Month: July 2015

After breaking camp on the Friday I headed for my next destination, Glen Nevis but first there was a bit of a detour. I’d always wanted to see the Glenfinnan Viaduct and this was reasonably near my destination so I headed for the visitor centre for the Glenfinnan monument. The car park was pretty full when I got there but the advantage of a camper van is that you can squeeze in where other motorhomes fear to tread.

The monument is on the location where Bonny Prince Charlie raised his standard at the start of the 1745-1746 Jacobite rebellion. The location is stunning, on the shores of the loch with surrounding hills.

I was able to see the viaduct from the observation point and it was a spectacular sight. There is something about the right structure in the right place that can enhance the landscape. I wasn’t able to get much closer as the path up was covered in mud and puddles.

After admiring the view for a while, it was on to the campsite at Glen Nevis. The site is an impressive size and well laid out. The showers are possibly a little old but the location at the foot of Ben Nevis more than makes up for it.

After some lunch I went along to the visitor centre for Ben Nevis. Here there was some very useful information about climb the hill to be had including the not very promising weather forecast. The top of the hill was in cloud and not much chance of it clearing.

Saturday, the main even was the climb up Ben Nevis. This was a 20Km walk with 1300m of ascent. There is a good path up but it was fairly eroding in places. As expected the summit was in cloud and there was nothing to see. But on the way up and down there were some photo opportunities lower down.

The most amazing thing was people climbing the hill unprepared. Trainers and canvas shoes, no maps. While the path is good, navigation at the summit can be tricky and if the cloud had got even just a little thicker, it would have been compass and pacing to get back to the path.

After the climb it was back to the van in torrential rain. I had to put full waterproofs on to go to the showers. It was still going strong when I went to bed.

Sunday morning the rain was off as I woke but came on with a vengeance after breakfast so the awning was pretty wet when packing up. But I broke camp in double quick time and then was off down the road. Legs were aching but a holiday well spent.

This year’s summer holiday was cut short a bit due to a bit of toothache. But never mind that, Wednesday morning it was time to hit the road and off up to Glencoe Camping and Caravan Club site. I’ve been before and it is in a lovely location. Weather wasn’t looking too hopeful but you’ve got to take the rough with the smooth as they say.

It was raining as I headed off and after a quick stop for fuel (both for me and the van) it was on the road. Once again the satnav decided that some B road with lots of numbers was a good way to go. I disagreed and stayed on the A82.

There was a stop at Loch Lubraig for a bite to eat then on to Glencoe. As luck would have it, the rain was off and I made camp in reasonable time. I’m getting better at putting the awning up so it didn’t take long to be settled in.

I wandered over to the visitor centre that is next to the campsite and had an enjoyable visit learning about the flora, fauna, geology and history of the glen. The sky was clearing and I got a few photos.

After dinner, I showered and hit the sack for rest.

The Thursday dawned bright but somewhat overcast and after breakfast I headed out for a wander. This visit, I wasn’t going to do any hill walking, rather have a look through the glen. There was a circular path being built (last section still to be done) and I headed along that in the direction of the Clachaig Inn. First visit along the way was the massacre monument. As you might imagine this even looms large in the history of Glencoe.

There was then some pleasant walking through forests and the second visit was to Signal Rock. This was a bit of a disappointment as it is fairly overgrown with trees so no view from the top. Still got some other photos.

It was a pretty warm and humid day so I took a bottle of water in the Inn before setting off back to the van.

After getting back there was a bit of a snooze in the warm then onto the pile of books that I’d brought with me. Dinner was chicken and then it was the Wallander DVD I brought with me for some entertainment.

Friday morning was time to set off, I broke camp and headed on to the second part of my summer holiday, Glen Nevis.