Easter 2005 – Glen Carron

Area

The week ran from from Saturday 26^th March to Saturday 2^ndApril 2005. Being a very early Easter we took the opportunity to head for some (hopefully) snowy hills in the middle of the west coast highlands in Glen Carron. Even for us, booking two hunting lodges was unusual though Achnasheen lodge is quite small. Glen Carron Lodge is clearly significant – it’s marked on road atlases – and was big enough for us all to eat together. This made for a great social evening though we incurred the owners displeasure through doing this!

Most of us know the area quite well and whilst the houses are not actually on the coast it is very definitely “West Coast” with Torridon and Kintail as well as Glen Carron and the Coulin Estates within easy reach.

Accommodation

The big house (Glen Carron Lodge) would sleep 18 and across the road was another cottage for 6. Perhaps 12 miles distant by a fast road is Achnasheen lodge which would also sleep 6-8. In addition  David, Patricia, Joseph & Simon booked into the hotel at Achnasheen. 

The 11,800 acre Glen Carron Estate is ideally situated, with four Munros on the Estate and nine others within 10 miles.  For lovers of wildlife, there was the possibily of seeing resident eagles, red grouse, ptarmigan, snipe, woodcock, mountain hare, pine martens, otters, badgers, foxes, red and roe deer and moles (!) who live at 2000 feet.  The southern part of the Estate has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) due to the wealth and rarity of its Alpine plants.  

Glen Carron Lodge

 

The Lodge, built in 1872 as a traditional Victorian shooting lodge, has comfortable accommodation for up to 18.  It has 8 twin bedrooms, 2 single bedrooms, 1 triple room and 4 bathrooms. The drawing room and dining room (which seats 18) are large. There is a boot and gun room, a drying room, a playroom with table tennis table, a pool table room and a children’s sitting room. There is a video player, a CD/tape/radio music player and free-to-air TV on 2 sets.  The large kitchen is equipped with a double Aga, electric cooker, microwave and fridge and there is a dishwasher, washing machine and freezer in the utility room. The Lodge has electric heating throughout.  There is a large, enclosed garden and adjacent wood with paths leading on to the rest of the Estate.

East Cottage

Formerly home for the Estate “ghillie”, the cottage had recently been modernised and comprised two large bedrooms (double and single bed in one bedroom and two/three singles in the other), bathroom, sitting room with open fire and free-to-air TV/video plus music centre and a large, modern, well equipped kitchen with dining table, dryer, dishwasher, microwave etc. The cottage, set above the road, has oil-fired central heating and is attached to the cottage of the Estate’s stalker and wife.

Achnashellac Lodge

A shooting lodge set on the edge of Loch a'Chroisg, with uninterrupted views and easy access to some of the most wonderful scenery in the Highlands. Full of character, the property is a superb base for a family holiday with the children free to roam the natural grounds and plenty of space for everyone to relax. The sitting room has a magnificent picture window looking west up the loch, the kitchen has an oil fired Rayburn set into an arched stone fireplace.  

The oil-fired central heating gave some problems early in the week, possibly after its winter "rest" without occupation. This kept both the  occupants and the friendly and helpful "Laird" busy for a few days.

Mountains and other Walks

Despite the earliness of Easter there was little or no snow to be found. The weather was generally good though with few clear days on the tops. There were ascents of most of the local hills and the major peaks of Torridon. One of the best days of the week saw most of the group scattered amongst the Cuilin Forest Hills where everyone had a really fine mountain day with fantastic views. On the last day, an ascent of Liathac via the northern pinnacles found the high corrie leading to the ridge well banked with perhaps 500ft of firm snow. An exciting ascent for those not used to it … and decidedly unpleasant for the top 50ft where the snow ran out into a ‘thin’ bare gully with unstable rock. 

Tourism and Relaxation

The scenic drive over the winding Bealach-na-Ba (pass of the cow), the highest road in the UK proved to be a popular day out. Most popular however was the “Coral” beach at Plocton which probably everyone enjoyed at different times during the week. – despite us discovering later (courtesy of the BBC) that the coral is really calcified sea weed

Eilean Donan Castle was only a short drive away in Kintail and the butchers / fish shop in Lochcarron did a good line in smoked salmon – we must have considerably boosted his sales!