Highland Hogmanay (Dec 22)

What better way to spend Hogmanay than with a ceilidh in a Gothic/Baronial style castle by the side of a Loch, in the Highlands of Scotland?

It was bitterly cold with snow still on the ground when we arrived at Tigh Mor, the log fire was still burning in reception and the smell of mulled wine filled the air (sorry, if I am getting little poetic, but I loved this trip). After check-in we made ourselves comfy in our room on the first floor of the main building overlooking the beautiful Loch Achray.  

We had booked this trip over 11 months ago with HPB, so were really looking forward to it, all we needed was for the weather to play its part – which for the most part, it did!

The highlight of the week’s trip was always going to be New Year’s Eve given the location and Hogmanay traditions. The morning saw us hike up “Ben A’an”, the nearest hill climb from our accommodation, it wasn’t overly strenuous and gave us some tremendous views across the local lochs and the highlands. Thankfully the snow which had covered the ground when we’d first arrived had almost completely melted, making the hike a lot easier than it could have been. There was also no wind to speak of, which turned the loch waters into reflective mirrors.

On returning to Tigh Mor we headed for the sauna and a quick swim in the pool before getting ready for a Hogmanay supper and traditional ceilidh. We got up for every dance and managed to make a complete mess of most of them including “Stripping the Willow” but the locals were pretty forgiving. We saw in the New Year and eventually made it to bed about 4am! 

New Year’s Day, a late start, and the weather could not have been better. It had snowed quite heavily on the high ground overnight and remained quite cold, so we spent most of our time walking above the snow line under clear blue skies. We were headed for Bealach nam Bo, a peak that is just a little out of sight from our room. However, the light was starting to fade fast so we didn’t make the final ascent, choosing to return before nightfall and to rest our weary legs (we were both starting to feel the effects of four days of hill walking). The blue skies were unexpected, making the walk pretty damned awesome; we only saw a handful of other hikers all day. 

I absolutely love this region, it really has a magical feel to it. It’s like walking through a scene from the Chronicles of Narnia or Lord The Rings, the kind of place you imagine to see a unicorn at any moment. I hadn’t realised upon arrival that I had camped just a few miles away from here, on the shores of Loch Venachar, when returning from my trip to the Isle of Skye last year. The entrance to Three Loch’s Forest Drive is only a stone’s throw from here. The temperature was quite different then, and the accommodation a lot more basic! 

After a heavy snow fall overnight, it was forecast to tip it down all day. So with conditions not great for walking, we went on a day trip to Glasgow which meant a tricky road trip across a snow-covered Duke’s Pass via Aberfoyle.

We headed for Buchanan Street and the winter sales and then onto the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, which is a little like the Natural History Museum in London butbroader topics and a Scottish theme.  Finally we settled down to a fantastic meal at the Ubiquitous Chip restaurant in Ashton Lane, a recommendation from Emma’s sister-in-law.

Earlier in the day we’d used a park and ride from Kelvinbridge, taking the subway to the city centre, but we ended up walking back via the museum. More “steps” –  as if my legs needed it!  Our return car journey took us on a little detour to avoid the floods resulting from a combination of rain and snow-melt. 

The final day of serious walking (another 25,000 steps today) took us over the Duke’s Pass again to Aberfoyle and beyond, to the Forestry Commission car park on the Duchy Castle Trail just past Milton.  We hiked to Lochan Spling, Lochan a’ Gleannain, both of which were frozen over, and then onto Loch Ard where we had lunch and a beer by the loch-side.

With temperatures ranging from -7 °C to -2 °C it was a wee bit nippy and icy underfoot, but not too strenuous as the walk didn’t entail much climbing.  We were aiming for a little village called Kinlochard but chose not to in the end, given that daylight was starting to fade – a recurring theme of this trip!   The scenery was absolutely stunning all day, picture postcard stuff! 

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Our last full day, and after a full week of hill walking we needed to rest our legs and have a lazy one. So snooker, bowls and another visit to the swimming pool!   It’s been an amazing few days in a stunning part of the country. We’ve not ventured far from our base – we haven’t had to! 

The weather has been much better than expected with only one of our walks needing waterproofs, this was on the first day when we took a stroll along the closed road at Loch Katrine and back.  I’ve included some pictures of this too just to prove its not been all blue sky and sunshine. 

Next time we come it’ll be in the summer so we can bring the bikes and Kayaks. Until then, a fond farewell.