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Report on Goatfell
17 December 2011
Today?s Craggies:- Irene, Kathryn, Mark and Peter
The first snow of the year fell and Arran was as enticing as ever. We caught the 9:45am ferry from Ardrossan and 1 hour later we were in Brodick. Got the bus to Corrie then started our walk to Goatfell.
The sky was blue with a bitterly cold wind blowing. We could see the snow being blown off the hilltops in the distance. Visibility was perfect today and the mainland looked so close. Soon the path became icy then snowy. Peter and I were happy to take our time and encouraged Mark and Kathryn to race ahead. We stopped numerous times to take photos as you don?t get many days like this. The higher we climbed the stronger the wind. Peter and I decided by the time we reached the ridge where the Corrie and Brodick paths met that lunch was needed so we found an ideal spot sheltering beside a large rock. We watched Kathryn and Mark battle against the wind to make it to the summit. Apparently the wind was so strong that they had difficulty standing so touched the trig and made a hasty decent. Peter and I made our way down but lost the path as we veered too far to the right. This made walking in the deep snow difficult due to the boulders underfoot. Kathryn and Mark also lost the path but veered to the left and ended up along the deer fence.
We caught up with each other after crossing the golf course in Brodick and made it back just in time to catch the 4:40pm ferry. Peter and I had a leisurely day but Kathryn and Mark hadn?t even stopped for lunch as they were constantly aware of the time trying not to miss the ferry.
It was another great day in Arran which is one of our favourite places for walking, especially in the snow and on my birthday!!
Irene Cahill
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