What a great week on Arran! Not only did I manage to bag six trigs in five days, but I managed to do this in a mix of weather states. The weather forecasts were sublime. I'm pretty sure they predicted the same thing each day "sunny intervals with scattered showers" so some days we had glorious sunshine and got burnt, and other days we shivered in our waterproofs. It wasn't even height related - our highest trig, 874m, was admittedly the wettest bag but on subsequent days (forecast "sunny intervals with scattered showers") it was perfectly clear at that height with the cloud base somewhere near the International Space Station.
Our cottage was in Lamlash and, joy of extreme joys, I could actually see the trig on Holy Island opposite without having to leave the lounge.
So the first trig was TP3987, Holy Island. A wonderfully hot day which rendered this a shorts and tshirt trig. Not to mention Budhist prayer flags to add a bit of flair.
It was clear enough to see the Ailsa Craig.
On the way back down we detoured around the south east of Holy Island to view one of Stevenson's latest lighthouses, and the first square one constructed.
A well maintained lighthouse.
The next day we tackled the highest point on Arran, Goat Fell. TP3393, Goat Fell, stands at 874m and it's an easy climb up from sea level. It was pretty cold and blustery at the top as we shivered in the clouds. We didn't hang around for long.
On Wednesday I decided we could bag a trig on the way to see the Machrie standing stones. We parked on the delightfully named String Road, and literally hoicked straight up the ridge. It amazes me that one encounters bogs even at the tops of hills, as we did with this one. Living near Dartmoor, this shouldn't surprise me at all.
We had noticed the day before that the Goat Fell trig had had a recent coat of paint and wondered if there was a trig pillar maintenance army on Arran. On arriving at TP0848 An Tunna we were convinced. Not only had this trig been recently painted, but the grass was still white.
There is so much white gloss being used that it has filled in the hollows underneath the metal hoops used for lashing one's theodolite to the tribrach.
And I am certainly not impressed with the black gloss paint over what would have normally been a beautifully weathered brass flush bracket. Whah :-(
Anyway, not enough to upset me for long.
After some standing stone bagging - I wonder if these were prehistoric prototypes of a trig pillar - I realised that our route home took us right next to a drive-by trig.
TP1322, Bennan, is such a trig. Minimal exertion needed. It is a drive up a small track and it stands next to a small reservoir. As expected, this had also met the same fate as the previous white trig.
Now admit it: a trig in the sun with a view is a truly beautiful thing eh?
Thursday's trig was found on the way to see the King's Caves on the west coast of Arran. This took a couple of goes to reach as our initial approach was via a fern covered slope. Now I can do ferns...but not when they are taller than me. So we approached via a forest (and a bit of fence hopping), to find TP6539, Torr Righ Mor.
View across to the Mull of Kintyre.
My last trig was on the Friday after a visit to the Arran Distillery in the north of the island. Again, an easy find as you simply park up at the village of Catacol and climb up. When you run out of hill to climb you know you're there. And there is even something to lean on whilst you await the arrival of your photographer...
TP2046, Catacol.
I never did make it to my planned 7th trig. On Saturday the forecast weather (sunny intervals with showers) turned out to be pretty wet, as in constant heavy rain. And although I'm waterproof and don't mind a bit of precipitation, lack of waterproof trousers put me off and the tea shop called instead. And, anyway, best leave some for my next visit eh?
Our cottage was in Lamlash and, joy of extreme joys, I could actually see the trig on Holy Island opposite without having to leave the lounge.
So the first trig was TP3987, Holy Island. A wonderfully hot day which rendered this a shorts and tshirt trig. Not to mention Budhist prayer flags to add a bit of flair.
It was clear enough to see the Ailsa Craig.
On the way back down we detoured around the south east of Holy Island to view one of Stevenson's latest lighthouses, and the first square one constructed.
A well maintained lighthouse.
The next day we tackled the highest point on Arran, Goat Fell. TP3393, Goat Fell, stands at 874m and it's an easy climb up from sea level. It was pretty cold and blustery at the top as we shivered in the clouds. We didn't hang around for long.
On Wednesday I decided we could bag a trig on the way to see the Machrie standing stones. We parked on the delightfully named String Road, and literally hoicked straight up the ridge. It amazes me that one encounters bogs even at the tops of hills, as we did with this one. Living near Dartmoor, this shouldn't surprise me at all.
We had noticed the day before that the Goat Fell trig had had a recent coat of paint and wondered if there was a trig pillar maintenance army on Arran. On arriving at TP0848 An Tunna we were convinced. Not only had this trig been recently painted, but the grass was still white.
There is so much white gloss being used that it has filled in the hollows underneath the metal hoops used for lashing one's theodolite to the tribrach.
And I am certainly not impressed with the black gloss paint over what would have normally been a beautifully weathered brass flush bracket. Whah :-(
Anyway, not enough to upset me for long.
After some standing stone bagging - I wonder if these were prehistoric prototypes of a trig pillar - I realised that our route home took us right next to a drive-by trig.
TP1322, Bennan, is such a trig. Minimal exertion needed. It is a drive up a small track and it stands next to a small reservoir. As expected, this had also met the same fate as the previous white trig.
Now admit it: a trig in the sun with a view is a truly beautiful thing eh?
Thursday's trig was found on the way to see the King's Caves on the west coast of Arran. This took a couple of goes to reach as our initial approach was via a fern covered slope. Now I can do ferns...but not when they are taller than me. So we approached via a forest (and a bit of fence hopping), to find TP6539, Torr Righ Mor.
View across to the Mull of Kintyre.
My last trig was on the Friday after a visit to the Arran Distillery in the north of the island. Again, an easy find as you simply park up at the village of Catacol and climb up. When you run out of hill to climb you know you're there. And there is even something to lean on whilst you await the arrival of your photographer...
TP2046, Catacol.
I never did make it to my planned 7th trig. On Saturday the forecast weather (sunny intervals with showers) turned out to be pretty wet, as in constant heavy rain. And although I'm waterproof and don't mind a bit of precipitation, lack of waterproof trousers put me off and the tea shop called instead. And, anyway, best leave some for my next visit eh?
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