Having bought a cottage called An Teallach, not near Dundonnell but in Strathcarron, much of my time in 2014 was spent sorting out the property for holiday lets. I was frequently distracted by the surrounding hills and spent many an afternoon exploring some of the local hills when I should have been painting walls. A couple of little gems were Bad a'Chreamha and Auchtertyre Hill, where on clear days the views were quite superlative. Being in Strathcarron, I was also lured out with Martin Moran to polish up my somewhat rusty rock climbing skills. In glorious weather in June we ended up climbing the Cioch Nose on Beinn Bhan with one or two pitch variations. A fine way to approach the peak. A few days peak bagging in Aberdeenshire was followed by a week based at Helmsdale for new year. This foray added seven peaks although Morven remained elusive because of road conditions.
Morven from Small Mount (photo: Jim Fothergill)
