Loch Ossian Sat 19th November

I am sitting on the jetty at the north east end of Loch Ossian about to eat my sandwich. I am blissfully alone because everyone else is walking on nearby hills, but I decided to walk round the loch (about 10 km round trip). I am now half way and I'm going to read my book (The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks) and relax for a while before I walk back to the hostel. The view down the loch from where I am sitting is really beautiful; there are ripples on the surface of the water and a light breeze but it is very mild weather for 19th November and I'm just wearing walking trousers and a t shirt. And boots of course! The loch is surrounded by bands of pine trees and behind them are the hills; Meall na Leitire Duibhe and Coire Creagach to my left (south) and Beinn na Lap to my right (north). And lots of other hills in the distance. The sky is pale blue with greyish white clouds whose edges are lit by sunlight. It is so peaceful.
The last time I was here was in November 1999 when the whole family climbed Beinn na Lap with the hill-walking club. This was because it was James' last Munro. It was a wonderful occasion and we all made it to the top even though the boys were tiny - Davie had just turned four, Ally was five and Jamie was nine. We had champagne and shortbread on the top to celebrate. We stayed in Loch Ossian Youth Hostel that time too and when we got home we were all very sick except Davie! Tummy bug or food-poisoning.  Let's hope history does not repeat itself!

Loch Ossian Youth Hostel was only the second hostel opened in Scotland, and the building was donated by Sir John Stirling-Maxwell of Pollok, who was a well known worthy gentleman and the Laird of Corrour Estate. The building was originally a boat house, not for boats but for guests on their way to Corrour Hunting Lodge who would wait for the steamer that would ferry them across the loch. The hostel opened on 24th May 1931 and although it has been renovated in 2003 it looks much the same today as in the old photo on the wall of the official opening. It is painted a pleasing dark green with white door and window sills and its setting is truly magnificent, nestling in a grove of pine trees on the edge of Loch Ossian with its own wee wind turbine for electricity. The hostel is comfy and cosy with a large wood-panelled living room containing a wood burning stove and a range cooker. It has two dormitories each for ten people, but in some ways it is quite simple - no fridge and very basic outdoor toilets. The toilets are in a hut outside and are compostable and non-flush; not great but they're still an improvement over the buckets they had in 1999! Yes, just buckets with disinfectant  in them and a plastic toilet seat on top. Dreadful.
Twelve years later we are back again with the hill-walking club. We drove up last night after work and caught the 8.40 p.m. train from Bridge of Orchy to Corrour. Then we put on our head torches and walked the mile to the hostel through the pitch dark and teeming rain. The nearest road ending is ten miles away at Rannoch so the walk from Corrour Station is the only way to get there. Us city folk are not used to such a complete lack of light and we were glad to see the welcoming lights of the hostel ahead. Some of the group were already there; there are fifteen of us this weekend and they are a really nice crowd some of whom we have known for a long time now. James is a stalwart of the club and the boys go on a lot of walks too, so they have grown up with the other children whose parents are members. Hill-walking with James and his friends has been a great experience for the boys and they all have a love of the hills. When I go along for a day trip or a weekend I am always made to feel very welcome. We had a pleasant evening, however I didn't sleep well because I have a cold and I know I must have disturbed some of the other girls by coughing although they were all very nice about it. After a hearty breakfast we all went on our different walks and will meet up later back at the hostel.