Strathconon Mar 27-29th

March 27^th – 29^th saw DHC heading to Strathconon, a beautiful, long, steep sided valley , the tops of which include 3 Corbetts and 3 Grahams.

At this time of year, it was great not to have to drive all the way to the west coast and to take advantage of the incredible dinner, bed and breakfast deal on offer at the Ben Wyvis hotel in Strathpeffer. The hotel although dated, was comfortable, even in places luxurious and the service and food were great.

The area abounds with beautiful short walks, interesting buildings, rivers, forests and of course mountain tops.

Our group of 9 included Hannah and Gary, Althea and Jeff, Sandra and Alison, Anna, Jane and Bob.

It was good to welcome back Anna, Jeff and Althea, and to welcome Hannah to a DHC weekend. [the hotel accommodation definitely played a part in attracting them along!]

Alison and Sandra made good use of the Friday, each climbing Corbetts in the vicinity.

Saturdays’ weather was for showers, sunny spells and very strong winds – 40mph gusting to 50mph.

Jane had spotted a Graham, Carn na Coinnich which unusually had a good track heading up the east side of the ridge, giving us a natural windbreak all the way to the col. Alison, Sandra and Anna decided to come along, this being a great option given the forecast winds. We had amazing views from the track during the sunny spells.

We crossed several streams and were soon up in the snow. At the col we headed across snowy peat hags, stopping in one of them to eat some lunch then battled our way onto the plateau through hail and a fierce wind to the summit trig.  Our descent was similar to our ascent but we decided to explore the hillside on the opposite side of the track meeting the track further down.

Meanwhile Bob had his eye on the Corbett, Bac an Eich and Hannah and Gary had decided to join him. They knew there was a possibility of not making the summit due to the exceptionally strong winds so had a lower level walk ready planned. This is in fact what they did, having had enough buffeting, so making a long circuit including walking along the shore of Loch Caoidhe and back to the carparking space at Inverchoran.

Althea and Jeff tested their legs out on a ridge close to Strathpeffer and found vitrified rocks at Knock farrel hill fort. They returned along the dismantled railway feeling very pleased at how far they had walked given recent injuries, knee and hip replacements!

 Given the awful weather forecast for Sunday, we all enjoyed a leisurely breakfast, then went to explore the circular walk taking in the falls of Orrin.

Anna also explored Strathpeffer and Jeff and Althea also went to see the Fairburn tower despite having to hack through woods full of wind blown trees.

Given the challenging wind conditions, we had an active and enjoyable early season getaway!

Jane.