I love Peanmeanach, it is a really beautiful spot, and is only a short-ish walk from the road. You park up just after Lochailort (heading to Mallaig). There is a reasonable parking area and the path starts from there. You should find a wee sign saying Peanmeanach 3 miles or something. It is a fairly long 3 miles - took us an hour and a half or maybe 2 hours.
The bothy is a really decent one, with an upstairs and all. There is also a locked room, which I think might contain full en-suite facilities and a power shower!
I actually think I might be a bit of a fusspot with the whole bothying experience, but I really like this one. It is great fun spending hours getting a fire going and cooking your dinner on it. Then thanks to some truly scary ghost stories, I ended up being too scared to go outside to pee (it was dark!... and the wind was howling in the trees). Great stuff.
The bothy is near the shore and there are some beautiful beaches if you walk along the coast a bit. See the pic of beautiful beach. Nice. Of course, if you don't fancy roughing it quite so much, use our accomodation search to find your perfect place to stay. - Aelish

posted by ocuk @ 10:20 AM  0 comments

I took this picture on Sunday 15th October, and I love it. It is of Loch Sheil, in Glenfinnan.
The day was just astonishingly glorious and lovely. We'd had intentions of you know, walking somewhere, but...
sometimes here is the only place to be. Just basked in the sun all day soaking in the goodness, and watching the world and two tiny green wriggily caterpillars.
loved it loved it - Aelish

posted by ocuk @ 1:49 PM  1 comments

Perfect autumn weather after some pretty wild wet weather earlier in the week. Saturday saw the 24 hour race Relentless 24 staged by the No Fuss crew. They organise the 10 under the Ben, 10-hour mountain bike race, so can be relied upon to put together a great event. I chickened out of competing but spent several hours marshalling. The weather was great: clear and autumnal and at the end of the event everyone was raving about it. Check out the No Fuss site for more information on the great events they run: http://www.nofussevents.co.uk

Saturday night saw a great band playing in the Fort - The Handsome Family play tongue in cheek, alternative, melancholy country music www.handsomefamily.com. The Lime Tree is a new venue which is proving to be a lynchpin in the Fort's burgeoning music and arts scene. Julie Green from Fired Art is a tireless promoter of music and bring loads of great events to the area. Check out the website for lots more info on music in and around Lochaber.

Sunday dawned misty but that burned off to reveal one of the most perfectly still, blue-skied days of the year. Time to head for the hills. Set off down to Glen Etive to do Ben Trilleachan with the Nevis Hillwalking Club. Judging by the numbers of folk wild camping down the glen, lots of people were making the most of the weekend and getting out.

Time for a sunbathe and a nap at the summit!

The effort expended on the rough, boggy ground we encountered to gainthe top was rewarded by spectacular views down Glen Etive and over to Ben Starav. Afterwards we rewarded ourselves with a pint at the Loch Leven Hotel which has a great terrace with spectacular views, at the back of the public bar, were you can sup your well-deserved pint. - Anna

posted by ocuk @ 10:57 AM  1 comments

It's been a brilliant Autumn weekend, with warm sunshine and cold nights. The drop in overnight temperature has really helped the colours to change and Owen, Donald and I had a great afternoon bouldering in Glen Nevis on Saturday surrounded by fiery reds and browns. The rock was bone dry and the temperature good enough for T-shirts.

There are countless boulders in Glen Nevis with good problems on them. Two of the most popular are Heather Top and Cameron Stone, found on the gentle slope under the main crags of Polldubh, a couple of hundred metres up from the Lower Falls. Being just 30m off the road makes them super accessible, perfect to fill a couple of hours.

They are also child friendly - Owen isn't three yet and he was bouldering on the smaller rocks having a brilliant time!

Bouldering in Glen Nevis is described in the books "Stone Country" by Tim Morozzo and "Glen Nevis Bouldering" by Tom Ballard. Lochaber has fantastic climbing for all levels - to find out more click here. - Mike

posted by ocuk @ 7:50 AM  1 comments

Looking back towards Ben Nevis from Ardgour

Setting out from Fort William I took the A82, then went left on the A830 signed to Mallaig (on the Road to the Isles) Rathad nan Eilean. Although these are main roads and carry quite a bit of traffic they are wide and straight, so are good to cycle on. Following the side of Loch Eil I cycled west around the loch. Just after Kinlocheil I took a right, going back east down the A861 – a beautiful single-track road that takes in the other side of Locheil with views back across to Ben Nevis. I didn't have time to hang about to admire the views too long though as I was aiming for the 17.15 ferry back from Camusnagaul to Fort William.

Keep your eyes peeled, as you come into Camusnagaul, the ferry is only a passenger ferry and leaves from a small jetty on your left. If you get to Trislaig you have gone too far!

This is a great outing if you don’t have all day but want to get out. The whole round trip took me just over two hours, but allow longer if you want to dawdle. And with the views that you get of the hills to the east on a day like this, then why not?

Arriving back into Fort William on the ferry

Call the Corran Ferry Manager on 01855 841243 during office hours to check ferry times as the license to operate the ferry is about to go out to tender and times could change. The ferry is also due a refit so there will be a replacement bus service for some of the autumn. - Anna

posted by ocuk @ 12:23 PM  0 comments

What a weekend! It was wet, on the west and a real paddle fest. There was sun and lots of paddlers. The Wet West Paddle Fest is an annual paddling festival dedicated to Andy Jackson, a legendary Scottish kayaker. There were over 300 paddlers that arrived to brave the River Garry on the Saturday and the mighty Morriston on the Sunday- check out these short video clips . There was evening entertainment both nights - slide shows on the Friday and a band on the Saturday.

For details of next year's Wet West Paddle Fest see the SCA website. - Andy

posted by ocuk @ 2:43 PM  0 comments