Westies Whangie Hill Race

The annual Westies-organised Wed night race over the Whangie/Auchineden Hill near Milngavie. Keith and I did our usual marshalling stint at the far end, gradually getting colder and colder as we cheered the 150 runners through. Photos on FLICKR here

Westies Weekend at Corran Ferry Bunkhouse

Another great Westies Weekend Away. On the Friday I went up early and enjoyed a nice 50 mile cycle over in Ardgour, reaching 46mph on a cracking downhill at one point!! The weather was a bit dreich on the Saturday, but we still managed 5hrs on the 2 Grahams just opposite the bunkhouse - Beinn na Gucaig and Tom Meadhoin. I was a bit hungover and knackered and the ran round with John H and Jane R while the others disappeared into the clag. I revived a bit in the evening after a bit of a nap and cooked my spicy veggie paella for the communal meal, which seemed to go down a treat. Food, drink, quizzing and dancing followed till late. Sunday dawned still damp and grey, but a few of us ventured over on the free ferry and managed almost 2 hours of plodding. here is Rob's Westies' report =

Last Friday night a group of 20+ Westies headed for Corran Bunkhouse, for a weekend of outdoor activities (or indoor for the Sunday climbers at the wall in Kinlochleven).

Friday night was spent hatching plans in the Corran Inn, a 50 yard stumble across the carpark from the bunkhouse. By closing time, having reveiewed the poor weather forecast, there were two distinct groups: one tackling a loop from the bunkhouse, the other driving to Kinlochleven to tackle Christine's long, low level circuit past Luibeilt bothy.

Saturday morning was grey and wet as predicted. Charlie set off early for a ferry run across to Ardgour, while everyone else got ready for the day ahead. After the usual procrastination we were all still there when Charlie returned from his run. Group photos were then taken and we set off mid-morning. The loop from the bunkhouse took in the low lying hills around Onich, together with a bit of the West Highland Way. Clare did a fine job of navigating us through the cloud for the day and delivered us back to the accommodation about 4pm, ready for tea and cake. The Kinlochleven party arrived back a couple of hours later, with Christine's retro running attire a little worse for wear and Muffy's buttocks apparently not working any more!

Saturday night was given over to food, drink and good company. Some highlights; a great meal from the numerous cooks; Steffen's tricky quiz; Dave trying to sing the entire quizbook to a variety of tunes; DJ Charlie's eclectic mix of music; some of the dancing (Christine & Dave - I have video!); and Muffy's detailed explanation of why her elapsed running time was much longer than ours.

Sunday was a slightly slower start, trying to spot Chris on the marathon coverage while re-hydrating. Various groups headed across the ferry, out to the climbing wall or home for a Sunday rest. The run at Glen Scaddle proved to be a bit longer than planned (particularly for those that ran up the road rather than taking a car), but very enjoyable none the less.

Westies Stuc a Chroin Run

A cracking day out with Hamilton, Murdo and Cat following the route of the Stuc a Chroin Hill Race. Pictures on FLICKR here

Cowal Peninsula Cycle

SATURDAY 14 APRIL 2007



I took advantage of the great weather to travel over to Cowal for a cycle. Started off at Strachur and headed down through Glendaruel to Tighnabruaich. Fantastic sea views across the Kyles of Bute and the olde-world charm of Tighnabruaich. Then down round the Ardlamont Peninsula before heading back up to Otter Ferry, and a cracking cycle along Loch Fyne-side to finish.61 miles, 1580 metres ascent in just under 5 hours. One of the best routes I have ever cycled.

Westies Whangie Run

Another great turnout of Westies on a lovely spring evening. We headed off along to the Whangie, round a surprisingly dry Burncrooks Reservoir and then up the escarpment to Auchineden Hill, before the grassy descent back to the car park.
Photos on FLICKR here

Hillwalking in Lairg

6,7 and 8 APRIL 2007

Munro and Corbett bagging over Easter with the Glenmore Walking Club. Weather not great, while the rest of Britain basked in sunny weather. A couple of Munros on the way up on Friday at Loch Lochy with Sue and Gordon; a trot up the Corbett Ben Hee on Sat on my own; another Corbett Carn Ban on Sunday with John A, Liz and Ian McNab.

Photos on FLICKR here

Dalmeny 210K Audax Cycle, 1st April 2007

I spent most of Sunday (9hrs 24mins to be precise) cycling round most of Fife in the Dalmeny 210K Audax. It was a great day for cycling, starting off a wee bit chilly at 8am, but warming up nicely around lunch time when the sun came out and not very windy, though arm and leg warmers stayed on foe most of the time. It starts off across the Forth Road Bridge and then winds its way through a few iffy parts of Fife before heading through the Lomond Hills and down to Falkland for a stop at the bakers for some refuelling. Lots of lovely quiet country roads then followed on the way to Crail and then St.Andrews - this was about halfway, 65 miles. Bypassing the traffic jams by using the cycle path to Guardbridge, we then headed through Leuchars, Tayport and Wormit with a welcome refreshment stop at long term Audaxer George Berwick’s cottage in lovely sunny Balmerino. With the sun well out now it was a lovely cycle along the Firth of Tay to Newburgh and Abernethy, with great views of the “silvery Tay”. A drag up nice wooded Glenfarg passed well and then it was a bit of a drag through Milnathort and Kinross, but was eased by the great views of the Lomonds of Fife. On my own at this point I started to push on a bit on the mainly downhill last few miles. Coming across the Forth Bridge with a mile to go there were amazing views of the Forth Rail Bridge and the Firth of Forth below. I finished in a total time of 9h 24m, with about 45mins of stops. Mileage was 127 miles with 1925 metres ascent. Heart rate average was 108 bpm and calories were 3785. A fantastic day out.