Walking to Bonnie Prince Charlie's Window September 29, 2006
We planned a hike today that took us through a nature reserve and followed the trail that Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scotland took after his defeat at the Battle of Culloden. He actually kicked around Scotland for several months hiding from the English and getting to know his people perhaps as well as any monarch has. He traveled about disguising himself and living in peasant homes, barns and even caves. Through all of this he maintained his love of country and his subjects as well as his sense of humor. He joked one time “They’ll never guess what I got up me skirt”. He kept a pistol hidden under his kilt. He was almost captured several times but managed to elude his would be captors. The decision was made he would leave the country so he made his way to the coast to catch a boat. This is part of the trail he took which lead through Craig Meagaidh, or the window, so it is said that Prince Charlie escaped through the window.
We left Strathnoon around 9:30 AM and our first stop was the small village of Newtonmore. We stopped to find an Ordinance Map of the area we were going to hike. We had found the hike in a book named “50 Best Hikes of the Highlands and Islands”, but it did not have a detailed map, just a hike description. We walked down the main street of the village and found the Information Centre. Every city, town and most villages of any size here have Information Centres which is very helpful for the traveler. When we inquired there we were told that the maps were sold at the walking centre so we walked on and found it and the map that we needed. On our way back to the car we stopped at a small café for a coffee to go. Inside we found an autographed picture of Willie Nelson hanging on the wall. When we asked the lady helping us about the picture she told us that Willie comes to Scotland every once in a while and they see him as her husband use to play music with him.
We found the trailhead on the shores of Loch Laggan. The trail started in what looked to be large natural pastures with high fences. Plaques told us that there is a large Roe Deer herd here and that the reserve manages the herd and the land on which they live. They now have a reforestation project underway and as we looked up the valley we could see where the birch trees had started to grow with some 12-15 feet high. The trail ran from the loch up the valley (glen) to a natural bowl that contained a small lake with the return being a reverse of the outbound route. Total distance was about eight miles with an altitude differential of 1400’. The hike started in the young woodlands but soon broke out into the open sparse country that makes up most of the highlands. We were paralleling the stream that had carved the valley over eons into a broad steep sided V with its slopes covered in heather and scrub. The upper slopes were rugged with large rock outcroppings. As we moved up the valley we met a group of hunters that pointed out a herd of deer feeding high on the slopes to our right. We watched and photographed the deer as we moved on, but they were almost a half mile away and didn’t seem too concerned with us. The reserve is working on the trail in a couple of different spots and with the rain we had yesterday and this morning it had turned to quagmire and you had to be careful where you stepped.
We finally made it to the lake and stopped for lunch. The bowl at the lake was well defined and very dramatic with the sides rising more than a thousand feet in places with the exception being Prince Charlie’s window. Just as we finished lunch the first rain drops began to fall. The sky had threatened since this morning and it would now fulfill the promise. It rained the entire way back to the car, never too hard, but enough to make us glad that we were in our rain gear.
The plan for dinner was to cook out, but when we arrived at Strathnoon it was still raining. Never let it be said that a little rain will get in Holly and Gary’s way to grilled food. We rigged a tarp from the house using the car to anchor the other end and had a nice dry place to set up the disposable grill. I enjoyed sitting under the tarp, tending the grill and listening to the rain pattering overhead. After dinner we relaxed and were soon in bed as the darkness and the highland mist enveloped the cottage.
We left Strathnoon around 9:30 AM and our first stop was the small village of Newtonmore. We stopped to find an Ordinance Map of the area we were going to hike. We had found the hike in a book named “50 Best Hikes of the Highlands and Islands”, but it did not have a detailed map, just a hike description. We walked down the main street of the village and found the Information Centre. Every city, town and most villages of any size here have Information Centres which is very helpful for the traveler. When we inquired there we were told that the maps were sold at the walking centre so we walked on and found it and the map that we needed. On our way back to the car we stopped at a small café for a coffee to go. Inside we found an autographed picture of Willie Nelson hanging on the wall. When we asked the lady helping us about the picture she told us that Willie comes to Scotland every once in a while and they see him as her husband use to play music with him.
We found the trailhead on the shores of Loch Laggan. The trail started in what looked to be large natural pastures with high fences. Plaques told us that there is a large Roe Deer herd here and that the reserve manages the herd and the land on which they live. They now have a reforestation project underway and as we looked up the valley we could see where the birch trees had started to grow with some 12-15 feet high. The trail ran from the loch up the valley (glen) to a natural bowl that contained a small lake with the return being a reverse of the outbound route. Total distance was about eight miles with an altitude differential of 1400’. The hike started in the young woodlands but soon broke out into the open sparse country that makes up most of the highlands. We were paralleling the stream that had carved the valley over eons into a broad steep sided V with its slopes covered in heather and scrub. The upper slopes were rugged with large rock outcroppings. As we moved up the valley we met a group of hunters that pointed out a herd of deer feeding high on the slopes to our right. We watched and photographed the deer as we moved on, but they were almost a half mile away and didn’t seem too concerned with us. The reserve is working on the trail in a couple of different spots and with the rain we had yesterday and this morning it had turned to quagmire and you had to be careful where you stepped.
We finally made it to the lake and stopped for lunch. The bowl at the lake was well defined and very dramatic with the sides rising more than a thousand feet in places with the exception being Prince Charlie’s window. Just as we finished lunch the first rain drops began to fall. The sky had threatened since this morning and it would now fulfill the promise. It rained the entire way back to the car, never too hard, but enough to make us glad that we were in our rain gear.
The plan for dinner was to cook out, but when we arrived at Strathnoon it was still raining. Never let it be said that a little rain will get in Holly and Gary’s way to grilled food. We rigged a tarp from the house using the car to anchor the other end and had a nice dry place to set up the disposable grill. I enjoyed sitting under the tarp, tending the grill and listening to the rain pattering overhead. After dinner we relaxed and were soon in bed as the darkness and the highland mist enveloped the cottage.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 3:41 PM
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