Our first Marilyn bashing of 2014 was in Dumfries and Galloway en-route to a possible visit to Ailsa Craig which was unfortunately thwarted by the weather. We were made aware of the dangers of the sea as a result of walking around the headland at Whithorn and seeing the sad memorial to the seven lost crew members of the Solway Harvester aged from 17 to 33. Later in March we had a visit to north Wales, collecting Marilyn and Nuttall summits in the Cadair Idris area and around the Mawddach estuary.
Lionel Bidwell and I visited Cannich on the way to our Voluntary Ranger week in Torridon, where we managed a few Corbetts and Grahams. Four of us had a wonderful day on the Torridon Beinn Dearg in far better weather than my visit in 1991. Very mixed weather around Kinlochewe gave an opportunity to visit lower Marilyns in Glen Torridon. More for my Hall of Mirrors total - sorry Chris Watson.
Dee and I visited Marilyns and Grahams around Bonar Bridge on our way to the Marhof meet at Helmsdale, including the ascent of the unearthed Marilyn of Creag an Amalaidh which, by chance, we went to with Gordon Ingall. In the far north, staying at Tongue, we managed to accumulate a few ticks of the hill-bagging kind.
In July we shared a cottage on Barra with a splendid nearby beach and wonderful sea views west. From here we had a superb eleven-hour boat trip to take in the five Marilyns on the Barra Isles in improving weather. The weather continued to improve throughout the week and some members of the party swam every day.
From Barra we moved on to Mull. My two weeks there saw the conquest of all the Grahams and a number of Marilyns, but unfortunately not Ulva and Gometra. The only island summit was Staffa, with the interesting visit to Fingal's cave on the roughest day of our whole stay.
After August, walking was limited to lower hills including several Marilyns in Galloway and a visit to my favourite Lakeland fell, Great Gable, plus a trip to Northumberland to visit Tosson Hill, a significant walk for Dee. In the latter part of the year, I enjoyed walking the lower paths around the Lake District with many different friends as winter brought snow to the hills, which were often beautifully lit by sun, and the area was quiet.
Brim Fell, Lakeland (photo: Jim Fothergill)
