After a Jubilee Street Party on the Saturday 
early the next morning it was time to drive up to Scotland for a week at the HF Holidays house Alltshellach in North Ballachulish on the banks of loch Leven. A stop off in Glasgow and then on to Fort William for an overnight stop. The next morning provided time to wander around the town & pick up a few things.
Alltshellach had hosted a wedding over the weekend and they were still in the process of taking down the large tepee tent marquees over-looking the lake. A magnificent setting especially with the good weather.
Tuesday – Kentallen Peninsular
An easy walk to start the week around the Kentallen Peninsular and alongside Loch Linnhe. This provided excellent views across the loch and of the numerous birds along its shoreline. Starting from Duror we headed out towards the headland at Rubha Mòr and then along the shoreline and eventually around to Kentallen and then along the old railway to the hotel & pier where we awaited the coach for our return journey.
The walk was a pleasant and relaxing one with plenty of opportunity to admire the views, wildlife and plants. Amongst the birds we saw Oystercatchers and in one field we saw swathes of spotted orchids.
Wednesday – Sgor Eilde Beag and Na Gruagaicheon
After yesterdays easy walk today was a totally different prospect, with one Munro and a lot of ascent. The walk out of Kinlochleven soon became a bit of a slog uphill but it was a pleasant prospect to be out in the hills. Initially we headed along the tracks towards Loch Eilde Mòr before turning our attention upwards to Sgor Eilde Beag (956m). After achieving this we followed the ridge to the unnamed spot height (1062m) from where we could see the silhouettes of two fast
moving walkers accenting Binnein Mòr (1130m). Our paths would later cross enroute to Na Gruagaicheon, where we discovered they were on day 21 of their 60 day trip to bag all of the Munros. They certainly looked capable to achieving this but they struggled to identify the Munro’s they had already achieved that day.
By the time we reached our top we were in the clouds and a little damp, however we enjoyed a quick lunch before descending along undefined paths to join the Old Military Road and through the deer fence to head back to the Ice Factor in Kinlochleven.
Thursday - North side of Ben Nevis
The walk today was to go as far as the CIC hut from the north side and then return along the Pony Track or tourist path. We started at Torlundy and headed into Leanachan Forest, slowly making our way uphill until we emerged on its western boundary by Allt á Mhuilinn. Our path was mostly following the course of this stream until we eventually reached the hut below the north buttress. The northern gullies still held snow.
We only passed a couple of people during this stage of the walk, a few lads who camped overnight and a German family who had done the tourist route before and wanted something different. This was certainly a pleasant and interesting introduction to the Ben.
After the hut we skirted around below the northern buttress passing Lochan Meall an t-Sudhie before joining the heaving tourist path. Our peaceful day was shattered and it was a shock after having our side of the mountain almost to ourselves. The route down was along the tourist track which is heavily warn and rutted. We were certainly pleased to reach the end and the Nevis Inn.
Friday – A Strontium Wander
The final walk of the week was to be across the the other side of Loch Linnhie, this involved catching the Coran ferry and then driving on to Strontian. The walk initially passed through a Beech woodland before heading out into the open moorland. Our target being Meall Iain (502m) with its multiple tops.
The view before us encompassed several of the islands of the Inner Hebrides including Rum, Eigg and some thought Skye. Certainly the visibility was good. The rest of the route took in an area of disused quarries before passing through Scotstown and along the road to Strontian. Along the way we passed a phone box together with umbrella and newspaper ready for the next user.
