MEET THE ARRAN MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL WALK LEADERS


JO TOTTY

What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?

I’m a mum and wife, I also volunteer with the National Trust for Scotland at Brodick Castle 3 days a week and less frequently for Community of Arran Seabed Trust. I love to have bonfires, go on walks, swim in the sea, am learning Gaelic, and am the chair of this Festival!!

Why do you volunteer as an Arran Mountain Festival walk leader?

I volunteer as I love the mountains and whilst I’m happy to head off with my map and compass and a full bag of exciting kit, I realise that not everyone has the same confidence and skills – I just want to share what I love with as many people as possible!

Tell us about a favourite mountain moment.

Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro without a guide, and being the first woman that day to see the sunrise from the summit.

What is your favourite Arran walk?

The amazing views along the majestic sweeping ridge between Caisteal Abhail and Sail am Im.

Which piece of kit would you not head into the hills without?

Aside from the essential map and compass, it’d have to be a malt loaf – no matter what you try to do to it and no matter what shape it’s become, it’s always edible!

What is your favourite breakfast before a long day out in the mountains?

A massive bowl of cereal, with extra seeds and raisins.

Jo is co-leading the North Sannox and Laggantuin walk and the Corbetts day 2.

MEET THE ARRAN MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL WALK LEADERS

ANDY WALKER

What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?

Work for The Forestry Commission on Arran, keep bees, play the pipes in Arran Pipe Band, learn Gaelic, sit on committees.

Why do you volunteer as an Arran Mountain Festival walk leader?

I like walking the hills & watching the wildlife so it’s an opportunity to pass on some of what I know.

Tell us about a favourite mountain moment.

Up on Sgurr Alasdair & Inaccessible Pinnacle on a blistering hot day about 6 years ago, the sea was a millpond & every island & hill for miles around was in sight – hard to beat!

What is your favourite Arran walk?

Walking down onto the ridge leading to Cioch na h-Oighe from Mullach Buidhe looking up Loch Fyne & Kyles of Bute to the Cowal & Argyll hills. The ridge looks so narrow & dramatic. Then onto the ridge itself which rises in narrow twisting steps to the summit where the drop all around plunges down into Glen Sannox & to the sea.

Which piece of kit would you not head into the hills without?

Map – I love looking at the features & their names; there is so much history, culture & terrain information in them. And useful for navigation too.

What is your favourite breakfast before a long day out in the mountains?

I don’t have anything special, just my usual cereal & toast.

Andy is leading the Whitebeams & wildlife of the western hills walk on Friday and the Witch's Step & Castles walk on Monday.

MEET THE ARRAN MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL WALK LEADERS

JOSE NAVARRO

www.josenavarro.co.uk

What do you do when you don’t lead walks for the Arran Mountain Festival?

I run NNAS outdoor navigation courses, write about mountain and outdoor photography, teach photography and lead outdoor photography workshops in Iceland.

Why do you volunteer as an Arran Mountain Festival walk leader?

To share my passion for wild places with other people, to enthuse and encourage them to go out there. It is also an opportunity for me to get to know Arran better.

Tell us about a favourite mountain moment.

Last year up in the Carneddau of Snowdonia. Glorious winter day. Good, consolidated snow underfoot. Beautiful, crisp winter light. Ideal conditions for photography. I was so busy looking out, down and ahead of me, photographing the landscape, that I forgot to look up. My partner did. Just as well because otherwise we would have missed an incredible solar halo right above us - see attached pic. Memorable.

What is your favourite Arran walk?

I look forward to doing the Three Beinns Horseshoe. Awesome terrain with far-reaching panoramic views over the mountains of Arran.

Which piece of kit would you not head into the hills without?

A spare copy of my map. Have you ever seen your (only) map fly away in the wind?

What is your favourite breakfast before a long day out in the mountains?

Can't beat traditional Scottish porridge... with custard.

Jose is co-leading the Castles & Witch's Step walk, The Three Beinns walk and the Through the Glens walk.

The Arran Hills: Many Shades of Grey!

Certain to get your heart racing and your knees trembling, Arran’s exciting mountains take your breath away. Whilst Munro-baggers may whizz up the M74 without turning left, missing out the Arran hills because of their lack of a few metres is a bit like getting married without the wedding night.

So what makes the Arran hills so seductive?

1. A magnificent profile: from all approaches, the distinctive mountain skyline of Arran commands your gaze, with its soaring peaks and pinnacles. The towering east ridge of Caisteal Abhail is known as the Sleeping Warrior- see the photo. (He’s wearing a helmet and he has a firm chin!)

2. In a vigorous embrace: Arran is only ten miles wide so wherever you are, you’re never far from the encircling presence of the waves. From the summits, you can get 360 degree sea views- to Northern Ireland, the Kintyre peninsula, the Paps of Jura, Mull, the Arrochar Alps, Cowal, Bute, Ayrshire and Galloway.

3. No boring introductions:  you won’t find long walk-ins on Arran. Unless you keep going in circles round the coast, the only way is up, but taking things one step at a time you’ll be amazed at the height you can achieve in a relatively short time. The apparently vertical climb up Cioch na h'Oighe is a good example of this - it’s still a walker’s route though a head for heights and sure-footedness will help.

4. Fill up your senses: waterfalls stream over Arran’s shoulders, sliding down chutes and plunging into deep, ferny chasms. The background music of water accompanies every Arran walk. Glen Catacol especially is a great place for waterfall hunters.

5. Hands-on experiences:  once you’re on the ridges you won’t be able to resist some exciting hands-on scrambling on the satisfyingly rough-textured  tors of pale grey granite.

6 An untamed character: whilst the Gulf Stream caresses Arran with warm currents making palm trees flourish round its coastline, the mountain tops are survivors of fierce battles with Atlantic weather. Apart from Goatfell, the hills of Arran are uncrowded and perfect for walks on the wild side.

7. A fascinating past:  walks on Arran reveal hints of the ancestors in ancient cairns, stone circles and the remains of prehistoric hill forts. The echoes of Viking rule are in the names of the coastal settlements.

8. Beautiful creatures: Arran’s most famous wild creatures just happen to be very good looking ones too: there are the pure-blooded, elegant red deer for example, as well as majestic golden eagles, tufty-eared red squirrels and lithe, playful otters to select but a few.

9. Fulfilling: Arran walks are adventurous and the end of adventure satisfaction factor as you enjoy your meal in one of Arran’s independent restaurants is off the scale overwhelmingly good.

10. Enduring and elemental: Arran enjoys worldwide celebrity status in geology circles for its amazing rocks. The island represents a coming together on a titanic scale of highland and lowland. The mountains themselves burst into being as an exploding volcano.  Today, the hills are a rocky heaven with pebbles, boulders, outcrops and crags in every imaginable and lovely shade of grey.

Kathy Mawson

All photos are copyright of Lochranza Campsite

Gaelic in the Mountains walk

Gaelic in the Mountains
Arran Mountain Festival walk. May 21 2012.

Crossing North Sannox Burn, the name being
a mix of English, Norse and Gaelic

Apparently Gaelic has about as many words for mountains as the Inuit are reputed to have for snow. For example, beinn (Beinn Nuis) refers to a mountain, whilst mullach (Mullach Buidhe) means a top specifically, and torr (Torr Nead an Eoin) is a hillock. (Don’t be put off by the terrifying spellings; the sounds are much easier.)

A lesson in pronunciation ....... or not!!!

Andy Walker, head forester of the Forestry Commission Scotland on Arran and leader of our AMF group doing the Gaelic in the Mountains day, explained why Gaelic is so important to his work: the Gaelic names actually contain far more precise information about the land than any OS map. For example, the Gaelic name of one particular burn at North Sannox translates as “the burn with the fist-sized pebbles”.

Views into Garbh Coire (rough corrie), and
along the Creag Dhubh ridge to Sail an Im (Heel of Butter)

The wild and empty glen we walked through was once full of people tending their cattle; Andy showed us the ruins of their summer sheilings. We climbed up the graceful Cuidhe Mheadhonach ridge to the summit of Caisteal Abhail where we enjoyed almost 360 degree views in the sunshine over mainland Scotland and other islands. The pace was leisurely and bird sightings included a golden eagle and a male hen harrier. Co-leader Jo Totty pointed out tiny wildflowers amongst the heather: yellow tormentil, pink lousewort and purple milkwort, and explained how they were used in past times; again illustrating the intimate knowledge of nature of the Gaelic people.

A view from Caisteal Abharil

The infamous Ceum na Caillich

We also learned that garbh, dubh coires are to be avoided because they are rough and dark, and that the translation of Ceum na Caillich as the Witch’s Step is maybe a bit unfair - caillich means an old woman and is used in the Gaelic for owl (cailleach-oidhche, old woman of the night). I pictured a wise woman, collecting bunches of tormentil to ease troubles. The people of Sannox had to leave their beloved land for a new life in Canada because of the Clearances. I hope their ghosts could hear the words of their language ringing out in lively conversation in the glen today.


Kathy Mawson

2011 Arran Mountain Festival Witch's Step Walk

This walk offered a bit of everything - scrambling, ridges, bogs, but most of all the fabulous views. Outstanding!!
Jacqui