The End - of 2011, Ben Cleuch at last and a topographical survey for Christmas

This is it then; the end of a year of change, including along the way - shock at having to make myself and a good team of people redundant; excitement at selling the house; finding the perfect plot of land on Skye then finding out we could buy the tenancy of the surrounding land too; two visits to the stunningly beautiful Isle of Harris; enjoying not working for almost six months; two trips to the Lake District; experiencing some extremes of weather; finding a new job (even when everything you read and hear says there are none); setting up my own company; moving to Scotland and above all moving towards achieving our dream of building our own house in a beautiful location.

As the title would have you believe, we finally made it to the summit of Ben Cleuch this week.  Tuesday arrived with clear skies and we were off. Good progress to the top of the track where we turned back last week and steeply up to the top of the hill where we had our first view of Ben Cleuch looming above and beyond us. Turning back last week was the right decision; neither of us has realised quite how much further on or up it was. We carried on, sliding over the last remaining patches of icy, hard snow and climbed the last steep bit to reach the summit plateau. What a difference a few hundred feet makes - it was absolutely freezing up there with the wind blowing from the north and the temperature much lower than when we had started out. All layers on, a quick cup of coffee, a couple of photos and we were off back down again. A wonderful view from the top across to the higher hills and mountains, most of them still covered in snow. 

View from summit of Ben Cleuch, slippery old snow encountered on ascent in middle distance

We met several fell runners (totally mad) mostly wiry, older gentlemen apparently enjoying the day. Gloves and hats firmly on for us on the return journey. My recent purchase of "Youth's waterproof, thermal gloves, size L" proving their worth and a bargain at only £18. Hands toasty and dry.

Returned home happy that we had climbed the mountain and planning a different route next time - a circular route that is even steeper on the ups but gives a longer ridge walk to the top. However for the next three days, I'm not sure if the local hills even emerged from the cloud cover.

We did venture out to the Trossachs again to climb Ben A'an. This is a small, perfectly shaped mountain about 45 minutes away. We drove past flooded fields and at one point were almost in the loch. Much more rain or snow and this road would become impassable. As we sat in the car park listening to the torrential rain we couldn't decide whether to get out and go or not. A break in the weather and the shelter of the woods for the first part of the walk decided us, gaiters on and we were off. Up steeply through the forest, across the burn, through the boggy bits and eventually out of the trees to a stunning view across Loch Katrine to Ben Venue (remember that one from 5 November ?) and further afield. 

Ben Venue looking just as steep as I remembered it!

 At this point, the light rain became sleety then wet snow then a full-on snow storm. We carried on as far as the shoulder of the hill then, after talking to others also climbing up, we agreed to continue as the view was promised to be worth it. Despite looking like it would be a scramble to the top, it was just another steep climb. A small child scrambling down told us "it was nice up there"  It turned out to be worth every out of breath moment as we reached the top. Views stretched down over Loch Katrine and across to the Southern Highlands. Very snowy in places with Ben Venue looking unrecognisable covered in snow. 

Ben Venue across Loch Katrine - memories of a very long day here in November

We dodged the blizzards, watched the light play across the loch and took many, many photos. For such a small hill (1,500ft) there were simply stunning views. No wonder the car park is so big. Ate lunch out of the blizzards, sheltered on the east side of the summit.

View east to Ben Ledi - plans to climb this one sometime soon

Then back to the car and a drive home via The Dukes Pass (later closed due to the snow) a scenic winding road that takes you through Aberfoyle and home.

The next day, we received our copy of the topographical survey for the house plot. Very impressed that Richard managed to get to Skye, carry out the survey and get it all done by 27 December. It will be waiting for Mary on her return. Good news!


And so we find ourselves at the end of an interesting 12 months with plenty learned and plenty to look forward to over the next year.

Happy Hogmany to all