Eddie’s Blog

Coire Mhic Fhearchair and the Triple Buttress

On Tuesday last week I travelled to Torridon to hike to Coire Mhic Fhearchair, a three hour walk to a hidden corrie behind Beinn Eighe. Coire Mhic Fhearchair must be one of the most dramatic corries in the whole of the Scottish mountains, with the impressive backdrop of the Triple Buttress.

The day started off with blue skies and very little wind, and the walk along Coire Dubh Mhor beneath the eastern cliffs of Liathach was almost idyllic (there were a few midgies about), with a great view in the morning light of the glacial ‘hummocky moraine’ deposits in Glen Torridon called ‘The Corrie of a Hundred Hills‘.

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Looking west from Sgurr nan Ceannaichean over Glen Carron

On Monday I travelled to Glen Carron and climbed up to the summit of Sgurr nan Ceannaichean. I did not walk up the usual way recommended in guide books but instead walked up via Coire an t-Seilich and the north-western slopes of the mountain. This was over difficult terrain and the overgrown vegetation, boggy ground, steep slopes of wet grass, insects, humidity and heavy rain made it a pretty unpleasant climb! Once I was near the summit however, the weather cleared and I was able to take some photos of the great views, which included the peaks of Torridon and Letterewe to the north.

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Wreckage of a USAF jet fighter at the head of Coire nam Frithhallt in Morvern

Last Sunday I did some walking in the hills of Morvern, a quite anonymous and hidden part of of Scotland. The area has no high summits, but has some amazing scenery and views. After a quick trip across Loch Linnhe on the Corran Ferry, I walked up Coire nam Frithhallt from Glen Tarbert towards the site of some wreckage from a jet that crashed here in 1964. A USAF Voodoo jet fighter came apart over Maol Odhar and there are aircraft parts littered over a large area, including the jet engines. Unusually for such a relatively recent military wreck, the parts were never cleared away. You can see my page about this wreck site on my website here.

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Wreckage of a Catalina on the island of Vatersay

Last week whilst on a trip to the Western Isles, I went to the island of Vatersay at the southern tip of the chain of islands.

On Vatersay I visited the site of the wreck of an RAF Catalina flying boat that crashed on the island in 1944. There is still quite a bit of wreckage at the site, even though it is right next to a public road and the coast of the island. It is very remote though, requiring a long ferry trip from the UK mainland to get there.

You can see my page about this site on my website here.

Wellington wreckage in upper Glen Affric

On Sunday last weekend I walked to Glen Affric from Glen Shiel (see my blog post ‘Glen Shiel’) . About 9km from Glen Shiel, not far from the Alltbeithe hostel, on the north-western slopes of the Munro summit of Mullach Fraoch-choire lies the site of an RAF Wellington bomber that crashed in the Glen in 1942. The location of the site is in a particularly magnificent setting, surrounded by the bleak moorland of upper Glen Affric and steep-sided mountains. Wreckage sites from crashed Wellingtons are suprisingly widespread throughout the Scottish mountains, this is the 6th I’ve visited.

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Air crash memorial on Blairdenon Hill

Last Sunday I went for a short walk in the western Ochil Hills at Sheriffmuir (nor far from where I went to school). This area of the Ochils has historical associations with William Wallace and also the Jacobite uprising of 1715. Near the start of the walk was an interesting ancient alignment of stones, that seem to point towards the escarpment of the Touch Hills on the horizon, and one of the stones is called the Wallace Stone after William Wallace.

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On the summit of Glas Bheinn Mhor, peaks of Glen Etive and Glencoe behind

On Wednesday I travelled to Glen Etive and climbed to the 997m summit of Glas Bheinn Mhor.

Conditions were absolutely perfect on the walk, with little wind and clear skies. The route up to the summit ridge from Glen Etive is a fairly punishing climb from sea level along the Allt Mheuran into Coire Odhar. There was substantial snow cover above about 700m, but only one small section that was steep and required a bit of attention and the use of ice-axe and crampons, although no real difficulties. The views from the summit were out of this world and it was a perfect day for taking photographs.

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Hawker Hurricane Merline engine in Galloway Forest Park

On Monday last week I travelled to Galloway Forest Park to walk near Loch Doon. The weather was pretty bad, with freezing rain, mist and frozen ground underfoot.

I walked in a plantation of fir trees to the southeast of the Loch, west of the Rhinns of Kells ridge, to the site of a Hawker Hurricane that crashed in the Second World War. There is still some wreckage at the site, hidden away in a firebreak in the forest. The wreckage is in danger of disappearing into the new forest growth but the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine from the Hurricane is still visible sitting on the ground underneath the canopy of trees.

You can see my page about this wreck site on my website here.

Fairey Firefly remains on Meikle Bin

Last Sunday I went for a walk in the Campsie Fells, starting just north of Queenzieburn and walking directly up the escarpment of the Kilsyth Hiils, going via the Birkenburn Reservoir towards the 570m summit of Meikle Bin. It was a gloomy day and the moorland of the Campsie Fells is a pretty desolate and featureless place, even though there are views towards the centre of Glasgow from the high ground.

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Wellington wreckage on Carn Aosda

A couple of weekends ago I went for a short hike over the summit of Carn Aosda near the Glenshee Ski Centre. I walked up to the summit along one of the main paths underneath the ski tows but I descended off the summit into the little-frequented northern corrie of Carn Aosda, Dubh-choire. The conditions were perfect, with frozen ground underfoot and excellent visibility. I had an amazing view of the Cairngorm summits to the north with a covering of fresh snow. You can see a couple of photos I took on the trip on my website here.

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