Hills of Britain and Ireland
OS Map of Creag Bhan
The third man
I was already seriously late on my mission to get crumpets and cream when I came round the corner and thought, WTF is that?! (Jo Evans, do you need any help?) We don't have protests in this part of the world. But stood in the driving rain and freezing wind, outside what is shown on Google Map as the West Highland Naturist Retreat, were four individuals (almost the population of a whole Ardnamurchan Community) stood at the side of the road holding placards up every time a vehicle passed (about once every ten minutes, on this road to the isles. Being as nosey as I was this morning, I pulled over to find out what was going on. Boy, if the previous two men I had met that day had a story to tell, then this was a going to be a whole volume. The ex-wildlife constable and his wife wanted to set up a respite care centre, a refuge for severely disadvantaged children, where they could escape the trauma and mental illness caused by modern life in a peaceful and tranquil environment. To get the charity on its feet and raise alot of money, John, the ex-wildlife constable took a 125cc Honda (a great make) 10hp moped and rode it round the outermost circumfrence of the UK using tracks and roads around the whole UK and Northern Ireland coastline, a distance of some 8000 miles, sleeping under bridges and in culverts, never staying in hotels and B&Bs and achieved the whole trip in just ONE MONTH. On the same Honda moped he undertook a trip up to within 600 miles of the north Pole and across Russia and Siberia, and down through Africa,.....and all over..... I was bedazzled by his achievements but it is all documented on www.kirstyskids.org" rel="noreferrer nofollow www.kirstyskids.org Many people seem to have OBE's for far lesser achievements than this man has undertaken worldwide So the respite was set up and successfully run for 11 years until Network Rail diverted a waterway to take the stress off an ancient bridge on the Fort William to Mallaig railway. Up here, when it rains the amount of water coming off the mountains is amazing , creating huge waterfalls everywhere. Unfortunately Network Rail had succeeded in diverting one water course straight through the main house of the respite causing enormous damage to it. And of course ensuring no children or their families could benefit from the care centre for years at a time Not surprisingly the care centre want Network Rail to pay for the damage and compensate them as they are a not for profit, no expenses charity, they haven't got hundreds of thousands of pounds for repairs. The list of complaints is too extensive for me to detail, but includes having arc lighting with powerful noisy generators running right next to the house at night, having heavy caterpillar earth moving machinery crushing kayaks used by the kids and trying to bury the evidence, heavy equipment churning up the road, flooding a meadow of incredibly rare orchids behind the house, totally destroying the tranquility of the respite, and causing a torrent of mud and mountain river to flood through the house. So, that is what the protest is about....not explained very well by me at all! But I think I did get a nice portrait shot of the ex-wildlife constable. And you can see why he looks so angry! In a nutshell Kirsty's Kids say "Last time Network Rail worked there (to protect their bridge) they destroyed our centre. We were forced to close for a year and repair THEIR mess with NO financial or physical support EVEN though they admitted liability!!! And now they expect us to do it all again!!!"
07-Feb-22 • PentlandPirate: Slapdash Photography • flickr
kirstyskids charity respite refuge 51868949535
The Ex-Wildlife Constable
Ya what? What's a wildlife constable? Well up here things are different. The big money crimes are........ Apparently some people come to the area, perhaps Germans as tourists in camper vans, with secret egg incubator behind the fitted fridge, so John told me. Apparently they know where the nests are with the most valuable eggs. Each peregrine falcon egg or chick could sell for £ 30,000 in Saudi Arabia. It's things like that that justify having Wildlife Constables in the Highlands. Wildlife is big business and can be big crime too.
07-Feb-22 • PentlandPirate: Slapdash Photography • flickr
portrait wildlifeconstable highlands scotland angry sad concerned passionate expression 51868299291
Landscapeview from the road Fort William to Mallaig A830, Scotland
The road was constructed by Thomas Telford in the early 19th century. It remained a single-track road throughout most of the 20th century, with the final section being upgraded in 2009. As the Road to the Isles, it has been celebrated as a historic part of Scottish culture. P1070893b
06-Apr-18 • Alta alatis patent • flickr
landscape scotland a830 41444294194
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338495627
OS Map
This is OS mapping. In some areas, OpenStreetMap shows more footpaths
Spatial NI has online OSNI mapping. Click "Basemap Gallery" (4 squares icon at the top).
Now would be a good time for a cup of tea.
GPX Editor
Record map clicks
Reload map
Photos
Please tag your photos and upload them to the British and Irish Mountains group on Flickr
The other photos have been geo-tagged as on or around the summit. For less busy mountains, it can be a little hit and miss.
The third man
I was already seriously late on my mission to get crumpets and cream when I came round the corner and thought, WTF is that?! (Jo Evans, do you need any help?) We don't have protests in this part of the world. But stood in the driving rain and freezing wind, outside what is shown on Google Map as the West Highland Naturist Retreat, were four individuals (almost the population of a whole Ardnamurchan Community) stood at the side of the road holding placards up every time a vehicle passed (about once every ten minutes, on this road to the isles. Being as nosey as I was this morning, I pulled over to find out what was going on. Boy, if the previous two men I had met that day had a story to tell, then this was a going to be a whole volume. The ex-wildlife constable and his wife wanted to set up a respite care centre, a refuge for severely disadvantaged children, where they could escape the trauma and mental illness caused by modern life in a peaceful and tranquil environment. To get the charity on its feet and raise alot of money, John, the ex-wildlife constable took a 125cc Honda (a great make) 10hp moped and rode it round the outermost circumfrence of the UK using tracks and roads around the whole UK and Northern Ireland coastline, a distance of some 8000 miles, sleeping under bridges and in culverts, never staying in hotels and B&Bs and achieved the whole trip in just ONE MONTH. On the same Honda moped he undertook a trip up to within 600 miles of the north Pole and across Russia and Siberia, and down through Africa,.....and all over..... I was bedazzled by his achievements but it is all documented on www.kirstyskids.org" rel="noreferrer nofollow www.kirstyskids.org Many people seem to have OBE's for far lesser achievements than this man has undertaken worldwide So the respite was set up and successfully run for 11 years until Network Rail diverted a waterway to take the stress off an ancient bridge on the Fort William to Mallaig railway. Up here, when it rains the amount of water coming off the mountains is amazing , creating huge waterfalls everywhere. Unfortunately Network Rail had succeeded in diverting one water course straight through the main house of the respite causing enormous damage to it. And of course ensuring no children or their families could benefit from the care centre for years at a time Not surprisingly the care centre want Network Rail to pay for the damage and compensate them as they are a not for profit, no expenses charity, they haven't got hundreds of thousands of pounds for repairs. The list of complaints is too extensive for me to detail, but includes having arc lighting with powerful noisy generators running right next to the house at night, having heavy caterpillar earth moving machinery crushing kayaks used by the kids and trying to bury the evidence, heavy equipment churning up the road, flooding a meadow of incredibly rare orchids behind the house, totally destroying the tranquility of the respite, and causing a torrent of mud and mountain river to flood through the house. So, that is what the protest is about....not explained very well by me at all! But I think I did get a nice portrait shot of the ex-wildlife constable. And you can see why he looks so angry! In a nutshell Kirsty's Kids say "Last time Network Rail worked there (to protect their bridge) they destroyed our centre. We were forced to close for a year and repair THEIR mess with NO financial or physical support EVEN though they admitted liability!!! And now they expect us to do it all again!!!"
07-Feb-22 • PentlandPirate: Slapdash Photography • flickr
kirstyskids charity respite refuge 51868949535
The Ex-Wildlife Constable
Ya what? What's a wildlife constable? Well up here things are different. The big money crimes are........ Apparently some people come to the area, perhaps Germans as tourists in camper vans, with secret egg incubator behind the fitted fridge, so John told me. Apparently they know where the nests are with the most valuable eggs. Each peregrine falcon egg or chick could sell for £ 30,000 in Saudi Arabia. It's things like that that justify having Wildlife Constables in the Highlands. Wildlife is big business and can be big crime too.
07-Feb-22 • PentlandPirate: Slapdash Photography • flickr
portrait wildlifeconstable highlands scotland angry sad concerned passionate expression 51868299291
Landscapeview from the road Fort William to Mallaig A830, Scotland
The road was constructed by Thomas Telford in the early 19th century. It remained a single-track road throughout most of the 20th century, with the final section being upgraded in 2009. As the Road to the Isles, it has been celebrated as a historic part of Scottish culture. P1070893b
06-Apr-18 • Alta alatis patent • flickr
landscape scotland a830 41444294194
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338495627
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338494957
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338494137
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338493227
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967
Cairn commemorating the crash of Avro Shackleton XF702 on 21st December 1967 - Act of Remembrance 21st December 2017 - Cairn is at NM 79335 83668 Plaque is at NM 79339 83679 - Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Site Name Arienskill Classification Aircraft (20th Century), Commemorative Cairn (Period Unassigned) Canmore ID 331507 Site Number NM78SE 23 NGR NM 7933 8367 Datum OSGB36 - NGR Permalink canmore.org.uk/site/331507" rel="nofollow canmore.org.uk/site/331507 - ID:MHG30867 Type of record:Monument Name:Aircraft Crash Site, Creag Bhan Grid Reference:NM 794 841 Map Sheet:NM78SE Civil Parish:ARISAIG AND MOIDART Geographical Area:LOCHABER
21-Dec-17 • Doffcocker • flickr
highlandher mhg30867 24338492617
Videos
None found
Notes
- Data: Database of British and Irish Hills v18.2
- Maps: We use OS mapping for England, Scotland, Wales, and the Isle of Man. Sadly, Channel Islands, Northern (OSNI) and Southern Ireland (OSI) mapping isn't available online, so we use Openstreetmap.