On Bennachie (photo: Klaus Schwartz)
Between many trips to the Alps I managed only two spells amongst the Scottish Marilyns in 2014. The first one with my German walking pal Gesine in mid-June took us to the east and north-east. Up a sunny Hill of Garvock (Johnston Memorial) surrounded by cows; the forested Strathfinella Hill; sunny Kerloch with its windmills; Millstone Hill with its hundreds of steps; then the easy paths over Bennachie in good weather with a short thunderclap shower on the way back; Cairn William by the Granite Slab cycle trail with excellent views; easy Brimmond Hill outside Aberdeen with sea and town views plus Waughton Hill. Also Meikle Balloch, Hill of the Wangie and the almost level Burgiehill with its towers on top; deep heather to Carn na Loine and Beinn Mhor from Glenbeg near Grantown.
Eventually up the dreaded Crock near Kirkton of Glenisla under a very hot sun via a steep deer track through the dense forest barrier - a fantastic outing and the surprise highlight of this trip. Later that day, spiralling up Cairn-mon-earn and finishing our spell on Kingshill. Surely most of these hills have never seen two 70+ year-old Germans on top before; and Gesine, a resident of Munich, has now reached more than a hundred rather obscure Marilyns.
I enjoyed a solo spell of walks in mid-October in the Kyle of Lochalsh and Lochcarron area. The hardest struggle, by far, was the ferociously strenuous Beinn a'Mheadhoin from Bundalloch to Loch Long. If ever a Scottish hill knackered me, it was this 414m high one. Two tops west of Lochcarron village were rather easier and Auchtertyre Hill overlooking the Kyle of Lochalsh in brilliant sunshine provided great vistas all around.
View from Auchtertyre Hill (photo: Klaus Schwartz)
