As is usual for me, I collected several of my new Marilyns on ventures whose main purpose was not peakbagging. May brought my first serious outing of the year, when I attempted a long-planned walk from Fort William to Cape Wrath. The weather was unbelievably wonderful, often wall-to-wall sunshine, with ten minutes of rain and only an hour or so of hill fog in the two weeks. The crossing of Knoydart was the best of my three to date. Tiny Sourlies bothy was filled to the gunnels, so I camped outside and was up and off before anyone else stirred, to enjoy the most exquisite early morning on Loch Nevis bay in absolute solitude and peace.
Another ambition of mine had been to do a coast-to-coast crossing in one day (I had previously made ten much slower crossings). I dipped my booted toes in Loch Broom and in the Dornoch Firth on the same day near the end of May, but on the way I noted the huge and horrendous electric fences on the controversial Alladale estate. I therefore decided that I had to attempt the Marilyns on this and neighbouring estates, in case future access is restricted. Armed with information from Andy Hyams and Stewart Logan (many thanks to both) I spent a week in this large and remote area, making some very long walks. They were magical days, during which I bagged all the Cs and Gs in region 15, together with most of the lower Marilyns. If ever access to Carn a'Choin Deirg is denied, then the public will have lost a fine hill. I will always remember my day of the 'hill of the red dog'.
Other mainland highlights of the year included the heavenly triplet of Morven, Maiden Pap and the Tolkienesque Smean, in the far north-east. Maiden Pap must be a candidate for the shapeliest lower Marilyn. The pair of Grahams, Glas-bheinn Mhor and Meall Fuar-mhonaidh, made another great day, offering glorious views up and down Loch Ness. Another aim for the year was to mop up some of the more remote Corbetts and Grahams. At the end of July I took a short trip to the Grampians and Cairngorms, where I walked a total of 76 mountain miles in three days, bothying and camping, taking in what RHB quotes as 'possibly the most remote Marilyn of all', Beinn Bhreac, together with four other Corbetts. Although I am a cyclist, I never use a bicycle on trips into the mountains, preferring the long walk-in to really get to grips with an area. Wildlife such as mountain hares, eagles and red deer are none too easy to observe from the saddle, and most will flee on hearing the rattle of bike on rough track. Again I was blessed with glorious warm weather and clear hills. We are so fortunate to be free to enjoy the expansive landscapes of this country.
For the last five years, Beryl and I have made an annual trip to one of the Scottish islands or island groups, and last year was the turn of Mull, which I had only visited briefly once before, for my final Munro back in 2000. Highlights of the leisurely eleven days included the complete Dun da Ghaoithe ridge, Beinn Talaidh in glorious evening sunlight, a trip in perfect conditions to Staffa (couldn't get Mendelssohn's overture out of my head for days) and a magical wild camping spot on Iona (the place is absolutely enchanting once the tourists have left).
Rocks on Staffa (photo: Alan Dawson)
Our annual cycling trip was from the Orkney Islands back to home in the Southern Uplands, by a very circuitous route. We lingered longer than planned in Orkney, for three reasons; because we liked the islands so much, to enjoy the good sunny weather while the rest of the country was awash with August rain, and to bag the nine Orkney Marilyns. A marvellous day on Hoy was expected and did not disappoint, but Westray was a delightful surprise, taking in the summit of Fitty Hill whilst on a walk along the splendid west coast of the island. Papa Westray is too low to offer a Marilyn, but a wonderful place to explore for a day, nevertheless.
I reached the end of the year with another 29 Corbett-Grahams to my credit, leaving me with 110 left. These will hopefully provide me with many more great days in the Scottish hills. My Marilyn total crept oh-so-close to the thousand, so 2009 should see me enter the HOF senior common room. I plan to have Arthur's Seat as my 1000th. Somehow I have so far managed to avoid climbing it on every visit to the capital.
