Claggan

Dry start to the day. Breakfast 7.45am at Ben Nevis Guesthouse. Walked one mile to the Ben Nevis Visitors Centre and commenced the climb around 9.15am in cloudy conditions. Great track and partly because we were in shorts and T shirts arrived at the summit in cloud and strong wind two and a quarter hours later with a temperature and wind chill factor near freezing. There was a seagull in flight looking for tourist scraps. Nobody passed us on the way up. Part of the track was covered by deep snow and huge cairns guided us particularly down hill though the cloud (Ben Nevis translates to Head in the Clouds). Despite my worries Yvonne and got back down in three hours although a few people were faster. At 1330 metres and about nine kilometres one way, this is the highest vertical ascent/descent we have done. Lunch in the Ben Nevis Inn. Looked at area where Curling was played on winter ice. Curling is a bit like lawn bowls with rocks sliding on ice replacing balls on grass. Dinner in the room of Ben Nevis Guesthouse to save walking in the light rain and to rest our feet, knees and legs.Read more