something about Scottish landscape @fairygirl that hits the senses and creates emotion. I can feel it oozing with the history I love when I'm out and about. Even though I'm English I particularly feel a connection with Glen Orchy when I visit there. Do you feel at home in a particular place when you're out on the hills?
           
        • fairygirl

          fairygirl Total Gardener

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          Thanks everyone - very kind, as always :smile:
          I'll try and keep going as long as possible @DiggersJo - if the knees can manage it.
          Dreep is a Scottish term for gradually sliding/dropping down something - similar to drip. Often on your bum rather than on your front @Plantminded. It isn't pretty, but it's often necessary in awkward sites! Going up isn't any easier, but that's the price for the views. ;)
          I couldn't live somewhere that I couldn't access hills reasonably easily. Flat land does nothing for me I'm afraid, and neither does endless woodland. I need to see the sky - when it's clear enough :biggrin:
          That hill is one that makes me feel quite centred @Sheal, especially that lochan with it's huge rocks that are like sentinels guarding the lochan itself, but there are quite a few. Glen Tilt is lovely - have you been there? The scoured rock along the river is beautiful. Glen Orchy is certainly surrounded by many famous hills.
          For me, nothing beats a high level walk along a ridge between two hills though, and The Mamores are a prime example of that, but people often head for Nevis etc instead, not realising that virtually every other hill you can see from there is a better walk. :smile:
          Being able to see hills for many miles around, is something that comforts me enormously, and often the smaller hills give the best views. The Brack is at just over 2,500 feet of altitude, but the 360 degree views are superb on a clear day. All the hills on that side of the road are great. I did it on a May evening some years ago, and I could have stayed for hours. Just the sheep, and the butterflies for company...and the silence.
           
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          • Liriodendron

            Liriodendron Keen Gardener

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            Fab photos again, thanks @fairygirl . I'm with you on your opinion of Ben Nevis; the only time I went up it, you couldn't see anything from the top, which had its own private cloud "hat".
             
          • fairygirl

            fairygirl Total Gardener

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            People always want to do it @Liriodendron, understandably, but they're often not regular hillwalkers and are doing it for charity etc, and can be badly equipped, as they don't realise the difference between the start point and the final altitude. You see it regularly on lots of hills.
            It's often snowing at, and near, the summit, all year round and they have lightweight clothing on. It's also very dangerous in poor conditions because you then don't see the route, and can easily drop off the north side. Happens every year to folk, although it can often be climbers doing the north route.
            It's the same with lots of hills though, you get above about 3,000 feet and you can't see more than a few feet in front of you because of cloud. That can be very tricky :smile:
            I did The Brack on a wintery day one year, and the lochan was frozen, with a thin layer of snow. You could see footprints across it. Highly dangerous because, although it's quite deep, it wouldn't have been frozen to any great depth. Those idiots were very lucky.
             
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            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              No I've not been to Glen Tilt @fairygirl. Unfortunately I'm not a hill walker, it's not something that interests me, so if possible I admire the views from a distance. :) My walking is usually short distances heading towards any castle I spot. :biggrin:

              I can imagine that wonderful feeling of peace and freedom when you are walking though. My daughter and son-in-law are the walkers in the family and my son-in-law did an early morning hike up Ben Nevis four years ago. Something he'd wanted to do for many years.
               
            • fairygirl

              fairygirl Total Gardener

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              I can highly recommend Glen Tilt [Blair Atholl] @Sheal - you wouldn't have to do the hills ;)
              Bit of a drive for you perhaps, but a lovely glen with fine views.
              My 100th Munro was Beinn Dearg in there, but it's a much longer walk to do the other hill [Carn a Chlamain] further on. Almost marathon length, especially if you miss the turn off to the hill. Not that I did that of course.... :biggrin:

              I think they've changed that route now and you use the descent route to go up, which makes it much shorter.
               
            • Sheal

              Sheal Total Gardener

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              I just can't do the walking now @fairygirl, my body protests. A mile is about it. I did visit Blair Castle many moons ago but it's not a place I'd visit again.

              That's impressive to notch up 100 Munro's, and no doubt more have been added since. :thumbsup:
               
            • fairygirl

              fairygirl Total Gardener

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              That's a pity your walking is limited @Sheal. I'm not sure what I'd do if I couldn't walk. I try not to think about that.
              I've added a few more Munros [20 something] but the whole lockdown thing prevented a lot of travel, and many of them are now a bit further afield so it becomes trickier. My knees cause problems,as well as a few other bits, so I have to choose carefully too.
               
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