September 2009
Monthly Archive
Wednesday, 23rd September 2009
We knuckled down to catching up with work and washing. It was flyable off and on all day and we were going to go out, but the rain, then the wind, then the cold and dark put us off.
Nice evening with Tammy at the flicks.
Tuesday, 22nd September 2009
Judith 23 Sep 2009 | : Holiday
All good things have to come to an end and the weather looks pretty bad for Scotland for the next few days, so we decided to head home. Before leaving Skipness, we walked up the castle tower.
After saying our goodbyes we headed to Tarbert, where we had a quick walk around the town. Next stop was Inverary. This was a real walk down memory lane for me. I spent many summers in this area, but like all people getting older, I was moaning about how everything has changed for the worse. Bring back the old days when the roads were terrible and there were no tourists!
Monday, 21st September 2009
Judith 23 Sep 2009 | : Holiday
My uncle had warned us that the weather might turn for the worse and we should consider getting the first ferry to the mainland, in case later ones were cancelled. It was raining when we woke up so we headed to Lochranza and caught the ferry. It was good advice, by afternoon it was howling and gales set in in the evening.
At Skipness we saw uncle Bruce and met his mad Jack Russell, Scootch. She sleeps in a sleeping bag and runs in circles if you chuck her out of it. We chatted, went to Tarbert, went for walks and then Bruce let us have a go on his quad bike. We’ve never been on one before and it was ace. We went tearing around the field in front of the house until we were soaked. And to top it all, excellent venison dinner.
Sunday, 20th September 2009
Judith 21 Sep 2009 | : Holiday, Trying, but failing, to fly, Walking
I have never flown in Scotland before, but have always had an huge ambition to fly on Arran. Having spent most of my childhood summers looking at Goatfell, but never having climbed it, it seemed only fitting that I should try to fly it instead. We woke up to strong winds, but Zabdi Keen assured us that on the west side of the island it would be lighter. She was right, the wind was significantly lighter round the corner. It was off at Brown Head though, so we carried on to Blackwaterfoot where the wind was on, but we couldn’t find the site. She was very helpful and suggested a couple of sites and we did manage to find the launch at Caracol, but it was gusty and there was no one else there, so we decided to do the sensible thing and not chance flying in a place we know nothing about, when the wind was forecast to pick up.
Instead we headed back to Lochranza and looked around the castle and fed the tame deer with apples from our garden. Then off for a 9 mile walk from Lochranza to Laggan Cottage and then on the Arran coastal path back to Lochranza. Mountains, sea and a great view of Skipness and my uncle’s house on the mainland.
In the evening we went to a folk night in Brodick. All the musicians sat at a table in a circle with the rest of us around and one of them would start a tune and everyone else would just join in. Between the 20-odd musicians and singers who turned up they must have been playing about 35 instruments, including harps, bagpipes, fiddles, harmonium, bodhran, flutes, guitars and harmonica. It was a fantastic evening.
Saturday, 19th September 2009
Judith 21 Sep 2009 | : Holiday
We woke up to leaden skies and wind. It was fairly apparent that it wouldn’t be flyable, so we decided to head up north. Despite wanting to, it wasn’t going to be possible to fly in the Borders, so we headed to a region of Scotland I have never, ever been to… Dumfries and Galloway. My Scottish mother claims that each time she crosses into Scotland the sun shines, but I seem to have the Jonah effect on the place. As soon as we hit Gretna the drizzle turned to rain.
We drove along the coast and went to a Caerlaverock castle. It was nice and bonus features were the excellent cream tea, kid’s assault course and nature walk. I mastered the walk, excelled at the cake and flopped miserably at the exercise.
Then on to Ardrossan to get the ferry to Arran and we crossed in beautiful sunshine. Well done, Mr. Weatherguru!
We camped at Kildonan and had a can of cider watching the sunset. There was a wedding in the hotel adjacent to the campsite and we tried to squeeze in for a late pint, but we changed our mind when a toothless gentleman in a suit and hat started asking me about my non-existent Auntie Ethel’s health. Maybe we should have stayed. I could have had a toast to all my imaginary aunts!
Friday, 18th September 2009
Geoff writes: another flyable day in the Lakes with Andy and Phil. Started off with an hour’s canoeing on Derwentwater, then off to Blease Fell to fly. A lot of cloud cover, but mostly smooth and very lifty. Judith had a short flight and chose to land – tired after yesterday’s flight! I flew along to Souter with Phil, but didn’t manage to get back, the wind was well off. Andy landed near Keswick. A very pleasant day, all in all.
Thursday, 17th September 2009
We hooked up with Andy W. and Phil S. in Keswick last night and then had to work out where to fly this morning. I was pretty chilled out. We’re on holiday, so if we fly that will be a bonus, if not, then we’re in a stunning part of the country, which is good enough for me. Originally, we were going to Cat Bells, but a chat with the guys at the Sick and the Wrong persuaded us to go to Wrynose Pass. I was happy just soaking up the stunning scenery and wasn’t convinced that the flying would be anything special. There was high cloud coming in and there was little wind to speak of, as well as the Lakes being positioned smack bang in the middle of the high pressure.
We walked up and Phil launched first. He didn’t get anything and landed back at the cars. Another pilot launched from the lower launch and started to soar the ridge to the left. This was our cue to launch. Andy and I got above ridge height, but Geoff struggled below us. I was shouting at Andy how amazing the views were. It then got scratchy and we headed to where the other guy had been getting up. Geoff unfortunately went down and Andy and I thought we were hot on his heels. We got a saving thermal and this took us up to cloudbase. Andy decided we should head to Langdale Pikes – big stuff just behind. I couldn’t see a road in the next valley so was a little reluctant to go and headed back down the valley. Andy coaxed me back and I decided that I needed to pull myself together, so I flew back to him and towards the high mountains. We planned to fly to Derwent Water, so got high again on the Pikes and then flew along Langstrath Valley. 
I chose a good line and managed to fly along the top of the ridge all the way. Andy was lower and managed to creep round the corner into the next valley but was down. I had a couple of hundred feet above him and managed to drop onto the ridge and found a weak thermal, which I worked for dear life. It was close to the ridge, there were tourist shouting at me trying to get me to wave and Andy was letting me know about retrieve options when I got a little too close to the ridge. I whipped the glider round, but was on the edge of the thermal and I spun the glider. Hands up and weight shift pulled the glider out and I damped the dive and then dashed straight back into the thermal. I have rarely been so determined to get up!
After what seemed ages, I got above the ridge where the thermal developed properly and I was up and off. Heading north to Derwent Water. I really wanted to get to Keswick, but the east route was unlandable and the west route also didn’t look too clever, so I decided to traverse the valley and to drop onto the Cat Bells, where a glider was layed out. He launched and went down, so I flew along the ridge and headed off NW to the next ridge in the Newlands Valley. I didn’t get onto it and landed near Braithwait, only about 3 miles short of Keswick.
Only 23km, but the most spectacular flight I have had in the UK. Just amazing.