Three Lochs circuit, South Loch Ness

Topping off my weeks holiday with a day away, escaping the rain and heading somewhere with a bit more sunshine!  After dropping off some baking to work for the cancer fundraiser, we headed off to Loch Ness for our chosen walk (not one we have done before).  The first loch to view was Loch Duntelchaig, with rugged heathery hills at the far end and farm fields at the other end (with two lovely belted galloway's).  A cow was also dipping its hooves into the water!  The first mile or so was along the single track road before heading off along a forest track which gave Ivor a good running opportunity.  The next loch was Loch Bunachton and here we navigated away from a field of cattle who were showing an unnatural interest in Ivor.

A good few miles after that we joined the single track road again, heading to Dunlichity Church, with the original building dating from 1758 and where, it is told, that soldiers sharpened their swords on the walls when heading to the battle of Culloden.  The oldest headstone I saw was 1774 but I'm sure if we stayed longer I might have seen one even older.  We stopped here for our coffee and took in the scene and Ivor enjoyed a wee treat lying on the grass.

Soon we headed off again and skirted Loch a' Chachain.  A mile or so on and we got back to the car, changed and headed to the Dores Inn for a tasty lunch.

8 miles / 2.5 hours

River Beauly and Lovat Bridge circuit

We have done this walk before but this time we had the pleasure of Ivor's company!  It was a lovely Autumn morning though still a wee bit chilly in the shade and Ivor was wearing his brand new winter coat (which soon came off when he spotted his first dog to run around with - which wasn't too long).  This walk is a dog walkers dream and Ivor found lots of wee pals to play with, especially two border collies who were equally as excited to play with him.  The three good things which go for this walk are (1) no livestock which means Ivor can run freely off the lead; (2) no main roads to worry about traffic and (3) the paths are in good condition, though that has probably been helped by the lovely dry spell we have had in the past week.

On the return leg, Ivor was exhausted having been running around with all the other dogs he met and when we got home later that afternoon (after a lunch at the Old School House in Beauly) he slept the rest of the day until bedtime!

Torachility woods and Loch Kinellan

We started the walk at Contin woods (aka Torachilty) and climbed up to a newly formed cycle track which would take us out to the top of Loch Kinellan.  Loch Kinellan is a peaceful place which has been crying out for a wee bench to sit and watch the wildlife... wait a minute.... there is now a bench!



Some thoughtful soul has created a wee memorial 'garden' including a bench in memory of a relative who died decades ago.  Very touching that they are still remembered after all these years. The bench has been sited at an angle giving the best views and on the day of the walk the sun was shining and it was warm. We stopped for our coffee as Ivor posed on top of the wall looking out for anything he could chase.

Fannich Walk

We woke to a misty morning which promised to be a lovely warm and sunny day. It was only 4 degrees when we left about 8.30am and we'll soon need to consider our hats and scarves!

We always get good views out in the Fannichs and Ivor gets a run off the lead as it's free of livestock - only the odd deer for him to chase.

Ivor disappeared a few times into the woods as he was on the scent for some poor creature and when we stopped for a flask of coffee he took off on a chase. We didn't stop for long though as the midges came out in force and we reluctantly started off again, eventually re-joining the road back to the car.

3.9 miles/1hr 25 mins

Loch na'Cran

Saturday morning and we headed off with our wee man for a walk from Rogie Falls to Loch na'Cran. There were no salmon leaping at Rogie Falls when we crossed the bridge but a photographer was already in position and waiting for that perfect shot.

We shortly joined the mountain bike trail climbing up the small hill which would eventually lead us out to the forest track to Loch na'Cran. This trail was quite wet in parts and some of the bridges had seen better days but I guess the trail doesn't get many walkers and the cyclists don't mind a rough path!


The lily pads were still floating on the Loch although many of the flowers were spent. We stopped here for our flask of coffee and then carried on the circular route back to Rogie. We soon met other walkers and a wee cross breed called Otis who loved to play chase with Ivor. We had one happy and very tired dog for the rest of the day.

4.6 miles/ 2hrs

Achnashellach circuit

Well no-one can accuse us of being fair weather walkers! We talked the night before about which walk to take our wee man on and decided on this one (which we had done before and estimated to be around 10 miles). Saturday morning hailed a pretty dull, grey day (fairly typical of the summer we have had to date) but, not put off and hopeful it would remain dry, we set off around 8.30 to drive the 15 miles out to Achnashellach.

We started the climb on a stony path, over the railway and along side the River Lair.  The normally beautiful views over to Fuar Tholl and Sgorr Ruadh were lost in the low cloud and rain and we walked on with Ivor manically sniffing around in front of us.

 

The rocky path would eventually lead you to Beinn Liath Mhor, which we had said we would do one day but haven't yet got round to it, but instead we continued on along the path to reach the "Tea House" bothy which we knew would give us welcome shelter to enjoy a cup of tea.

After a cup of tea we headed back out to carry on the last leg of the walk. At this point we saw evidence of cows being around so we put Ivor on the lead but he was soon running free again as there was not another soul or creature to be seen. At this point in the walk we would normally get good views over to Beinn Eighe but the landscape in front of us with shrouded with cloud.

As we carried on up the hill track the heavens opened and we were all like drooned rats! I took a chance to look back at where we had walked from and the sun was shining through onto Beinn Eighe and we could see it's stony slope. By this time my feet were squelching in my shoes and looking out for the small woodland which I knew indicated that the end of the walk was near.

The rain eventually eased and the sun tried to poke through as we came through the forestry gate and descended down the path which would take us back to where we started. At this point we had some good views down to the valley below.

Back homes, showered and dried off we relaxed for the rest of the day and Ivor slept all afternoon on the sofa before going to bed. We think he enjoyed it!

1837ft climb/2hrs 41mins/8.9 miles

Around Rhupolding

Well, we knew pretty much straight away that Rhupolding was a special place - the town sits close to the Germany/Austria border in what is known on the map as Upper Bavaria East.  We flew into Salzburg on 9th August and within 45 minutes were dropped off at our hotel.  The journey from Salzburg to Ruhpolding gave us some wonderful views of mountains like we have never seen and lovely Alpine houses.

Our Hotel was situated in the heart of Ruhpolding and is family run - the current owners being 4th generation. We were hastily checked in and encouraged to dump our bags and head straight to the restaurant for dinner as they stopped serving at 9pm!

Whilst the food in the hotel has largely been fine - I have found that the food is heavy in salt and fat. German/Bavarian cuisine also doesn't cater much for the non-meat eater and as someone relatively new to eating meat I found some of it quite challenging though I gave most things a go! Dishes like leberknodle soup (a clear beef broth with a liver dumpling) or hog roast (offering everything from pork knuckle and pork belly to sausage). The food that was delicious came from the local bakery - the Schuhbeck.  The Schuhbeck was an absolute delight for the eye with approximately 50 different types of rolls and bread, about 15 different cakes and very tasty sandwiches.  I would say that that place alone is responsible for me putting on a couple of pounds!

The weather on our first week was glorious, hitting 35 degrees on some days.  The second week was a bit cooler but mostly dry and we got out for walks every day (with the exception of the Sunday after we arrived which was a chill day to wind down from work and another day for just relaxing in between walks/excursions).  In the two weeks we have been here we have walked many miles and climbed great heights!

Ruhpolding is nestled in the Chiemgau region in the Alps with a population of approximately 6,800. It is certainly geared to those who like activity holidays.  It has hosted the Biathlon World Championships four times and in the winter is home to those with a love of winter sports.  There are in excess of a hundred hiking routes in and around the area with many suitable for cycling.

 

The town is immaculate. There is no litter, the local flower beds are mainly wildflowers and the local houses and businesses are decorated with colourful hanging baskets and meticulously painted murals. The residents' gardens are also well maintained and you can tell there is a real pride in the town. Even 'tourist avenue' (as our Thomson rep described it) is tasteful - not offering the usual tourist tat you normally find but lovely linen and handmade wooden gifts (not cheap mind you!).

There are various bronze sculptures dotted around - some celebrating the Bavarian connection to wood cutting and one showing two children with a pretzel!  Yum!

The local river, the Traun, was crystal clear - I've never seen river water like it and we were told the drinking water in Bavaria is the best you will get anywhere.  Walking around there are loads of water fountains for you to take quick refreshment.  The dozens of Alms dotted around the hills also offer really tasty local dishes and beer (or water if you are so inclined!).  I couldn't fault the place at all - it is known for being wet (on average 20 days in the month of August are wet) but we were lucky with only one really wet day.

There is a strong Catholic faith here.  The local church (St Georges) sits just above the hotel with a view right across Rhupolding.  On our travels we have passed numerous private places of rest/memorials - all tended with great love and care.    The cemetery is of the like I have never seen before - the headstones more a work of art than the standard stones you get in the UK and the grave itself planted out with a colourful selection of plants (again very well cared for).

One thing it is short on is bird life. I'm not sure if that has been to do with the heat but we haven't seen many birds.  What we had plenty off was butterflies and dragonflies and the fields are alive with the sound of crickets and grasshoppers - which was lovely given they are so rare in our part of Scotland as it is so wet! We've seen the odd sheep and the odd goat but apart from that it tends to be cattle that is kept by the local farmers.... and no pigs, which is surprising as the Bavarians eat a lot of pork!

Blair also had wood envy. Nearly every house has a ready supply of chopped and well stacked wood, obviously in preparation for the winter. Walking through the woods we encountered huge trees that had been logged ready for chopping and splitting.

The hillsides were also covered in lovely Alpine flowers - no bracken anywhere!

Laubau to Rhupolding (via Rauschberg)

Well, we did it!!

Our final full day and we've ended on a high (no pun intended!).

We started our walk at Laubau, a short bus journey out of Rhupolding and home to the Wood Cutters Museum we had visited earlier in our holiday.

From there we followed the path up (and up) to Rauschberg - which I've mentioned previously is the local highest peak. There are many other peaks we haven't done and we'll save those for next time as WE WILL BE BACK!



We have woken up to Rauschberg every day - it has been an imposing sight at 1671m/5482ft.  Rhupolding sits at 660m/2165ft above sea level so we are already pretty high up.  The path up was a mixture of forest road and woodland path, slippy in parts due to the clay soil.



On the way up we passed several other walkers and a group of nordic walkers who then passed us and remained ahead of us for the rest of the climb - in fact we never saw them again so they must have just headed back down the other side (or taken the cable car!).



When we reached the cable car station (27m/88ft below the actual peak) there were a fair number of tourists dressed in their nice clean walking gear who had clearly cheated and taken the easy way up - you could tell by the footwear! There were some views down to Rhupolding but we didn't get the famed 360 degree views due to the low cloud.



We carried on for the last 88ft to the peak which was a bit of an anti-climax. We had no views whatsoever but there was no way we were going to walk this far and not reach the actual summit.



Back down at the cable car station we had some lunch in the restaurant - coffee and a local speciality called Kaiserschmarn which is a pancake filled with fruit and served with apple sauce (it was the only thing we could decipher from the menu!).  The climb to the peak was 5.6miles/2hrs 39min.

It was now time for the walk down, which was a different route to that we took up as this one took us to Rhupolding.  The path down was very steep in parts and cut through Rauschberg and Streicher (1594m/5229ft) with views over to a much larger, stonier range of mountains including the impressive Sonntagshorn (1961m/6433ft).



The path was a bit punishing on the legs and feet but we got some great views we hadn't appreciated climbing up and we had a good view of Rhupolding in the valley - we could also see Lake Chiemsee in the distance.  The path brought us out at a caravan site and we joined the path next to the River Traun which took us back into Rhupolding - this leg of the walk being 7.5miles/2hrs 25mins.

We arrived back to the Hotel very tired and in need of a hot bath to ease our tired feet.  The sun is shining and it's due to be lovely again tomorrow - we'll be happy to get home but we will miss the relaxation of Rhupolding (relaxation being a strange word to use I suppose as we have been out walking practically every day!).

Total climb - 13.1 miles/5hrs