Getting about in the hills on foot and by cycle.

 Our Sunday walk this week was to the Cromdale Hills. Our approach was from the alternative road section used on the Speyside way. The crossed sword symbol used to indicate a place of battle on Ordnance Survey maps was something to look at and along with the 1690 date it conjured up the strife that took place in Ireland when the Jacobite army of James V11/11 was defeated by the incoming Protestant Monarch William. Of course the Highland Scots Jacobites along with others were opposed to the change and a group of them were defeated by the Government army in this area and it would appear that after the fighting at Lethandry Castle that there was further action closer to the hills and, it has been said, that a Piper gave encouragement to the action at the Clach a'Piobhair boulder. Area of the fighting with broken down houses. Cairn at the site. An easy approach track. The pipers boulder. The pipers boulder when I passed this way on descent from the hills Twelve years ago. We pushed on

  Glen Feshie and Creag Ghiuthsachan The boulder at the entrance to the Red Mountains has now been toppled and replaced by a Park information board where folks park up. The hill from close to the Glen Feshie road. Path up to the base of the hill.  Summit area out over Loch Insh to the Monadhliath. summit area in November a few years back....Sgorans behind. Summit area looking out to one of the several ways up to the Sgorans. From descent on the South side and the old stalkers track up to Carn Ban Beag and higher Sgorans. Into the pines for descent to the Glen Feshie road on an old Path. The path is a bit neglected now but can still be followed. On this occasion the ants were not very active. A feint path down to the outflow from the un-named lochan. A decent wee marker cairn with The Glen Feshie road below. Signs of perhaps a recovery for this path destroyed by the Tree gobbling harvesting machines. Some of the Pines close to the path had been chain sawed down and with a few marker cai