Dumyat - First Foot

Thursday 1st January

David and Alison's first foot was Dumyat on New Years day.

It was frosty on the low ground; higher up, views were hinted at, but were spoiled by low winter sun and persistent haze. No Wallace Monument or Stirling Castle today.

It was pleasantly warm on the south facing slopes.

David munched on a feast of pakora and leftovers, no wonder he's so fat! 

A paraglider spent ages checking his kit & untangling lines; suppose he has to as his life depends on it!

David thought he was waiting for thermals; Alison couldn't confirm if he was wearing any....

Success; after several attempts he was off, and after a few seconds disappeared out of sight.

Great way to get off a hill.

Now for the long walk back to the car - all 1.5 miles, but don't forget the 600' descent.

Walking on Dumyat gives you fantastic views quickly, great choice for exercise on a short day.

Ben Donich

Deirdre on Donich, Andrew in Ardgoil,

Grant in the Glen & Big Bill's Ben.

Saturday 3rd January

Deirdre, Andrew, Grant & Bill

Let’s establish from the start that this was Deirdre’s choice. She assured us that, from memory, it was a perfectly straightforward wee hill.

Finding the exact starting point can be difficult, but not today as we had a helpful pillar.

Funny thing was that Dee couldn’t remember the ascent – she recalled it was through a forest; trouble was it had been felled since she’d last been there!

We were soon on the open hillside, it was a cracking day; with good views to the summit ridge.

The Cobbler appeared to have a 'nipple' & 'wart'.....

It was 'Walkers' underfoot (crisp); glad we had winter boots!

A short scramble down can be tricky, but Dee was so happy to be here she burst into song….

Beyond this is a short section of ridge made up of rocky blocks and clefts, then a steep section of path climbs up a grassy slope to reach the beginning of the summit plateau.

The view over this area to Beinn Ime was grand.

Overhead a high flying jet puzzled us; what prompted a ‘U’ turn? Did they forget something?

It was cold and windy, but a beautiful day nevertheless.

Grant mumbled incoherently through his balaclava; we began to suspect he was suffering from hypothermia, or was it just normal teenage speak?

It was a short pleasant walk over the knobbly top leading to the cairn.

Great viewpoint – for once we were in the right place at the right time.

Father Andrew & son under a real St Andrews Cross.

As it was our first foot we cracked open a bottle of bubbly

..............and toasted absent friends…..

We reluctantly left the summit and sauntered back down the ridge.

The new path makes for a fast descent.

Enjoyable day out and a good choice for a first foot Deirdre!