Catchup - Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy to Kingshouse

June 3 (cont). Dinner was at the inn.  Betsy treated the upcoming birthday people (Carolyn, Ron and me) with presents.  We were each given a 4 oz. flask, flexible plastic with a canvas cover, with a pithy saying on each one – mine says “Love Potion #9.”  They were carried all the way from Portland in anticipation of the rest-day trip to Oban and the Oban Distillery.

June 4: Rest Day.  We had a great day trip to Oban on the train, about 35 miles west of Tyndrum, from Tyndrum Lower Station.  (There is a Tyndrum Upper Station; trains passing this station go north to Ft. William.)  We caught the 8:35 am train and managed to squeeze into a nearly full train (only 2 cars long), for the hour long ride to Oban.  We all had individual seats that put us in contact with a wide variety of other passengers traveling to Oban.  I sat opposite a father and son (Scots) who were taking a weekend bicycle tour on the Isle of Mull and Iona, and next to a young doctor.  We talked the whole way to Oban.

Oban is on the coast; a few islands separate it from the Irish Sea.  It is famous for its Whisky distillery, McCaig’s Tower, and Dunollie Castle and Farm.  Our group broke up and went different ways, though 5 of us arranged a tour of the distillery.  We walked up the hill to see the tower first, a round, double-tiered, rock-arched structure built in the 1880s to put local stonemasons to work.

We next took an hour-long, informative, tour of the distillery.  Up to the distillation process, whisky (note, the Scots drop the ‘e’ when spelling whiskey) is produced just like brewing beer.  The distillation process boils off the alcohol from the water and thereby increases its concentration.  This is done twice to produce ‘raw whisky’ with alcohol concentration of 70%.  It is then put into casks made of white oak, purchased from Tennessee and Kentucky bourbon manufacturers, and aged for 14 years.  Some of the alcohol evaporates during this period, which is called the “angels’ share” yielding about 55% alcohol.  Ionized water is added to bring the final product to 40% or 80 proof.  The other interesting fact about this whisky is how the four special aroma or flavors are imparted to the whisky from this distillery.  The flavors are smoke, orange peel, sea salt, and honey.  The smoky flavor comes from the peat used to dry to the malted barley.  Orange peel comes from the larch wood used to make the fermentation vats.  The sea salt comes in during the ageing process as some of the alcohol evaporates from the casks.  And the honey comes from the white oak wood casks.

We had a taste at the end of the tour and it was surprisingly good.  Ron and I bought a small bottle to share and fill our newly acquired birthday flasks.

After the tour, we walked the waterfront out to the Castle, arriving just as it was closing.  Note, Dennis and Leslie reported that the adjacent house was full of artifacts and furnishings going back many years.  This is the clan headquarters for the MacDougal family, I think.

We walked back toward the center of town, stopped at a local pub for drinks, and then had a delicious dinner at EE USK, which is gaelic for ‘fish.’  They offered fresh local seafood, including langoustines, mussels, and crabs in various presentations.  We caught an 8:36 pm train back to Tyndrum, which we had pretty much to ourselves.  We spread out and watched the scenery.


June 5:  Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy.  We had an easy walk from Tyndrum to the Bridge of Orchy, on an old military and drover’s road.  The English military built the roads system initially to move troops efficiently after the Jacobite Rebellion and the roads were later used to move cattle and sheep to markets in the lowlands.  The towns we have been staying in were founded to serve the drovers.  The walk was just under 7 miles in length and had little elevation gain, although the sun was intense.  We arrived shortly after noon.

After an hour break and rehydration, Jan, Ron and I walked up to a saddle between several ‘bens,’ which are called ‘munros’ since they are over 3,000 feet high.  I went no further than the saddle at 2,400 feet.  Ron hiked with Jan up to the highest peak. and Jan summited several more peaks by herself.  We each walked down the steep, rocky slope on our own.  Note: trail engineering in this country is pretty simple – straight up, straight down.  Switchbacks or contouring is a waste, I guess.  The views were stupendous with mountains in all directions.  Except for the forest plantations (tree farms), the hills are treeless, but covered in grasses, heather and moss.  Scattered boulders tumble down from the craggy mountain sides.

The rest of the group hung out at the hotel, seeking shade, until our rooms were ready.  This hotel also has a traditional looking main building and 3 rows of modern attached guest rooms.  The rooms seem well designed, with room for hiking boots and backpacks.  However, the bathrooms have motion sensitive lights – a mixed blessing, since they stay on quite a while and will probably be blinding in the middle of the night.  The views include bare bens to the east and west, forested lower slopes, and the River Orchy, with low granite ledges creating scenic water falls and pools.  Other hikers and tourists were picnicking and wading in the water while we idled away the afternoon.

We did our usual stuff before dinner, had drinks in the bar, and then dinner – more good food, and discussed our plans for tomorrow.  We have a 12-mile section to Kinghouse, with some elevation gain.  The weather was hot today and is forecast for the same tomorrow.


June 6:  We had a long hike of over 12 miles today, with about 1,500 feet of elevation gain, so we started early.  Carolyn and Tom left Bridge of Orchy at 6:30 am; the rest of us left after breakfast around 8:00 am.  (The hotel provided a very good breakfast, with berries, fruit smoothies, and choices of smoked salmon, smoked haddock or kippers.)  The walking route was on old military and drover roads mostly, after reaching Inveroran with hotel, manor house, and glassy loch.

The hike went first through a “forest plantation” of Sitka spruce trees.  This and many other plantations were planted in the 1960s and 70s with a tree that was easy to grow and low cost.  Sitka spruce, from North America, fit the bill but as such things usually go, they proved to have ecological impacts – pests arise, wildlife shun them because no light reaches the forest floor so nothing else grows, and they release acid rain during downpours to the streams, killing small fish and invertebrates.  Scotland was covered with forests when the Romans came but now only has something like 14% forest cover (up from 4% in 1900).  The original forests were oak and Scots pine.  The spruce plantations were supported as a tax shelter for wealthy investors.  There is an effort to take out the monoculture conifer plantations and replace them with more native, mixed trees.

We skirted the western end of Loch Tulla, with a country estate known as Black Mount.  The estate is owned by the Fleming family; Peter Fleming died here in 1971.  He was a travel writer and the older brother of Ian Fleming of James Bond novels fame.

We then climbed very gradually along the shoulder of Black Mount, with its many munros.  The sunshine blasted our backsides for most of the morning.  We passed plantations that provided welcome shade on a hot day and crossed numerous small streams, stopping by one to wet our hats, shirts, and bandanas.  The mountainsides above the route were rocky, steep and very rugged.  We reached a high point on the hike today at 1,460 feet a little after 9 miles and stopped for lunch. As we came around a corner, we could see our destination, Kingshouse, and had a view over the Rannoch Moor.  The moor, at 50 square miles, is the largest uninhabited wilderness in Britain and home of diverse wildlife and two flesh-eating plants – sundews and butterwort.

We also passed the access road to the Glencoe ski resort with its chair lifts up Meall a’ Bhuiridh.  The most spectacular mountain that marks the beginning of Glen Coe Valley is Stob Dearg, with near vertical rock sides and numerous avalanche chutes.  We arrived at Kings House Hotel, in the middle of the glen, at about 1:30, checked in, and immediately began planning our rest day activities while ‘re-hydrating.’  About 2 pm, the gathering clouds erupted into a thunderstorm, with the first rain we have seen in week.  It didn’t last long but we were happy to be inside.

Kings House is another historic pub and inn, with a warren of guest rooms upstairs and multiple public spaces (2 bars, dining room, and “residents” lounge on the ground floor.  There were several ‘hospitality’ deer on duty when we arrived.  The inn looks like it will be a good place to spend two nights.  Dinner was a bit slow regarding service, but food was good.  Betsy arranged a bottle of Moet champagne for everyone and sticky toffee pudding with ice cream for me.  The waiters even included a a tea candle.  It was a grand birthday.