Beinn Uais

Digital StillCamera

 A’ bruidhinn mun Bheinn…. 

Tha sinn uile eòlach air “a’ Bheinn”, comharra-stiùiridh agus samhla Rois an Ear, agus cuspair-còmhraidh maireannach fad deich mhìosan na bliadhna co-dhiù: “Chan eil sneachd air a Bheinn fhathast, ach… / Aidh, cha bhi fada gus am bi an sneachd air ais air a’ Bheinn / Seall, tha sneachd air a’ Bheinn mar-thà /  Tha an sneachd air a’ Bheinn gu math tràth (anmoch) am bliadhna…” (amsaa gun chrìch). Tha druim Bheinn Uais na sheasamh àrd is fada os cionn Linne Chrombaid, ri fhaicinn bho Linne Mhoireibh agus bho fhada a-staigh san tìr, uile-làthaireach is druidhteach.

Ach dè cho eòlach ‘s a tha sinn air ‘ar’ Beinn ann an dà-rìribh? Tha cuid ann an Ros an Ear a tha air a dìreadh, le cinnt, ach tha amharas agam gu bheil cuid fada nas motha ann nach robh riamh air a mullach, mar mi fhìn. Bidh mi a’ togail dealbhan dhi uair is uair, fad bhliadhnaichean, gun eòlas mionaideach a bhith agam mu a deidhinn. Tha i ann, gu simplidh, na cùl-raon dhan “Linne” agus do ar pìos beag den dùthaich. Chuir mi romham barrachd fiosrachaidh fhaighinn a-mach.

frog Ben W. Ian Mitchell CC‘S e Tèarmann Nàdar Nàiseanta a th’ anns a’ Bheinn, a fhuair an cruth àraidh a tha aice an-diugh aig deireadh Linn na Deighe o chionn mu 10,000 bliadhna, as dèidh iomadh gluasad chreagan is talmhainn tro reothadh is aiteadh na deighe, agus fo bhuaidh nan eigh-shruthan, a  thog ulbhagan bho àiteachean eile air a’ Ghàidhealtachd agus dh’fhàg iad sgapte air a’ Bheinn nan “iomraill”.  Air an adhbhar sin tha àrainneachd nàdarra na beinne gu math caochlaideach. Air na mullachan chithar raon còinnich cloimhiche as fharsaing san RA, agus anns na coireachan tha lùsan artaigeach is ailpeach. Ma bhios tu fòrtanach chì thu tàrmachan, no na h-amadain-mhòintich, a thogas an nid air talamh an dròma. Nas ìsle air na leathadan chithar beith-bheag sna boglaichean, critheann agus caorann, agus iomadh seòrsa dhearcan. (Barrachd fiosrachaidh an seo: http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/designatedareas/BenWyvis.pdf )

Tha an luchd-coiseachd glè dheidheil air Beinn Uais cuideachd. ‘S e sreath mhullach a tha innte agus Glas Leathad Mòr am fear as àirde dhiubh (1046m), le seallaidhean farsaing àlainn, agus (a rèir Walkhighlands http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/lochness/Benwyvis.shtml) ‘s e aon de na An Cabar cairn Ben W. Ian Stewart CCRothachan as fhasa th’ innte – ann an sìde bhrèagha. Ach chan urrainn do dhaoine a bhith cinnteach idir gum bi an t-sìde brèagha air a’ mhullach ged ‘s a bha i aig toiseach na cuairt, mar a fhuair aon choisiche a-mach anns an Dùbhlachd (“A Scary Ben Wyvis”): “…wind must be 70-80 mph on our backs. Can’t walk,wind taking us off our feet and we slide along. Now the snow starts… visibility must be 3-4m in heavy blizzard. Everythings white, no horizon.. compass frozen over cant see it, water frozen cant drink it, slipped on ice, lost eye contact with party…” http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3380

Mar a chithar, ma-thà, faodaidh a’ Bheinn a bhith fìor araidh air ainm ‘Uais’. Chan fhaodar ràdh le cinnt co às a tha an t-ainm sin, ach tha e coltach gu bheil e ceangailte ri ‘uabhas’ air neo ‘fuathas’, an dà chuid le blas gruamach agus drùidhteach. Faodaidh beagan sneachda a bhith air fhàgail anns na coireachan fad na bliadhna, agus tha tradisean ann gum b’ fheudar do Thriath nan Rothach Foulis ballsneachda bho mhullach na Beinne a thoirt dhan rìgh gach Fèill Eòin (meadhan an t-Samraidh) gus am faigheadh e am fearann aige air a’ Bheinn a chumail. Mar a thuirt Thomas Pennant (Tour of Scotland) ann an 1769: ” .. he seems to be in no danger of forfeiting his right by failure of the quit-rent, for snow lies in the form of a glaciere in the chasms of Benwewish, a neighbouring mountain, throughout the year.” http://www.appleby.org.uk/ben_wyvis_history.htm

P1280693Ach leugh mi sgeul na b’ ùire mun Bheinn, a tha a’ dèiligeadh ris an ‘uabhas’ aice, agus ‘s e sin uabhas nach eil idir cho nàdarra ris an eagal a bha air an neach-coiseachd a dh’ainmhich mi gu h-àrd – taing do Ross and Cromarty Heritage airson seo:  “One day in August, some years ago, a local mountaineer was coming back down An Cabar when he heard a strange noise some way off. It sounded like one of those plastic containers that cakes come in, being crumpled up. It got louder and louder, and was clearly coming up the hill towards him. It was a nice sunny day, and not even a breeze. He looked about carefully for any sign of wind, or movement of the vegetation, or anything else which might explain what was happening, but there was none. By this time he had got down on one knee in case it was a twister. It continued to approach and eventually passed him about two metres away and disappeared into a nearby rock-face; then all was quiet again. A day or two later, the same man was in Inverness, walking along Ness Walk, when a large lorry pulled up – mostly on the pavement. On the nearside door was the text ‘Ben Wyvis – hill of terror’.” http://www.rossandcromartyheritage.org/communit/p37/ev/oe/p37_ev_oe01.html

Latha air choireigin tha mi fhìn airson coiseachd air mullaich Beinn Uais, gus an stòras nàdarra agus na seallaidhean brèagha fhaicinn, agus gus dearbhadh dhomh fhìn gur urrainn dhomh – ach cha bhi mi a’ dol ann sa gheamhradh agus cha bhi mi nam aonar. Agus anns an eadar-àm leanaidh mi orm a’ togail mo chuid dealbhan…

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Ben Wyvis

P1280714We’re all familiar with “The Ben”, landmark and symbol of Easter Ross, and inexhaustible topic of conversation for at least 10 months of the year: “No snow on the Ben yet, but.. / Aye, it won’t be long till the snow’s back on the Ben / Look, there’s snow on the Ben already / The snow’s early (late) on the Ben this year…” and so on, endlessly. Ben Wyvis’s skyline stands high and long above the Cromarty Firth, visible from the Moray Firth and from far inland, omnipresent and impressive.

But how much do we really know about ‘our’ ben? There are certainly a good few in Easter Ross who have climbed it, but I suspect that there are even more, like myself, who’ve never been on the top. I’m forever taking pictures of it, and have been for years, without actually knowing about it in any detail. It’s just there, backdrop to “the Firth” and to our wee bit of the country. I decided to find out a bit more.

moss Ben W. Ian Mitchell 1 CCThe Ben is a National Nature Reserve. It settled into its current shape by the end of the Ice Age, about 10,000 years ago,  after many movements of rock and earth caused by the freezing and thawing of the ice, and through the impact of glaciers, which picked up boulders from other places in the Highlands and left them scattered on the Ben as ‘erratics’. For that reason the natural environment of the Ben is very varied. On the tops you see the largest area of woolly hair-moss in the UK, and in the corries there are arctic and alpine plants. If you are lucky you may see ptarmigans, or the dotterels who nest on the ground of the ridge. Further down the slopes you can see dwarf birches in the blanket bog, aspens and rowans, and many kinds of berries. (More information here:  http://www.snh.org.uk/pdfs/publications/designatedareas/BenWyvis.pdf)

Hillwalkers are also very fond of Ben Wyvis. The Ben is actually a chain of tops, the highest of which is Glas Leathad Mòr (1046 m), with extensive, beautiful views, and (according to Walkhighlands http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/lochness/Benwyvis.shtml) is one of the easiest DSCN4963Munros – on a fine day.  But there is no guarantee at all that the weather will be fine on the top even if it was when you started out, as one walker discovered (‘A Scary Ben Wyvis’):  “…wind must be 70-80 mph on our backs. Can’t walk,wind taking us off our feet and we slide along. Now the snow starts… visibility must be 3-4m in heavy blizzard. Everythings white, no horizon.. compass frozen over cant see it, water frozen cant drink it, slipped on ice, lost eye contact with party…” http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3380

As we see, then, the Ben can certainly live up to its name, ‘Wyvis’ – an English rendering of the Gaelic ‘Uais’ or ‘Uabhais’.  It can’t be said for certain where the name came from, but it’s probable that it’s connected to the Gaelic word ‘uabhas’ (awe, terror) or ‘fuathas’ (spectre, apparition), both with a distinctly gloomy and impressive flavour. There can be some snow left in the corries all year round, and there’s a tradition that the chief of the Munros of Foulis had to deliver a snowball to the king every Midsummer’s Day if required to, in order to hang onto his land on the Ben. As Thomas Pennant said in his Tour of Scotland in 1769: ” .. he seems to be in no danger of forfeiting his right by failure of the quit-rent, for snow lies in the form of a glaciere in the chasms of Benwewish, a neighbouring mountain, throughout the year.” http://www.appleby.org.uk/ben_wyvis_history.htm 

Digital StillCameraBut I read a more recent story about the Ben, which also deals with the ‘uabhas’ aspect, though this time it’s a less natural terror than the fear felt by our hillwalker mentioned above – thanks to Ross and Cromarty Heritage for this: “One day in August, some years ago, a local mountaineer was coming back down An Cabar when he heard a strange noise some way off. It sounded like one of those plastic containers that cakes come in, being crumpled up. It got louder and louder, and was clearly coming up the hill towards him. It was a nice sunny day, and not even a breeze. He looked about carefully for any sign of wind, or movement of the vegetation, or anything else which might explain what was happening, but there was none. By this time he had got down on one knee in case it was a twister. It continued to approach and eventually passed him about two metres away and disappeared into a nearby rock-face; then all was quiet again. A day or two later, the same man was in Inverness, walking along Ness Walk, when a large lorry pulled up – mostly on the pavement. On the nearside door was the text ‘Ben Wyvis – hill of terror’.” http://www.rossandcromartyheritage.org/communit/p37/ev/oe/p37_ev_oe01.html

One day I’d like to walk along the tops of Ben Wyvis myself, to see the natural heritage and the beautiful views, and to prove to myself that I can do it – but I won’t go in the winter, and I won’t go alone. And meanwhile I’ll just carry on taking my pictures….

Dealbhan san artaigil /Pictures in the article:  2, 3, 6 via Creative Commons Licence – mòran taing / many thanks!

2. Ian Mitchell  http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1369455

3. Ian Stewart http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2400032

6. Ian Mitchell http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1369446

Tha na dealbhan eile agam fhìn / all the other pictures are my own