CYHA News

The Focus Grand Tour of Scotland

The end of May saw four Foci, with additional guest vehicles, head north of the border to spend Whitsun week in bonnie Scotland.

It wasn't the most promising of starts. Whist back in Essex there were dire warnings or droughts, Wanlockhead was experiencing everything but. There was every chance it would be exchanging the title of Britain's highest village, with the wettest. There was the unforgettable evening down the pub where Alison and John showed us top quality intonation and harmony in their rendition of "The House of the Rising Sun" at the Karioke. It was enough to bring a tear to the eye of the most hardened gold panner. The gold panners were in town for the British Open Championship and the next day we watched them at work standing up to their knees in water in the pouring rain, whilst they searched for glitter in the dirt.

The weather brightened up once we got to Invereray and we got some excellent walks in with spectacular views across the Highlands and Islands. The musical theme continued with a group of Belgian & French students who spent each night at the hostel trying to teach the world to sing and each morning hogging the bathroom. Damn their clean living habits.

From Invereray we travelled the scenic route south using Cal Mac ferries. Sadly the scenic element was somewhat reduced following a second band of heavy rain, but we all managed to make it to Minnigaff in one piece. The weather stayed somewhat patchy, but there was still the opportunity to bag a few peaks and admire the craggy coast before heading back south.

Ali

Continuing our transformation into a "Focus Group", Dave J's had to trade in his ageing Rover for a shiny Focus. Tom wrote this song in tribute (to be sung to the tune of "The Wild Rover")

The Dead Rover

Now Dave drove an old Rover for many long years
With its clapped out old engine and dodgy old gears.
A shiny new motor was always his dream
When the engine went BANG! in a big cloud of steam.

Chorus:

And it's no, nay, never,
No, nay, never, no more
Will Dave drive a Rover,
No never, no more.

He tried to sell it as a going concern,
But everyone said it was just fit to burn.
A Viking-style funeral would send it to heaven
So he took it to a lay-by on the A127.

Chorus

He went to a dealer that he used to trust
But the manager there said the company's gone bust.
Our once proud car firm was finally dead
So he had to go out and buy a Focus instead.

Chorus

Summer in Essex

There were plenty of opportunities to top up the sun-tan in Essex last month. Jim's walk from Epping to Ongar was well attended, with the added attraction of a ride on preserved train and double-decker bus "just like we used to go to school on".

Jim also led a pleasant evening walk on the sea wall from Heybridge basin, with a drink by the lock as the sun set.

Thanks also to James for a very enjoyable cycle ride around Pleshey and the Easters. The pub even did cheese sandwiches and tuna sandwiches to make us feel at home!

The weather wasn't so kind for the evening at the cricket, but the pub did quite well out of it!

Polly -

The group has lost one of its keenest members.

I have had to have Polly put to sleep - she was taken ill quite suddenly - apparently with a tumour - so I didn't really have a decision to make. It was just a bit of a nightmare getting her to the vet quickly enough, when he was 60 miles up a single track road.

We'd both been having a marvellous time in Scotland, and only last week she was 'meeting and greeting' visitors to the bunkhouse at Inverie, eating organic venison, and lording it over the local dogs in her audacious fashion!

I think perhaps she was meant to die in her native land, and that day there was a most beautiful sunset, which went on and on and on, which I like to think was a tribute to her…

Thanks to everybody who has given her hospitality, chocolate and affection over seven wonderful years. She obviously loved all the group events - even the committee meetings (which she attempted to chair!)

Happy Memories!

Trudi

Some Tales from Scotland

Lighthouse Keepers Tale

Down on the Mull of Galloway, as far south as Scotland goes, is a lighthouse. Swept by winds from over the Irish Sea, it boasts views over the Lake District, the Isle of Man and Ireland as well as Scotland. The lighthouse keeper could remember days when he was just a lad, climbing on top of the lighthouse to paint it. From there he could see all the way to Ailsa Craig. In those days lighthouse keeping was a demanding job and the night duty involved raising the weights every 45 minutes to ensure the light turned at the correct frequency. Nowadays the light is virtually maintenance free, with a call from Edinburgh when there is so much as a single failed bulb. Now you can rent the lighthouse cottages as holiday accommodation - just you and the puffins.

A Walk Through Time

I hadn't heard of Kilmartin Glen before we stayed at Invereray, but once I read about it, it was a must for a day walk.

We started off with a visit to the cup and ring marked rocks at Achnabreck - ancient rock carvings of mysterious purpose, carefully chipped out by the Picts. Cup and ring marked rocks are not uncommon, particularly in Scotland, but at Achnabreck has more than anywhere else in the world.

The next stop, and the start of our walk, was the village of Kilmartin with its early Christian grave slabs and medieval carved stone crosses. All very impressive, but better was to come. When I think of a cairn, I think of a seemingly random pile of stones, usually on a mountain top marking the path. I was aware that cairns sometimes marked burials, but had no idea they could be so impressive. Five thousand years ago the people of Kilmartin Glen took to marking death with the construction of enormous chambered cairns (contemporary with Stonehenge and the pyramids) all along the base of the escarpment. Of those which remain, they have been much reduced by 18^th century road builders seeing a handy pile of stones, but in two the chambers are relatively intact and one of those has been reconstructed with a sliding hatch so you can climb down inside.

The glen also boasts stone circles and a row of standing stones. However, try as I might, I couldn't persuade my companions to add a visit to a pictish animal carving at a nearby ancient fort. I guess you can have too much culture!

Poltalloch

A surprise on a walk in Scotland was to come across an abandoned ruin of what was once a fabulous, late Jacobean mansion. The roof and most of the floors had long gone, parts of the masonry had collapsed and the land owner had been using the basement as a rubbish dump, but nothing could disguise how grand it had obviously once been. Only deserted since the fifties, an impressive number of trees had taken root and pushed their way up through the remains of the rooms and in places it was only the ivy holding the lintels up. Disobeying the various notices, we couldn't resist taking our life in our hands for a closer look - well you have to, don't you!

Ali

A Day in The Great Garden

The Isle of Lismore (in Gaelic, Lios Mòr meaning Great Garden) lies in Loch Linnhe, a half hour ferry ride from Oban. The island is a geological freak, almost 10 miles long, composed of limestone, green and fertile, with no mountains, no peat bogs and little heather. This makes it quite different from the surrounding landscapes.

Looking for a low-level walk with good views, this was the perfect day trip. As well as views west to Mull and east to Ben Cruachan, we could see Ben Nevis 30 miles to the north, and the Paps of Jura 40 miles to the south.

Castle Coeffin, with its Viking legends, is a classic ivy-covered ruin, well worth exploring, and the impressive 2000-year old Broch of Tirfuir is another magnificent view point.