Home is where the van is (a northwest ramble) ...

The campervan hill gig had been on the cards for a very long time. Various options on who would drive had been discussed over the years but possibly best leave that to one side for now.

Uncertainty of where I would be working (never mind living) had meant plans were fairly fluid but with the job offer in the south confirmed, a wee window of opportunity was agreed with Joe. Last minute addition to the hill team was my cousin Alan (fellow van & hill geek). Joe thankfully managed to locate a four berth van that could be hired by the day in Inverness and in the days leading up to the trip, everything got sorted.

To give maximum hill sport, we nipped north late on Thursday ready to collect the van early on the Friday morning. The owner gave a quick teach in for the various bits and features before, we headed further north. With Alan & Joe in Munro mode and myself looking to collect the far north Corbetts, I dropped them just north of the Crask Inn for an ascent of Ben Kilbreck whilst I continued on for Ben Loyal.

Solo in the big van was surreal. I’ve spent countless night tucked up in the back of ma Berlingo van but this was a dream come true and class. Apart from the fixed double sleeping area(s), the hired camper had a fridge, 3 ring gas cooked, sitting area, toilet, shower, heater, wee outside garage at the back… and living space ! Enjoying the set up, I packed lite and headed up the hill. Views were amazing and spent a fair bit of time reflecting on the Corbett journey that really started back in 2009. This trip would see me through the 200 mark and as always, it was good to be ascending again. Surprise of the day was approaching the An Caisteal summit which had mist forming and disappearing as quickly.

Sitting on the summit was braw and looked over the expanse to Ben Kilbreck and down towards Altnaharra where I was meeting the boys. Had a tidy run back down to the van and was soon sitting in the hotel with Joe and Alan comparing notes and beers.

Next target was Ben Hope and Joe did a great job of getting the van up the narrow road leading up Strath More. Enjoyed the last bit of daylight complete with a dram. Next morning dawned with perfect blue skies and we made good progress up only stopping to chat to a pretty girl …as you do. On the summit, we paused for photographs including a nip out to the top of the ridge which forms the approach from the north. Not often the weather is that good and it seemed a shame to start our descent.

Whilst Alan and Joe drank tea (and tried to fix Alan’s bike), I included an ascent of Beinn Spionnaidh and Carnstackie. I’ve linked multiple days into one a number of times and never had an issue leaving the van but with the boys relaxing, this time was harder than ever. Ran the first few kms along the track towards the farm as much to provide commitment, as to save time. Original plan had been to ascent to the bealach then do two “out & backs” but with the head already a bit of a mess, took the ridge to give more of a round. First summit complete, it was a short run over to Carnstackie. Chatted with a couple from Glasgow before a steep descent back down to the farm. Arrived back at the van to find Alan’s back wheel still not working (seized freehub).

The next stage of the trip involved a drive south to the Inchnadamph area. Dinner was in the excellent Kylesku Hotel and with some help from WD40 and a big mallet, we freed the freehub ! A nice layby above Loch Assynt was home for the evening.
 
Next morning saw a split team approach – Alan for Conival and Ben More Assynt …Joe and myself for Canisp. Joe and myself had spent some great winter days around this area last December and as we ascended, the surrounding landscape all seemed to fit together nicely. On its own, Canisp is a fine mountain but it is the views across to Suilven that make the mountain. Every few steps seemed to give a better photo opportunity that before and slowed progress …but it was worth it. On the descent, we came across a stone circle …not sure who built it or why but it freaked us out.

Literally, on the last few steps to the van a lass said “Hello Graham” …turned out to be a girl I know from East Kilbride called Elaine – spooky small world at times.

Drove back up to Inchnadamph to meet up with Alan who was cycling back to Lairig to pick up his car and head south. Joe and myself spent the afternoon on Glas Bheinn which included a GPS led sweep search to find a wee water bottle he had dropped. Met some old guys who were happily spending there fishing the high hill lochs and streams without any success other than the simple pleasure of being out on the hill with your pals.

The next section of the trip was more in line with using the van as a self-sufficient base to maximise hill time.We returned north before taking the A838 which cuts down through a remote part of the northwest highlands. The following day was the big one – ascents of Arkle, Meall Horn then a solo run north over Foinhaven for me to meet up with Joe on the Durness road.

Would love to read more about the geology on Arkle with a mix of scree sitting on bed rock and eroding cliffs with large lochans dominating. The wind was horrible and made it not only difficult to make progress but damned cold. Was glad to be heading over to Meall Horn but equally, not all that comfortable looking towards the Foinhaven ridge which once committed to …only had one escape route …which was also the planned route ! At the summit of Horn, we confirmed the meeting point at the road and whilst I could, put some distance in to make sure there wasn’t a chicken route back to the van with Joe. As it turned out, the ridge gave incredibly good running and the isolation was actually very special. Certain milestones are easily remembered – my 100th Corbett was Ben Tee (high winds and whisky marked this one) and Foinhaven was my 200th Corbett (no winds and a Tunnocks biscuit marked this one. Bit of an epic descending directly through the crags but was super keen to get across the moor and to the van as quickly as possible. Dropping through a wee bit of cloud I yelped to see the van in the distance and took a straight line route towards it. Had I looked at the map in detail, I would have noticed that this led directly to mid-point of Loch Tarbhaidh. I could have thrown my pack and hit the side of the van but unless I was prepared to swim, another few hundred metres walking was required. As with most big days …the satisfaction on completing was braw!

We stopped at a hotel for celebration beers (felt justified) and to stock up on ...well beer. Parked up for the night, we had pasta, beer and a dram which led to the 2s challenge. The idea is simple – place your camera on an object, set the self timer to 2s then press the shutter and see how far you can run before the camera fires !

Unsurprisingly, the next morning dawned in yet another clear blue sky day but the head was a little cloudy. We took the stalkers path heading south up through the trees and over the bealach where we traversed into the coire which surrounds Loch Dubh. This proved to be tedious and soul destroying but was as per the guidebook (i.e. choose your own route wherever possible). The now tired legs complained a bit on the way to the summit of Beinn Leoid. Usual summit ritual of photos and a run back down towards the van. Instead of more bog trotting, we opted for staying high and went over the summit of Meallan a’ Chuaill which proved not only better under foot but quicker by far. Joe put in a good pace once on the stalkers path and it took some effort to catch him after a personal needs break. Whilst the day was over for Joe, I still had another Corbett in mind for the afternoon. This time it was an ascent of Meall Liath Coire Mhic Doughaill. Rather than a simple up and down, I chose a tidy round route which used the stalkers path to Meallan Liath Beag and round onto the ridge taking in the 741m top. Descent was pretty much straight forward down into the coire and a short traverse to pick up the stalkers path.

Tired and thirsty, Joe suggested a wee drive down to the Overcraig Hotel for beer. As we wandered towards the door of the bar, I remembered my Inov8s were still sitting at the road end. Not a huge drama since we planned to head north again anyway for the last hill of the trip but annoying all the same. Thankfully, the pretty barmaid soon diverted thoughts from the frustration at the lapse of memory. We drove back north and Joe managed to park the van directly on top of ma poor wee shoes!

By now, van life was life itself and it is easy to imagine how living in a fixed building could easily be replaced with a nomadic lifestyle. We had reached the last hill – Ben Hee. For my part, the extended days were starting to add up …the transition into full fitness would have taken more time and it was good to know a few days of rest were to follow. A good path took us high up onto the mountain and an unexpected bonus was that would could see the surrounding hills that we had spent the last week exploring from Ben Kilbreck to the east and the Assynt hills to the west.

Giving the van back wasn’t easy but had to be done. Apart from a grand adventure wi pals, the key thing I took from the trip was at some point (mibee sooner than later), a campervan will be part of my life and at some point, my home.