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Glen Clova: February 25 – 27 2005
A clear, starry night and an almost full moon lighting up the
snow-dusted hills welcomed Glenmorons to the most beautiful of the Angus
Glens and gave them hope for a great weekend ahead. A group of early
starters had been there since noon and had already completed a round of
Glen Tirran in cold but fair conditions. The party consisted of Garrey,
Rosie, Hugh, Brian, John A and John McP.
The Steading was a deluxe bunkhouse, with en-suite facilities in
every room. New arrivals soon found their friends in the bar of the
adjacent Glen Clova Hotel to plan the next day’s excursions. The
neighbouring summits of Mayar and Driesh were the favourite
destinations, although a few independent spirits opted for something
completely different. It was nice to see Mary Cunningham, enticed away
from the dust and paint of her new home nearby on the East coast. She
had come with her sister Win (who enjoyed the weekend so much that she
has now decided to join a local hill-walking club).
Saturday morning was blustery, with clouds racing across the sky
above the glen. A total of 22 people, in four distinct groups, set off
for Mayar and/or Driesh from the Forestry Commission car-park at the end
of the road. As we walked away we were amazed to see an official
checking whether we had all paid the parking fee – which naturally we
had!
 Conditions
in the sheltered glens were quite benign, but on reaching the summit
plateau we were exposed to relentless gale force winds. If the wind was
behind you it wasn’t too bad, it just sped you up and blew snow into
the furthest corners of your rucksack, but walking into the wind was
very painful, with snow crystals constantly blasted into your face –
happy those who had brought their goggles!
On
reaching the summit of Driesh, John McP’s group sat cosily inside his
emergency shelter and enjoyed their tea and sandwiches. Meanwhile, two
of the other groups coalesced on the summit of Mayar, and, ignoring the
wind, sat and had their lunch as if it were a summer’s day. There were
animated discussions in the bar that night about the wisdom of
picnicking on an exposed summit in a gale with a wind chill of around
–20oC!
After this, a number of people curtailed their plans and escaped into
the shelter of the glen without attempting the second peak. However,
those who perservered were rewarded, because the wind dropped and the
latter part of the day provided the most enjoyable walking.
Tim, Dave Watson, Brian and Malcolm walked all the way up Glen Doll
and climbed the twin peaks of Tollmount and Tom Buidhe. They returned
from the long trek tired but happy.
John A and Hugh travelled east to Glen Esk to tackle the remote
Corbett, Mount Battock. They battled through strong headwinds, soft deep
snow and whiteout conditions for virtually the whole of the walk,
arriving back at the car soaked, weary but triumphant.
That night almost all members (except those too exhausted to eat)
opted for a meal at the Glen Clova Hotel. The food was very good, and we
had the dining room virtually to ourselves. Having an elegant hotel
right beside the bunkhouse is a very civilised arrangement!
 The next day the wind was gone, the sun was out and it was glorious!
The majority headed for Ben Tirran, alias The Goet, the highest point on
the ridge above the hotel. It was a very pleasant tramp around steep
corries filled with frozen lochs and across the snow-encrusted plateau,
with views to Lochnagar. The snow sparkled in the sunshine and so did
we. A party of six, comprising Dave Watson, Malcolm, Brian, Gordon, Sue
and Carol (who had popped up from Dundee for the day) made the most of
the better day by going up Mayar and Driesh.
This time, lunch on the top
was a picnic in the sun. Nine members headed west to Glen Isla to enjoy
a stroll up Monamenach. Hugh and John A, exhausted from the previous day’s
exertions, opted for a direct return from the summit while Tim, Arthur,
Garrey, John McP, Janet, Rosie and Gill extended the walk in the sun
along the ridge to Craigenloch Hill before descending back into the
Glen. A pleasant afternoon was had by all.
Those who finished back at the Glen Clova Hotel went in for hot soup
followed by tea and scones – a comforting end to a challenging
weekend!
Ania Owsianka
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