Was the meet on Saturday or Sunday? Was it at 9.30am or before 9.30am? Cal Mac or Western Ferries? Drive over or leave the car behind? Take the bikes instead? There were just so many imponderables to weigh up!!! No wonder only a small number considered going to Cowal. Or was it simply that Saturday’s superb weather had enticed most Glenmorons further afield?

In the event, only a select few were able to cope and duly turned up in good time at McInroy’s point. We even gave other comers the benefit of the doubt and waited until the ten o’clock ferry, before crossing in just one carload!

Was it the wet Sunday in downtown Dunoon referred to by Billy Connelly? In one sense it was, but only in terms of the amount of sweat dripping off our brows! The brilliant sunshine of the previous day did not break through the cloud cover, sadly, but the heat was nevertheless intense. Walking in tee-shirts in these sultry conditions was a distinctly humid affair, more reminiscent of holidays abroad than a Sunday in Scotland. The midges, however, soon reminded us of where we were!

And where was that? Our target was a small undistinguished hill called Black Craig. The approach was by a forest track up Glen Kin and an uncertain path which emerged from the trees on to Bealach na Sreine. From there we struck up the hillside to the cairn at Bodach Bochd and then on to Black Craig. Although small (522m.), the hill was a good vantage point, even if the view across to Bute was rather hazy on this occasion. Our return route was by the same way, dictated by out of date maps and more extensive forestation than shown. It was nevertheless an interesting walk which had its moments of intuitive route finding! A very pleasant day out on the hill!

Mary and Dave Reynolds, Ingrid Parker, David Foster and Stephen Rodger.