Oh Inverted World

Book Review: At The Loch Of The Green Corrie by Andrew Greig

By Nick Bramhall on February 2, 2012 · Filed under: culture · 2 Comments

I hadn’t come across the names Andrew Greig or Norman MacCaig before At The Loch Of The Green Corrie appeared on bookshelves a couple of years ago. However, having now read this fabulous book in just a couple of days I am already intrigued to find out more about them, and read more of their books and poetry.

2012 02 02 21 51 15 HDR 1

Andrew Greig is an author, poet, mountaineer and fisherman who struck up a long though somewhat distant friendship with the Edinburgh-based poet Norman MacCaig. MacCaig (born McCaig) is known for his short poems revolving around places and creatures inhabiting the North West Highlands, and the area of Assynt in particular. His poems have a stark beauty and simplicity that belies – or perhaps even sidesteps – their geo-social context. In them though is something of the history of a land and a people which is anything but black and white.

In At The Loch… Greig has constructed something very special; the book is part biography, part auto-biography, it is a book about the North West Highlands of Scotland as much as it is a book about poetry or a poet. As Greig says towards the end of the book, Norman MacCaig is the reason for the book, but not necessarily who the book is about. It is also a book a little bit about fishing; not really the technical how, but the emotional why.

It revolves in the main around a four day trip to fish the eponymous remote loch, nestled below Glas Bheinn, a peak to the east of the winding road between Inchnadamph and Kylesku. It gets to this the long way around with the walking, camping and fishing interspersed by fireside stories and recollections of trips to the Himalaya, encounters with London record agents and all sorts of other things in between. It stretches back into dim and distant childhoods, and follows the courses of relationships and lives, of passions and careers. It touches on the geology of Assynt, as well as issues over land ownership and the long shadows cast by the Jacobite uprising and the subsequent Clearances. It is a celebration of Gaelic culture and people. It is also sad and bittersweet, touching on deep-rooted personal issues that give it a cathartic feel. However, it never gets bogged down by these deeper, more melancholy passages, and often the next page sparkles with the bright light bouncing off a clear loch or a distant mountain. It reverberates throughout with jokes and anecdotes, the fug of good whisky and pleasant company.

Told in lyrical language it follows a hundred different threads during its 300 pages but Greig never gets lost or tangled. It is bound together by a celebration of place and of the Gaelic culture and features several of MacCaig’s poems, printed in full, that are echoed throughout the text.

It is a book I feel I will return to again and again, and one that has set me off on a number of different routes of further enquiry.

Posted in culture · Tagged books, mountainliterature, poetry · Add a comment

The Icy Skies at Night

By Nick Bramhall on January 24, 2012 · Filed under: astronomy · 6 Comments

When looking at moving to Scotland back in 2007 I will admit that the hills and mountains were not my first concern; it was the promise of dark skies and the chance to properly see a display of Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) that really excited me. In both October and November 2004 I saw the Northern Lights from Durham in the North East of England. For being stuck in the middle of an (albeit small) city with the orange skydome of Newcastle to the north, we got some impressive views. There were sheets of green and red that danced and flickered, and a bright green arc stretching low across the horizon. I only had a very small digital camera at that time, but I did get a few photos which must be stored on some random external hard drive somewhere. In the meantime, this view of Orion shows the quality of the night sky out in Aberdeenshire.

Storms that push the auroral oval sufficiently far south are quite rare and so it was with great excitement that I moved the few degrees north to darker skies of Aberdeenshire where I hoped to be able to repeat the viewings but on a much more dramatic scale. Of course since then we have been stuck in the gloom of a long and particularly low solar minimum and only now are activity levels on the sun really picking up again.

Whilst countries further north enjoy views of the Aurora Borealis throughout winter, here in Scotland it is a more temperamental affair. Not only does the solar wind have to be strong enough to push the auroral oval sufficiently far south (usually a Kp value of 5 or more), but you also need dark and cloud-free skies. Getting all three conditions together on the same night can be tricky and it is only when the sun is particularly active (around solar maximum) that we really get a good chance.

That being said I’m always on the lookout for potential aurora viewing opportunities and on 19th January 2012 satellites monitoring the sun detected a number of events, culminating in a Coronal Mass Ejection, which hurled a barrage of solar particles out into interplanetary space. Initial predictions were for the storm to hit Earth on the night of the 21st January 2012 which was a Saturday, with a new Moon and no clouds forecast. All three conditions for aurora viewing? Check!

A couple of flasks of tea were made, cameras were charged and packed and we journeyed west into Aberdeenshire to a site just off the main road near Midmar kirk. The wind was ferocious, lashing the trees and rocking the car quite substantially. We got out and although there was a brightness to the northern sky there wasn’t any structure or colour to be seen. Low clouds carried through by the wind also didn’t help with the northern horizon partially obscured for much of the time we were there. After waiting about half an hour (mainly in the car to avoid the chilling effects of the wind) we called it a night and came home. On inspecting the photos it was clear some faint Aurora had been there (see below), unfortunately it hadn’t been particularly apparent to the naked eye.

The next morning it was clear from the charts (see below) that the storm’s arrival had been later than predicted. Around 8am the dials were climbing into the red and it was clear something was happening. Of course it was broad daylight so no chance of a view. Would there be residual activity that evening though?

Screen Shot 2012 01 22 at 14 03 51

All Sunday evening I sat with half an eye on the space weather sites, and another on Twitter (both #aurora and #aurorawatch were useful search terms). Gradually activity on both picked up with people reporting views of aurora along the Moray Firth, in Shetland and even above Edinburgh. At 8:30pm I eventually decided to head out, this time without the hot tea.

By 9pm I was parked up again outside Midmar kirk and almost bounced out of the car as a green arc had been clearly visible in the northern sky since leaving Aberdeen. The sky was stunning. Inky blackness peppered with stars everywhere except the north where a bright band of ghostly green light stretched from beyond the hills in the west around to where it was lost in the glow from Aberdeen to the east.

As my eyes adjusted to the low light levels I could see the aurora pulsing gently as it intensified and faded over the course of a few seconds. Initially it was brighter towards the west but as my time there went on it changed and was later much brighter in the central region.

I had the camera out and was taking exposures for most of the time I was there. I started off at ISO800, taking 20 second exposures, but later increased the sensitivity to ISO1600 which produced more vivid colours and more extensive aurora, particularly into the fainter red and purple areas of the display.

Around 10pm, and conscious that it was a school night I reluctantly packed up and headed back. Clouds had been moving in from the west so it seemed like a good time to leave. The next day though it was clear that the display had been much more intense in the hours after midnight and I think this photo from Ryan Stevenson illustrates how much better the show got.

I’m hopeful that this marks the beginning of a good stretch of solar activity with increased opportunities to see and photograph aurorae. I need to do some more research into finding good sites with off road parking and a good northern horizon. Although the spot at Midmar is fine, the forest seen in the pictures does somewhat obscure lower displays.

As a postscript it appears that another CME was released from the sun on Sunday/Monday and is currently interacting with the atmosphere giving rise to aurora tonight (24th January 2012). Unfortunately it is currently very cloudy in Aberdeen.

Posted in astronomy · Tagged aurora, photography · Add a comment

Hill of Wirren (The Fast Train to Edzell)

By Nick Bramhall on January 20, 2012 · Filed under: mountains, reports · 2 Comments

Date: 15th January 2012
Distance: 22.12km
Ascent: 708m
Time: 5hrs 59mins
Hills: West Wirren, Hill of Wirren (Graham, 678m), West Wirren
Weather: Very cold, light winds, clear skies, haze developing at low levels
Route: Click to view on OS Map

I’m not sure whether the driver was slightly masochistic or just trying to acclimatise us to the cold we would face once we jumped off at Tarfside in Glen Esk, but it was absolutely freezing on the coach that took the Stocket Hillwalking Club away from Aberdeen for a day out. Actually, looking back, “jumped off” sounds a bit too active…. I’d met up with some work-related friends at eight on Saturday evening and finally got to bed at four the next morning. I was feeling particularly bleary eyed as I stumbled off the coach into the bright winter sunshine just a few short hours later. Water would have been good at this stage but already my hydration pipe had frozen solid so it was a cup of sweet black tea that did the job of slightly reviving me.

The rickety bridge across the North Esk (complete with liability defying warning signs) further helped the sobering up process and then there was a little bit of navigation fun to find the right vehicle track heading up the open hillside to the bealach below Garlett and Cowie Hill. We had climbed the hillside in the shade, enjoying the views over to sunnier slopes on the south side of Glen Esk so it was a great feeling to top out into the bright winter sunshine.

Here we took a brief break to take in some warmth and admire the views. Through a gap in the hills to the west we had an interesting view of Lochnagar, looking along the rim of its cliffs to the summit of Cac Carn Beag. Northwest of us Mount Keen had streaky snow on its summit flanks. All the hills shone below perfect blue skies.

From the bealach we continued roughly south following a good, wide stony vehicle track that dropped down into the Burn of Berryhill where once again we were in the cold shadow of the hills. As we climbed up over the eastern shoulder of Knock Hill we came back out into the sun and with hazy views ahead to West Wirren we stopped in a sheltered dry stream bed to enjoy elevenses.

Feeling refreshed we marched on. Our intended route took us close to the top of the Clash of Wirren, a dry cleft leading down towards Glen Lethnot. Though we had debated about the best way to climb up to West Wirren, on arrival the decision was made for us by yet another new looking vehicle track that wound its way up the north side of the hill. These tracks are far from pretty but they certainly made for good progress and we were soon heading along the plateau. Here there was more evidence of investment by the estate with newly constructed grouse butts and strange markers, presumably to aid navigation around the network of new roads.

The track took us up to the summit of West Wirren where the small cairn was briefly visited. The views had now opened up to include a hazy Glen Lethnot to the south as well as the tips of the snow-plastered Cairngorms peeking over the lower hills to the west.

The track continued, circling around the rim of the large, cold corrie separating West Wirren from the Hill of Wirren before finally climbing up onto the wide plateau of this 639m high Graham.

The trig point is reached by leaving the track and crossing what were thankfully frozen peat hags and bog. The trig stood in a puddle of water, frozen solid, commanding views across the featureless plateau and out to the neighbouring hills.

It was about lunchtime now and we could see our next target, East Wirren. We decided however to return to the track, thinking that it might well turn around the hill to eventually link up to a track we could see climbing up to East Wirren. It didn’t. We ended up circling back, almost returning to the trig point, where we found another sheltered stream bed to enjoy a break for lunch. Though the ground was still hard frozen the sunlight was warming and sandwiches were consumed enjoying the views out towards the hazy fields and rolling flatland of the Howe of the Mearns.

After lunch our way took us through a maze of peat hags until we eventually linked up with a track climbing up from Glen Lethnot and heading up to the summit of East Wirren. Another cairn commanded views that were getting increasingly hazy with mist creeping across the flat lands.

To the south the march of foothills towards Dundee stood out only as faint pencil lines against the grey-white fog. It was a strange and transfixing sight to see, though difficult to capture on camera.

From East Wirren we dropped off, initially south but then east once more to reach the Hill of Corathro where we enjoyed the last of the expansive views before dropping off to reach the first of the farms at Little Tullos.

The track led us slightly off course so we cut across via the bottom end of a small reservoir to reach it again. The farmyard was a little intimidating but largely deserted so we crept past the cows in the barn and finally found the right exit onto yet another track.

This we followed for some distance until we turned off onto a footpath that eventually brought us to a proper tarmac road. This was followed a short way before we took to the fields and hills again, climbing up over a small brow beside a cold looking coppice to join a good straight track heading for Edzell.

As the light faded we hit the main street of Edzell where the coach was waiting for us outside the hotel. There was a warm and convivial atmosphere as we enjoyed a pint or two and chatted about the excellent day out we had enjoyed. By the time we stepped outside again it was dark which only left the swift journey back up the A90 to Aberdeen, a fish supper, and bed.

If you enjoyed reading about this trip, you can look through my full index of trip reports here.

Posted in mountains, reports · Tagged graham, stocket hillwalking club · Add a comment

Crathie to Ballater (via some hills)

By Nick Bramhall on January 13, 2012 · Filed under: mountains, reports · 8 Comments

Date: 7th January 2012
Distance: 19.43km
Ascent: 562m
Time: 5hrs 57mins
Hills: Sgor an h-Iolaire, Creag nam Ban, Creag Ghiubhais
Weather: Overcast and light rain showers. Some sunshine. Very strong winds on the tops.
Route: Click to view on OS Map

With the weather continuing to threaten high winds and unpleasant conditions on the tops, Dave and I decided to try a low level walk making use of the service bus going out from Aberdeen to Braemar. The basic plan was to jump off at Crathie and then make our way back east along the river to Ballater, going over a number of small sub-600m bumps that lie along the south bank of the River Dhé. These hills don’t really feature on any lists (though I’m told one is a Marilyn) so we were assured a quiet day with plenty of pathless wandering.

As the bus left Aberdeen a glorious sunrise lit the sky up with all sorts of shades of gold, yellow and orange. As we headed further west though we ended up under increasing cloud cover such that by the time we got off the bus at the Balmoral car park, opposite Crathie kirk, the sky was a dull, pale grey. After waving to a couple of policeman in their fancy Range Rover, we set off to the Dé, crossing it by the wide public footbridge near Easter Balmoral. Our way then took us up the steep hill to the Royal Lochnagar Distillery (closed) and then on a good vehicle track which led us to the blustery moorland below the heathery lumps of Tom a’ Chuir and Tom Bad a’ Mhonaidh. We enjoyed good views back to Deeside where the hills close to Braemar had plenty of snow on their southern flanks. Culardoch stood out in particular though we spent some time debating exactly which hill we were looking at.

After passing a small shooting range the track gently climbed over a low brow which brought us views across the head of Glen Girnock towards the distinctive Coyles of Muick. Away to the south the Corbett Conachcraig was just below the scudding dark clouds which seemed to be lowering as we dropped through the small tract of forest to the ruins of the farm at Bovaglie.

After nosing around a few of the buildings we had a sit down in the courtyard for a drink and some food. All the while the light over the hills was changing with rays of sunlight occasionally cast down between gaps in the dark clouds. Conachcraig appeared again from its cloud cover and there were hints of the grand cliffs of Lochnagar.

From the farm we backtracked to the top of the forest and then followed the edge of the trees up some boggy ground until we reached the heathery upper slopes of Sgor an h-Iolaire. This diminutive hump stands at one end of a lumpy ridge which is pock-marked with cairns, some grander than others. Though only 544m high we still enjoyed the views out across the hills and in particular those towards the Cairngorms which were increasingly free of cloud.

Deer tracks came and went, along with some traces of a clearer path, but we largely picked our own way along the lumpy ridge, visiting each of the cairns in turn (though I think we missed at least one out). Once on exposed ground the wind was ferocious, knocking us around and making standing still to take photos very difficult. By the time we reached the final cairn the sun was well and truly shining and the views all around were glorious. In particular Ben Avon and Beinn a’ Bhuird were splendid in their white winter costumes.

We dropped steeply down, passing through small areas of bog and scattered pines before scrabbling up the steep, vegetated cone of Creag nam Ban which enjoys a fantastic view over the Mains of Abergeldie and the castle there besides the Dé.

The summit was again incredibly windy and exposed so without much hesitation we turned east again, cautiously descending steep and very heathery slopes to reach the quiet glen between Creag nam Ban and Creag Ghiubhais. Here, in the lee of the hill, we stopped for a well earned lunch break.

After the energy boost we headed across the soggy glen floor, passing by a few toppled trees (signs of recent storms and high winds), and then ascended the rocky slopes of Creag Ghiubhais.

Unusually for a hill in the Highlands there is a wood on top of this one so the cairn was reached by wending our way through Scots pine. On the ascent there were glimpse of views back towards Conachcraig and Lochnagar.

Sticking to the hills east ridge for a descent was difficult in the trees but we came out only slightly off course. A little bit of scrambling brought us back onto the ridge which presented an interesting few moves to get down onto a shallower gradient. We then dropped through more thick growing heather to reach the track that runs through Glen Girnock.

A quiet walk through the woods brought us to the South Deeside Road which we followed a short distance east until we took the turn off to Polhillock. This led us through quiet woods that protected us from the wind until we came down to the River Dhé, full of churning water and running very high. We crossed over via the bouncy footbridge at Polhillock and then paused to investigate the river monitoring station on the far side. Here the last of our food and drink was consumed.

It was only a short walk to the A93 which we crossed and then followed the waymarked trail which runs just above the main road around to the crossing over the River Gairn. After this you cross the road once again and pick up a riverside track which took us around the base of Craigendarroch and into Ballater itself.

After checking the bus times back to Aberdeen we decided to use the hour’s wait wisely and headed to the pub for a couple of pints and some salty snacks. It had been a great winter’s day out. Though there had been the occasional spot of rain and flecks of snow and sleet we had stayed mainly dry and our route had kept us out of the brunt of the wind. Not having to use the car meant it was all very relaxed and the bus got us back to Aberdeen just after 6pm.

If you enjoyed reading about this trip, you can look through my full index of trip reports here.

Posted in mountains, reports · Tagged bus-hike, day-hike, deeside · Add a comment

Book Review: Lowdown on the upland of Mar by Joe Dorward (Kindle Edition)

By Nick Bramhall on January 9, 2012 · Filed under: culture, mountains · 2 Comments

Lowdown Joe Dorward is passionate about that corner of the Cairngorm Mountains, largely west and north of the village of Braemar in Aberdeenshire, which is known as the upland of Mar. Beginning with camping holidays to the area as a young boy, he has spent many enjoyable days exploring the rivers and glens of this rambling area of rough moorland and heathery hills, and is gradually constructing his guide to them, a fabulous website called the the upland of Mar.

For anyone who has walked in this area (and the popularity of Eas Dé (known as the Linn) and the Central Cairngorms means that this will be many) the website is a trove of wonderful knowledge, photos and history and well worth spending some time exploring. It has sketch maps (with corrected place names), photographs, videos, articles on geological features, as well as critical reviews of books that concern themselves with the area, such as the writings of the Scottish naturalist Seton Gordon, and much more.

Though now largely owned by the National Trust for Scotland, the upland of Mar was a former vast estate owned by the Earls Fife and has an interesting history both where human habitation is concerned, and in terms of the geology, with the landscape still bearing the scars of ice age glaciation. The website is concerned with all corners of this part of the country; from the River Dé through to the ruins of places like Geldie Lodge.

The book which has been titled Lowdown on the upland of Mar is a distilled version, a field guide, that brings together the detailed information contained within the website. As such, if you are familiar with the content of the website, then you will find much of the same material repeated in the book. Joe principally structures the book by following major geographic features, the rivers and glens of the region, pursuing each one as it cuts its course into the high Cairngorm mountains. He covers prominent features – including farms, shielings and lodges; the rivers, streams and lochs; and bridges and dams – tracing their course and development through historical writings taken from a diverse range of sources, as well as more recent scholarly studies. Historical maps, including the first Ordnance Survey maps of the area are also referred to. Using these he builds up a rich and detailed picture of this fascinating part of Scotland that many hillwalkers, mountain bikers and climbers will be familiar with.

Joe has chosen to publish the book via Amazon’s Kindle platform, though you don’t actually need a Kindle to read it (Amazon provide apps for several of the major operating systems and mobile platforms). The ebook is just over 100 pages long and includes a selection of photographs and illustrations from the website, the reproduction of which is good on my 3rd generation Kindle (see the photos accompanying this review). Whilst the sketch maps are in black and white, the clarity is excellent and the black and white photographs are clear enough to provide illustration for the book. Full colour, higher resolution versions of the maps and photographs are available on the website should you need better reproduction, as well as in the Kindle desktop and mobiles versions.

Though it is primarily intended to be used as a guide whilst out walking and exploring in the area, the book itself makes a good stand-alone read. It includes an interesting introduction as well as notes on some of the Scots and Gaelic language used throughout. As an avid Cairngorm wanderer, I am familiar with many of the places covered by Joe’s book, and I enjoyed discovering more of the history of the area including some entertaining “tall tales” associated with people and places. I feel that even those who aren’t familiar with the area, but who enjoy the history of people and places, would gain something from reading this book, particularly if they have the OS map spread out in front of them to follow the contours of the land. It is a book as much about local history as it is about local landscape. It does however concern itself with the minutiae of the area, and details individual crofts and side streams as they are encountered.

The book is well written with Joe easily combining different sources, as well as his own voice, to create a coherent narrative and the only area of criticism is that often the lists of place names and translations get to be a little repetitive (though this is symptomatic of Gaelic place names in general, rather than anything Joe has done). As with any Kindle book it is somewhat time-consuming to flick back and foreword to refer to the maps. I have found it easier to read the book either in conjunction with the website, or with the relevant OS map to hand. Though arguably the same content is largely available on the website, it is nice to have it presented in a book-format where the information flows naturally from one area to the next without the constant clicking that website navigation involves.

I did come across a couple of strange formatting issues (titles spread across a couple of pages) which I have let Joe know about and which should should be addressed in the next revision of the book (that is, if they are a widespread issue and not just confined to my own copy). These do not detract from reading the book and I have come across no issues with the text itself.

If you are interested in purchasing your own copy of Lowdown on the upland of Mar, or trying out a sample chapter, then please go to Joe’s website which has links to the book’s page on both Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. Currently the ebook retails for £7.99 on Amazon.co.uk and Joe notes on the website that proceeds from the sale of the book supports the continuing research into history and geography of the upland of Mar.

As a footnote I must admit that I am as guilty as anyone else of simply repeating the Anglicised and corrupted spellings used by the Ordnance Survey on their maps. My blog reports cover the Lairig Ghru (Làirig Dhrù), Glen Lui (Glen Laoigh), Glen Ey (Glen Eidh), the River Dee (Dé) and many, many more. Reading this book has made me want to try and improve this aspect going forward, as well as revisiting old reports to get the names right!

Posted in culture, mountains · Tagged books, cairngorms, kindle · Add a comment

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A personal blog, mainly about hillwalking, mountaineering and lightweight backpacking in the mountains of Scotland, but with the occasional sidetrack into film, photography, astronomy and engineering.

You can contact me directly by using the simple form on the contact page.

Book Review: At The Loch Of The Green Corrie by Andrew Greig

The Icy Skies at Night

Hill of Wirren (The Fast Train to Edzell)

Crathie to Ballater (via some hills)

Book Review: Lowdown on the upland of Mar by Joe Dorward (Kindle Edition)

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