Ascending Win Hill on a glorious morning, with Hope and Bradwell in the background

Win Hill summit scarp

Enjoying the sun

Dark Peak scenery – looking onto Kinder

View back to Sgurr nan Conbhairean from Sail Chaorainn

Improving conditions

Gorm Lochan and Loch Cluanie

Drochaid an Tuill Easaich

A gloomy (well named) Meall Dubh

Turbines looming out of the mist

Party on ascent of Carn na Caim

Snowy tracks and hints of blue sky

Meagaidh and Coire Ardair – on the windy ridge from Carn Liath to Stob Poite Coire Ardair

Meagaidh summit plateau

Descending to Aberarder and Loch Laggan

Here are a few pictures from our travels around the country over Christmas and New Year. None from the first part of the trip in Surrey – we did manage a couple of muddy walks in the North Downs in between the showers, but didn’t take the camera. Heading north, a brief sojourn in the Peak District provided the opportunity for a sunny wander up Win Hill before we continued on to Scotland.

Although we were van-based, it was a more sociable trip than the last time we took the van to Scotland over New Year as we spent time with groups of friends in Shiel Bridge and Kingussie on most evenings, and joined them for several walks. The weather was better in the west, so we headed there first and walked up Carn Ghluasaid and neighbours north of Loch Cluanie. Quite windy but still enjoyable, especially when the clouds cleared for the third Munro and descent. The following day Storm Frank hit the Highlands, but with some careful planning and a bit of bloody-mindedness we found a suitable Corbett – Meall Dubh from Glen Moriston – that we could walk up the lee side of, partly on wind farm tracks. It was pretty wet and breezy and steep heather away from the tracks made hard going, but still good to get out.

Our next plan (to park at the bottom of Geal Charn near Glen Markie) was thwarted when we drove into the River Spey on the approach road. Hastily retreating, we arrived instead in Kingussie to find flood warnings and sandbags – but the waters were already receding and they weren’t needed. We joined a mass New Year’s Eve ascent of Carn na Caim and A’Bhuidheanach Bheag, which were quite snowy and almost sunny, despite being in the cloud. An excellent forecast for the 1st led us to a repeat round of the Creag Meagaidh hills, which we had previously done in blizzard conditions. Although the visibility was significantly better this time, there were also very strong winds and spindrift, so it wasn’t entirely dissimilar!

After a cold night in the van in the Meagaidh car park, we were uninspired by the options for the last day of the trip and enjoyed a lazy few hours pottering around Loch Morlich and Rothiemurchus Forest, before returning to Kingussie to help deal with an excess of wine and an underused snooker table…