Glen Etive - winter returns

 After some great spring weather we had snow on Monday and Tuesday!  I had to go to Glen Etive , driving through Glencoe the landscape was completely white .
Glen Etive is a beautiful valley overlooked by dramatic mountains. Some of the last part of the Bond film Skyfall was filmed here . By coincidence the family of Ian Fleming (who wrote the Bond novels) owns the estate .

Today we had more wintry showers interspersed with bright sunny periods. Painting the sketch above conditions changed moment to moment. When I started there was a huge black cloud over Glen Nevis obscuring most of the Mamores whilst the foreground was in sunshine, and the sky on the left was blue . Later the mountains revealed themselves and rain started over Fort William. The view is from Inverlochy the site of a battle in 1645. I placed my sketchbook on the little monument. The inscription reads:
                                  He either fears his fate too much
                                   or his deserts are small
                                   that dares not put it to the touch
                                   to gain or lose it all.

                                   James Graham 1650

Highland Fling

Running alongside Loch Lomond ( watercolour painting form a photo)

We are just back from the Highland Fling Race.
It is ten years since Murdo MacDonald  started the event to help runners prepare for the West Highland Way Race. Back then there were less than twenty runners, now it has developed into the biggest ultra event in Scotland with an amazing 647  people finishing the tough 53 mile course from Milngavie to Tyndrum.
 As always the organisation of race director Johnny 'Fling' was top notch .
Everything had been thought of . There was an official race hotel ( available at a very cheap rate for runners),and free bus to the start. There were lots of  portaloos (reducing that pre race stress of queueing for ages as the minutes tick away to the start).There was tea and coffee for sale as well.
 The race operates on a drop bag system. At the start you hand in bags containing your choice of food and drink which are then given back to you at checkpoints during the race. There's no  frustrating search for your bag, as you run into the checkpoint your number is shouted out by the marshalls so other volunteers can pick out your bag and have it ready and open ! Large bins were provided further down the trail so you could jettison wrappers and bottles after you had consumed their contents,as I said everything had been thought of.
I have had some good runs on the Fling normally finishing at around the 9h.35 mark . Last year was a disaster as I had a bad cold and had to walk the last 12 miles. This year I feared a similar result. - my back problems have prevented me from doing my normal level of training and my fitness is really poor.
We all wore chips on our ankles to record our exact time at the start and at various points in the race. I started off in the 10 -12 hour group at a comfortable pace but before long the excitement of it all got to me and I went a bit too fast. Scenically the first 12 miles are not exceptional but beyond Drymen the magic starts. From the top of Conic Hill Loch Lomond is arrayed in front of you with its many inlets and islands. I used to dread the 6 miles from Balmaha to Rowardennan but I have grown to love them . It always seems a very long 6 miles, but what a  great trail!.Across beaches around  bays through woodland and up and down hills, it is a delight.
The weather had started cold and wet but by Loch Lomond it was dry and the sun was shining. After Rowardennan there is a section on forestry tracks which I often struggle with before the way narrows to a rocky path and the views of Loch open up. For a road runner wanting to get from A to B as quickly as possible such a path would be very frustrating, but it is the sort of running I really enjoy. Every step is different; up and down, twisting and turning, rocks to clamber over, tree roots to jump, bridges to cross (some with ladders).There are waterfalls, caves ,wild flowers, feral goats.Fourteen miles of gorgeous trail.
Several times I was almost overwhelmed by emotion. I felt so happy to be able to run an ultra in such a beautiful place, especially after the issues I have had with my back. There is a small rise near Cnap Mor with a wonderful view back along the length of Loch Lomond.Friends erected a West Highland Way marker post dedicated to Dario who was director of the West Highland Way Race for many years. I always pause here for a few seconds to enjoy the view and contemplate life.
After Beinglas there is for me another difficult section of seemingly never ending track but by this stage the end is a reachable. I found myself flagging by Crianlarich, the lack of training really starting to show.I had put my heart into the Loch Lomond section and by the infamous 'cow poo corner' had very little left in the tank. But by and by the miles were covered.
Close to the end there are pipers playing each runner in. That for me is the signal to attempt a finishing sprint, I always find myself grinning from ear to ear as the elation hits me. The finishing straight was lined with flags and actually red carpeted. Once over the line a team of volunteers removed timing chips and distributed goody bags containing sparkling wine,T-shirt and buff ,  we were ushered into a large marquee and offered free beer, soup, baked potatoes tea, coffee and ice cream. As before everything had been thought of with lots of special touches - real ales, filter coffee,Mackies ice cream. Even the toilets were posh with pictures on the walls and moisturiser as well as soap .
My time was half an hour slower than my best but I had a fantastic day. The winner Mathew Laye was over 3 hours faster than me finishing in 7 hours and 4 minutes ! The first lady Rachael Campbell finished in 8 hours 42minutes.
 It was for us an amazing race experience, the organisation, the route, the perfect running weather. Well done and thank you to Johnny and his team!

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Sketches of people on the train- I had no time to sketch during the race!

A Great Day for Sketching

Wednesday was another beautiful day. Officially I had the day off but I had to go to the office to catch up with paperwork and phone calls. Afterwards I ran up towards the north face of Ben Nevis to paint a sketch. It was actually hot ! Sitting on a rock splashing paint on paper surrounded  by the most majestic views imaginable I felt I was in heaven. The north face of the Ben is truly dramatic the hidden dark but fascinating side to a well known mountain.It is a confusion of crags and corries and a magnet for ice climbers in the winter.I could have spent hours sketching but I had a long run home and had agreed to meet Helen half way.
 The picture is a bit of a muddle and I cannot guarantee that every patch of snow is in the right place. However I know that in years to come if I look at the sketch I will be able to recall exactly the details of a wonderful afternoon in the sun. This is the essence of sketching- laying down memories. I've written diaries before but words are not nearly as evocative as pictures regardless of how rushed and sketchy that picture is.

The North Face of Ben Nevis

Bird Life

On Sunday I climbed the Grey Corries .I slogged up Beinn Bhan then followed the easier slope  up to the summit ridge of Stob a Choire Claurigh.It was a warm and sunny day although cooler higher up .  Approaching the ridge  I saw a huge bird , a golden eagle soaring on the wind .We often see distant birds high up in the sky which we presume are eagles,but these sightings are debatable.On Sunday it was the real deal -I could see every feather on its outstretched wings as it turned and wheeled away. Every time I have seen an eagle close up I have been impressed not only by their breathtaking size but at the speed at which they can travel without any apparent effort, riding the air currents and manoeuvring with a twist of the wing.
Yesterday I was in Acharacle on another fine day listening to the birds singing ; willow warblers ,chiff chaffs and the occasional skylark .I heard my first cuckoo of the year! Considering that the cuckoo is such an unpleasant bird in its habits it is surprising the joy one feels on hearing its call for the first time . Most years I hear my first cuckoo whilst running in the Highland Fling Race close to Conic Hill ,this Spring it was a few days earlier.
A lady in Acharacle told me that there had been a hoopoe in the village last week; a rare and exotic visitor which trumps hearing a cuckoo!

The Sound of Mull from Lochaline

Hills on the road from Corran to Strontian

On the way back to Fort William I dropped in to the ever inspiring Resipole Studios. .The gallery owner Andrew Sinclair paints very fine figurative oils.Whenever I visit I discover more talented local artists.Yesterday  I was taken by some gouache mountain landscapes by Rodger Insh  an  artist I had never heard of before. They were tonally spot on  and beautifully detailed.Gouache lacks the transparency of watercolour so there is a danger that  the colours look dead or chalky however these pictures really glowed .There were also some large dramatic atmospheric oils by Rebbecca Collins- the sort of pictures with 'Wow factor' that stop you in your tracks from across the gallery.

Spring!

Ben Nevis

I love this time of year - everyday there are more signs of Spring . Buds are appearing on the trees and the birds are singing their hearts out in the mornings. Tourists are also migrating north especially that hardy sub species the West Highland Way walker; he or she is seen limping along The Belford Road carrying a huge rucksack and tap tapping with walking poles. I'm always envious of them - completing the West Highland Way is huge achievement.
 I sketched this view of Ben Nevis yesterday. A man came up the river in a little motorized canoe with a dog wearing a life jacket sitting motionless in front of him.

Visit to Knoydart

Yesterday I went to Knoydart. While most of the country basked in Spring sunshine there was unrelenting rain here in North West Scotland but Knoydart is a magical place that I would gladly visit whatever the weather.
Whilst waiting for the boat I saw a large seal lolling in the water just metres from the jetty, only when the ferry approached did it lazily roll over and disappear.
Knoydart is a peninsular but might as well be an island. You can walk or run in but it is 14 miles from the road end at Kinloch Hourn  (itself a very long drive on single track roads from Invergarry) to the village of Inverie. It is a lovely trek but not ideal if you need to be back in Fort William the same day. Instead the boat form Mallaig only takes half an hour. I enjoy visiting Inverie because it has such a friendly atmostphere- the villagers wave to each other when they meet and of course everybody knows everybody else . Its remoteness and small size determines that co operation amongst its one hundred or so inhabitants is a necessity.
 It wasn't always like this; in the 18th century Inverie was one of many townships and Barrisdale Bay would have been busy with merchant ships . In the days when roads were very poor or non existent then good access by sea gave an area far better connections and so less remoteness than corresponding inland villages. Nowadays we think of a ferry trip as time consuming, complicated and uncomfortable - you have to get out that warm metal cocoon known as a motorcar and climb aboard a small draughty boat  pitching about in the sea. Two hundred years ago it would have been a swift  and efficient way of moving people and cargo, far better than walking or riding through bogs and hills. Having said that I do know a man who used to farm on Knoydart who  on leaving the area drove his cattle out on foot overland . That must have been fun!

The Helmsman on the boat to Inverie, Knoydart. 

Running Round the World

Well done to Kevin Carr a British man who has just broken the record for running around the world. It took him 621 days to run 16300 miles through 26 countries. He was self supporting towing all his supplies in a trailer. Running an ultramarathon for several days in a row is tough enough( I've tried it) but to keep going day after day ,week after week for over twenty months is an incredible feat.
His website hardwayround.com is well worth a visit; he is raising money for  two charities Sane and Red Cross.

Snow again and a good run on the whw

Readers of this blog probably think that I'm obsessed by the weather but here in Scotland we do seem to get an awful lot of it ! All week we have had warm sunshine and balmy breezes; the birds have been singing and the bees buzzing.Yesterday when we had planned a long run it all changed.

 As we stood  on the station platform waiting for the train to Tyndrum it started to snow. Throughout the day we had vicious showers of sleet or snow coupled with a  bitterly cold wind.  There were short interludes of sunshine but they were very fleeting. Needless to say when we could see them the mountains were sublime - capped with white but now also coated with a silvery dusting of fresh snow.
 We ran on the West Highland Way north to Bridge of Orchy then across Rannoch Moor as far as the Glencoe Ski Centre . I used to dread Rannoch Moor; it is a long stretch of high open moorland . Underfoot it is hard and stony - the remains of the cobbled road built by Thomas Telford in 1803 - and it seems to go on for ever. However I have now grown to love it for the ever changing weather ,vast open spaces and stupendous mountain panorama.The area is called Blackmount which to me is a very evocative name.
 At the  Ski centre cafe we stopped for a break. .The cafe has big windows looking out on Glencoe so it is a great place to sketch. The picture of the Buachaille below is a two coffee sketch- Not only did I drink two excellent americanos whilst painting it but I used the coffee spilt in my saucer to do my washes as I had forgotten my water bottle. Better than having to use saliva which is something I have resorted to in the past!

Shortly after I finished the sketch the mountains disappeared behind a curtain of cloud and we headed out into the driving snow. We ran back to Tyndrum and after fish and chips at  the Real Food Cafe. got the train back home.

Despite the weather we had an exciting and enjoyable day and got a few miles in . Although slightly longer at about 37miles than our normal Bridge of Orchy to Fort William run I wasn't as tired , probably because there was less climbing.

Sketches of train passengers.

The Buachaille Etive Mor form the Glencoe Ski Centre cafe.

Another train passenger.

Commuting

On Friday I extended my morning commute to cut out some of the road. Jogging slowly it took me nearly two hours travelling almost entirely on tracks and paths.I'm so lucky to be able to do this. Not only does the route meander through fields and woods and over rushing streams and pass by a ruined castle and alongside Loch Linnhe, but there is the backdrop of magnificent mountains from the Grey Corries, Aonach Mor  Ben Nevis and some of the Mamores.Of course all winter this has been hidden in the darkness, but just now I only have to use my head torch for the first 20 minutes or so and even then the birds are singing and there is a predawn glow is in the East. Granted I have to get up at 4.40am to get to work on time  but it's worth it!

Rough impression of dawn breaking on my morning run.

Beautiful day !

After an exhausting weekend on call with lots to do and not much sleep I had  today off. I went for a run in the forest and stopped to paint the above sketch of the East face of Aonoch Mor. It was a beautiful day unbelievably warm and sunny, I swear the snow was melting on the tops as I painted. Later  I saw my first primroses in flower and photographed a toad on the path.
 I ascended some way on to Beinn Bahn then stopped to sit on a rock. I closed my eyes and enjoyed  the warmth of the sun on my face and listened to the birdsong. I was surrounded by gorgeous snow capped mountains and forests and was totally alone.It felt very good to be alive!
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I have just run to work on my normal commute . What a difference a day makes ! At the start ( before dawn )I could feel the ground was hard with frost- and joy of joys it wasn't raining ,sleeting or snowing. As the sun came up I could see the amount of snow that had fallen on the mountains over the last 48 hours . The steep eastern edge of Aonach Mor  was crisp  and  sculpted in  white . Then further on the magnificent north face of Ben Nevis was revealed. The summit plateau was initially shrouded in cloud which was suffused with a gorgeous pink as the sunrise illuminated it . By the time I reached Torlundy the cloud had dissipated but the towers and corries  of the Ben where delineated in brilliant yellow light. Mornings like this are joyous and compensate a thousand times over for long weeks of wet, cold , foggy weather.

With the clocks going forward to British Summer Time one would hope for some warmer weather. Instead we have had snow, sleet and high winds - thoroughly unpleasant. However when the hills  did appear through the murk they looked moody and dramatic.
Sadly I have been too busy to do any sketching, but this picture (actually of Cairn Toul in the Cairngorms) gives the general impression of the wintry views.

Prototype zine

Today I have been making some zines about Ben Nevis.
 I have always been fascinated by books and frequently write, illustrate and bind small books (often of transcribed poems) to give as presents. I love published sketchbooks and illustrated books in general . My wife has a full set of the delightful Wainwright guides to the Lake District. These quirky but very practical guides were reproduced directly from Alfred Wainwright's handwritten/drawn sketches, maps and descriptions of the Cumbrian fells. I would love to produce something similar for the Scottish mountains although I wouldn't pretend to have half the talent of Wainwright. Hence I have been experimenting with a 'zine' about Ben Nevis .The challenge is making something good enough to sell but that can be manufactured and quickly and cheaply at home.
My normal handbound books take hours to make and would never be economical to buy. My first efforts at zine making are a bit rough and ready ( as is the nature of zines) but I'm pleased with them nevertheless. Each one is slightly different but has 4 or 5 pages of reproduced pencil drawings and information on Ben Nevis.
I would quite like to find out more about the readers of this blog- who you are, what do you think about the blog ,are you interested in art or running or both ?
 I will send a free zine to the first seven people who leave a ( hopefully constructive) comment on this blog . If you leave a comment and send me an e mail with your home address I will send you a zine.