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Glentrek The UPSIDE of OUTSIDE...Adventures in Scotland. We love the Scottish hills and sharing our adventures

An Socach 08-10-26 - Had a bit of a plan for Arran this week but with only a narrow good weather window opted not to go....
09/10/2026

An Socach 08-10-26 - Had a bit of a plan for Arran this week but with only a narrow good weather window opted not to go. Janey's suggestion today was the short drive up Glen Clunie to do An Socach. I had been up a few times over the past few years but Janey's last visit was way back in 2012. Parked up on the A93 walking past Baddoch, the main track follows the burn but soon we broke off and headed up a well defined path that passes a cairn and then on to the East Summit at 938m. The main summit at 944m is reached along a broad ridge with just a little bit of re-ascent. As per forecast was a beautiful morning giving great views to the Cairngorms and beyond. Decided just to retrace our steps and stay high as it was such a nice day. Stopped for a coffee at the nearby Glenshee ski centre on the way home.

Foinaven - A couple of days in the far North based at the SMC Naismith hut in Elphin. Many thanks to GP and Callum Horne...
02/10/2026

Foinaven - A couple of days in the far North based at the SMC Naismith hut in Elphin. Many thanks to GP and Callum Horne for their company. Managed to grab a late afternoon climbing session on the sea cliffs at Rhue near Ullapool a great setting and lucky to have sun for the rest of the day. Next day my main objective was to climb Foinaven and with a decent forecast headed North to Srath Dionard for the Northern approach. Mountain bikes were the order of the day I set off ahead of Callum and GP who were assembling their ebikes at the lay-by. The approach track is very good and made pretty good time. Got a call from the guys saying there was a "problem" with GP's bike so I was flying solo for the day. Parked the bike and headed up an anti clockwise circuit around Glas-Choire Granda taking in the two highest points of this massive mountain. The going is steep, rough, rocky and pathless but the scenery is as good as it gets anywhere. A bit of mist came in at the summit (Ganu Mor) so I headed a bit further down to have lunch. Did a steep scree run on the decent and only a little rain shower as I got further down. A 50 min bike back to the car and a message from the guys to say they were climbing near Rhiconich. A big tick in the box for this Scottish classic.

Sam - On the back of my Buster 10th Birthday post I have been thinking about doing a wee story about my first retriever ...
17/09/2026

Sam - On the back of my Buster 10th Birthday post I have been thinking about doing a wee story about my first retriever Sam. He wasn’t around during the social media era, in fact he was pre-digital. I got Sam as a puppy in 1991 with his first hill being Ben Chonzie. Over the years he proved to be a brilliant hill dog and lived till he was over 14. He was with me when I was doing both my first and second round of the Munros and was at both those Munro “Compleations”. Although very similar in appearance he had different character to the latest model. He was a plodder and pretty much did what he was told (most of the time). However, he did have a typical retriever trait in being a scrounger with a monster appetite.

I kept very good records of all his hill achievements in the Munros tables book. Sam was mainly a Munro dog but did a good few Corbetts until I got fed up of doing them. I first looked at the hill comparison between Sam and Buster a while back and was surprised how similar they both were.

Munros – 219
Munro repeats – 106
Sam Total Munros – 325

Corbetts – 55
Corbett repeats – 7
Sam Total Corbetts – 62

Sam Total overall Munros and Corbetts – 387

Included a few scanned photos of Sam including one with his owner when the owner wasn’t so grey looking. Incidentally Sam was not as photogenic as his successor, although we didn’t have the luxury of phone cameras in these days.

Beinn Airigh Charr 13-09-26 - Another visit to the Loch Maree area for this Corbett. This hill is the most Westerly of t...
15/09/2026

Beinn Airigh Charr 13-09-26 - Another visit to the Loch Maree area for this Corbett. This hill is the most Westerly of the Slioch chain of mountains and like the others involves a bit of a walk in to get to it so this is still a full hill day. The weather forecast was hit and miss all week but luckily we had a hit day here. Started at the car park in Poolewe and followed a tarmac road then a track to a branch off near a small loch. From there we took a short cut path which rejoins the main track further on. The route then heads up a coire and finally steepens up near the summit. Like many of the hills in this area it has amazing views all round ! Out to the coast , Torridon and Fisherfield. One or 2 people out today including meeting a couple at the top. A milestone for Janey (Corbett no 50) and another one off the list for me.

Little Wyvis 31-08-26 - Was up in this neck of the woods for a family event then a night stay at the Coul House Hotel in...
01/09/2026

Little Wyvis 31-08-26 - Was up in this neck of the woods for a family event then a night stay at the Coul House Hotel in Contin. Didn't really have any firm plans but thought about a short day nearby. I had been up this Corbett a number of years back but did it from the main Ben Wyvis car park. Today opted for a route from the forestry car park just off the main road at Silver Bridge this route follows a track all the way to the top. The weather forecast was mixed but after about an hour it came battering down and we were pretty soaked by the time we got to the summit. Luckily it stopped and cleared up as we descended turning into a decent day. Nothing much to report apart from a group of stags and hinds on the way down the track. One of the hinds took a shine to Janey and walked beside her like she was out walking her dog. Never seen anything like that before !! A new Corbett for Janey and Buster.

Buster – Happy 10th Birthday !! This dog must be one of the most photographed Golden Retrievers on the Scottish hills. I...
25/08/2026

Buster – Happy 10th Birthday !! This dog must be one of the most photographed Golden Retrievers on the Scottish hills. I started him young at around 6 months old. He’s hauled me up and down, pulled me over and has had his moments especially around anything that moves (Deer, hares and pretty much anything else). He’s a character a very tough character at that and over the years has been on some epic mountain trips. He was with me when I was finishing off my 3rd Munro round and has been with me on my Corbett campaign.
Like my previous Retriever (Sam) I have kept accurate records of all Busters hill totals. Below are his achievements (to date) which stands almost exactly the same as Sam’s totals.

Munros – 169
Munro repeats – 90
Buster Total Munros – 259 (to date)

Corbetts – 107
Corbett repeats – 22
Buster Total Corbetts – 129 (to date)

Buster Total overall Munros / Corbetts – 388 (to date)

I will do a post on Sam in the next while but for now Happy Birthday Mountain Dog No 2....You are some machine !!

Derry Cairngorm 23-08-26 - Back in the swing of things again after our holidays. With the weather pretty settled opted f...
24/08/2026

Derry Cairngorm 23-08-26 - Back in the swing of things again after our holidays. With the weather pretty settled opted for something not too far away in the Cairngorms. Since we have Buster we don't really have the option to ease the long approach by using bikes, but this is as good as it gets as the track uphill starts from Derry Lodge. The car park today was pretty full and after about an hour and a bit started uphill via a very good path. Brilliant views all round today from the top. Another new Munro for Janey, a repeat for Buster and a 5th time for me.

Beinn a Chlachair - Geal Charn 01-08-26 - The Laggan hills are visible from the main road in particular Beinn a Chlachai...
02/08/2026

Beinn a Chlachair - Geal Charn 01-08-26 - The Laggan hills are visible from the main road in particular Beinn a Chlachair. That being said these hills are a bit deceiving as they are set pretty far back and a bit of reascent between them. We had previously done the other Munro in the group (Creag Pitridh) as a shorter day a few years back so only the 2 today. Set off early today taking around 1.25 hours to walk to Lochan na h Earba where there were a few tents on the shore. Headed up the track and then split off towards Beinn a Chlachair's NW ridge. Not much in the way of path and a bit boggy as we headed up. At this point we had a torrential downpour which luckily stopped we neared the coire rim and onto the summit cairn. The visibility wasn't great so a chance to get a bit of navigation practice in and after the final steep descent to the col it eventually cleared. A bit of a pull up to Geal Charn where the weather cleared up at the top as the forecast predicted. Descended back in good weather with a bit of a breeze keeping the midges away. Checking back my records the previous 3 times on these hills I did them in a clockwise direction so good to be different on round 4. Another 2 Munros for Janey and a bit of a landmark for Buster (More to follow) ...

Lochnagar 26-07-26 - The weather forecast wasn't the greatest so we opted for something local(ish) and another day in Ja...
27/07/2026

Lochnagar 26-07-26 - The weather forecast wasn't the greatest so we opted for something local(ish) and another day in Janey's hill fitness plan. Arrived at Glen Muick with an idea to do the Corbett Conachcraig as if it was pouring down would be a short day and a new hill for Janey. However on arrival it wasn't too bad with the cloud base hovering around 1000m and only very light rain so opted for a longer day in Lochnagar. If anything it improved as we got higher and for a Sunday was surprisingly quiet. We did meet a couple who were flying the Saltire in celebration for a first ever Munro which was a pleasant sight. It was cloudy on arrival at the summit but on the whole wasn't that bad. The cloud came in and It did pour with rain as we headed back but cleared again as we got near the car park. Checking back Janey hadn't been up here for 11 years so a good day out.

Beinn a Bheithir 24-07-26 - I hadn't been up these 2 Munros for years so when Bob gave me a shout earlier in the week wa...
25/07/2026

Beinn a Bheithir 24-07-26 - I hadn't been up these 2 Munros for years so when Bob gave me a shout earlier in the week was keen to do them. Our intended route was up "School House ridge" and back via the Col through the forestry. The forecast wasn't that bad cloudy with showers after being picked up early set off from Ballachulish back of 8am. We quickly got up to the base of the ridge and after a bite to eat headed up the rock ridge which is graded an easy scramble. The weather did close in a bit and after going over the Munro top Sgorr Bhan we arrived at the first Munro Sgorr Dhearg. This was a bit of a milestone for Bob his 200th Munro. Didn't hang about too long and headed down to the Col at 757m from there it's a 250m pull up to Munro no 2 Sgorr Dhonuill. From the col there is a well marked track which turns into a pretty decent path going down through the forestry and back to the starting point. No Buster today as we were doing the ridge route and very little in the way of photos as the cloud base was about 600m.

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