Saturday 20th October 2018. An ascent of Caisteal Abhail 859m/427m, Isle of Arran, North Ayrshire, Scotland. 13.1km, with 860m of ascent. 6 hours 15mins.

Caisteal Abhail (Gaelic: ‘Fortress of the Ptarmigan’) is the second highest peak on the Isle of Arran, and the highest on the superb rugged granite ridge snaking north from Beinn Nuis (792m), on the western flank of Glen Rosa. For further details on the mountain, see at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caisteal_Abhail

In the company of my long-time walking companions JK, KM and NP, I parked my vehicle in the car park near a bridge, just off the A 841 that rings the coast of the island. After a false start, due to me leaving my map and GPS on the car (an increasingly frequent occurrence, I’m afraid) we set off west on the made path up the glen past a series of attractive cascades. We were mainly walking through forest at this stage, but the burn flowed down a wide-open cutting through the trees, lifting the oppressive atmosphere that hiking through commercial forest can induce.

We left the trees at a broken gate, with the view opening out to rough moors in autumn colours. However, despite breaks of sunshine, the cloud-base was firmly clamped down over the tops and ridges, not budging from around the 450-metre contour as it streamed north-east.

We crossed the fast-flowing burn, taking a boggy eroded path to the base of Sail an Im, the end of the long curving north-west ridge of Caisteal Abhail. The path twisted up onto the northern end of this ridge, turning south. We reached the cloud-base, and a fierce south-westerly hit us, impeding progress.

The ridge was set at an good angle for most of the route, making progress easier against the wind. The others stopped to don waterproof trousers. I did not – a poor decision, as it turned out. As we progressed up the ridge, the rain began, getting heavier as we ascended higher. The rain soaked my leggings, dripping into the tops of my walking boots. I should have stopped to don waterproof layers but, trusting the forecast, believed the rain would be just a short shower. It was not.

Duped by a side path at a marker cairn, we ended up on the western flank of the ridge and had to regain it by a short steep ascent up a shallow corrie. Progress increased again on the path high above Coire Garbh, though care was needed to ensure a sudden wind-gust did not knock us into the misty depths below.

The ridge steepened as we neared the summit plateau, and an impressive granite tor loomed before us through the mist as we approached. It looked a tricky climb, but my GPS indicated the summit tor was some 200 metres further on. We bypassed another tor, and then the summit tor blocked our way – a massive edifice that looked to be a difficult scramble from this western side. However, I had not read in any of the guidebooks that the summit was difficult to attain. A search in the fog revealed a side path skirting the northern side of the tor above Garbh Coire. This proved to be the key to unlock the summit route. A short easy scramble up the eastern side of the tor brought us onto the flat granite summit. The view was restricted to a disappointing ten metres.

The place was not conducive to a long stay today, so we retired down to the northern side of the tor to shelter, eat and drink. Now I had time, belatedly, to don waterproof trousers and gloves, and felt much better for doing so. We had originally planned to make our descent back to North Glen Sannox by the north ridge, which divides Garbh Coire from Coire nan Ceum, but the weather conditions made descending by our outward route a safer option.

As we wove our way back again between the tors, a large party of hikers appeared out of the fog, heading for the summit. Behind the main party was a woman clad in a T-shirt on her upper body trying to keep up, with no waterproofs. She looked thoroughly damp and miserable, and a candidate for hypothermia.

Our descent was without incident, this time keeping on the ridge crest all the way down to the marker cairn. We eventually emerged from the cloud again above the forest. The cloud-base had sunk lower in the course of the afternoon. The good path past the cascades brought us easily back again to the car.