Bagging a Munro

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It seems you can walk anywhere in Scotland. They have no trespass law and public right of access to land is written into statute, with guidance on common sense usage. So hill walking is a national passtime.

We´re in the Highlands surrounded by hills and plenty of them over 3000ft. In Scotland these are classed as ´Munros´ (of course as long as they meet rules on the height of ascent and descent etc). Many people set out to walk as many of these as they can, and today we are going to bag our first Munro.

Ben Wyvis can be seen from Muir of Ord, though its often covered with a blanket of mist. We haven´t done much hill walking for a while, so approach the start of the track with some trepidation. The weather is patchy, with rain clouds in the distance and a light wind. However this is about to change. The track is well formed and steepens fast, our thighs beginning to burn. The rain comes driving sideways and the cold starts to bite. We´ve got good basic outdoor clothing but are not ideally set up for these conditions. As we increase altitude visibility becomes nearly zero and we plod on past small rocky cairns marking small summits along the track. We attempt to find shelter for a moment in a wee hollow on the exposed hilltop, refuel and add the last of our layers. Five minutes later we suddenly reach the summit - yay!

A quick photo and chat to a couple of other mad people and then we turn to head straight back down. A few minutes into the descent the cloud lifts and we´re treated to some peeks of the amazing views. Ten minutes later its quite clear and beautiful vistas stretch for miles in every direction. The Moray Firth, oil rigs at Nigg, bare treeless mountains stretching to the North, a windfarm, Muir of Ord and the small town of Beauly.

We love the colours, deep purples, blues and the grey of the slatey worn down hills. The moss of the tops gives way to heather as we descend further, the knife goes out of the wind and we start to warm up. We walk back to the car past the coca-cola coloured stream with our skin raw from the weather but smiles on our faces.

Our first Munro! Only another 282 to go...

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Photos

Setting out to bag a Munro
Ben Wyvis

Tessa tackles the steps
Um is that rain coming?

Bagged our first Munro!
What happened to the weather?

The cloud clears for a moment
Wow

Its a cairn!
Tessa likes the view