Ben Wyvis
Captured near the base of Ben Wyvis, on a Munro Bagging Trip in the North West Coast.
Visit the artwork here.
This is a great Munro for anyone who wants to take on an easier mountain in Scotland, especially like me who had some sore legs from the day before!
I had started the day by waking up in my small campervan on the shores of the Loch Glascarnoch, which is a 7km (4.3 mi) reservoir in the Highlands and not far from Ullapool. Although the weather was very grey with some rain it probably only added to the atmosphere of the reservoir and the mighty dam holding back all that power. This is worth a visit on its own, a beautiful place with a lot of parking spots along the shores. This may make an appearance as its own artwork in the near future!
Upon waking, I had a decision to make first thing. I had actually planned to climb two much tougher Munros closer to Ullapool. However, I had had a long day the previous day bagging three other Munros a bit further South. That had been a very long and very wet day and with more rain forecast my still soggy heart wasn't in for a repeat. So I decided on Plan B (always a good idea when walking in Scotland), and decided upon Ben Wyvis. So I packed up the inside of the van, had a quick breakfast oats bar, and made the short drive to the car park!
Attempting to dry some kit form the day before..
if you are going to Ben Wyvis I would suggest getting to the carpark early, I arrived at 9am and managed to snag the last place. Its not a big car park but there are laybys not too far away. The beginning of the walk in was just amazing, taking its time through some woodland and opening up next to a small river. A few waterfalls along the way make this one of the more pleasant walks into a Munro I have had and to improve my mood even more the rain had actually stopped!
I feel like many Munros follow a similar format; a relatively flat walk into the base of the hike, then a period of straight up, with this evening out before a short upward hike to the peak. Ben Wyvis was very similar. Once I reached the climbing portion it was head down, audio book in and put one foot in front of the other. Now this might not sound that exciting or entertaining but walking up Mountains is not glamorous the whole time. However, the views and just being outside in our beautiful country always makes up for it.
With every climb there is always a wee story or event that stands out and for Ben Wyvis this came near the end of the harder part of the climb. I had caught up to a group of men, similar to my own age. As I walked past I gave the customary nod and "hiya", a word I never use unless hiking for some reason. As I passed myself and one of the group stared at each other for a little longer than usual. I had the nagging feeling I knew him. About 20 minutes later I realised it was the a very good friend of one of my school friends.. a not unusual occasion by itself but considering we both live in Edinburgh and bumped into each other on a random Sunday 190 miles from were we live, it becomes quite funny. "Small World" came to mind!
Not long after this encounter I reached the peak in just under 2 hours, as I mentioned this is definitely on of the easier Munros! As seems to be my luck at the moment the whole peak was covered in cloud and there were no views. But it rarely matters for me, the achievement and just enjoyment of being outside is what keeps dragging me back.
I didn't hang about on the peak for long and skipped back down the mountain. The clouds began to disappear and the views opened up to show a stunning landscape and as I normally do I mused about how empty Scotland really is. You could see for miles and see no cities or towns, truly stunning & freeing.
As I neared the base I turned back to look at the Mountain and captured the image you now see in the artwork. A truly great day for me and a Munro I would suggest to everyone!
Visit the artwork here.