Bohuntin Hill

If you ever hear the words "Private Water Supply" mentioned in a sentence without a swear word then the chances are it wasn't me.
M's Mum's house and neighbouring properties share the same private supply system on the croft out past Spean Bridge. Before I continue I would first say that the liquid from the tap is cool, clear, tasteless (the way it should be) and absolutely perfect for a really good cup of tea. By comparison our mains stuff smells like bleach sometimes and without preliminary filtration in one of these jugs is really unpalatable.

Why the greet?

A private water supply is simply a miniature version of what you would have for a town; an abstraction system, primary filtration, header tank and mains distribution with various stopcocks and valves and in this case UV treatment at each house. Ironically, after a storm or spell of heavy rain it is possible for wee twigs to clog the intake. The main tank continues to empty with normal consumption and the problem is probably three or four days old before it manifests itself. If it goes undetected air can get drawn in to the system and it is an absolute "swear word" to get going again. Once the blockage is cleared the big tank may take seven hours to fill up and then various valves need open and closed after this to finally get it going. It won't start working on its own.

Greet continues;

Despite my reservations about the taste of the mains water I would happily swallow that in exchange for the removal of this hassle, and slightly higher council tax. Stronaba township is not in wilderness, it is about a mile from the Commando Memorial. Hidden in the woods just above the statue is a massive new Scottish Water service reservoir (big water tank). It was built as part of a bigger multi million pound Lochaber scheme but this tank serves Spean Bridge and Roy Bridge. The croft is a mile from this structure and in between there are other properties including a camp ground and B and Bs all still taking water from hill burns. To the best of my knowledge there are no plans to connect Stronaba to the new service reservoir just a mile along the road. Who makes these decisions?

I did get a wee walk with Caley in between times. My cycle up Glen Roy last night whetted my appetite to take in more of this amazing landscape but there was little left of the afternoon. That is why Bohuntin Hill came to mind. If you park at the Glen Roy view point your first step from the car is on to the hill. If your aim is to climb as high as possible in the shortest time I can think of nowhere better. A horizontal distance of 1 km will see you gaining about 330m; an average gradient of 1 in 3. It is a good little work out. The maths and steep hill side are meaningless to Caley. I had him on the lead at the bottom to get past sheep but in any case he is captivated by the need to keep on retrieving that stick of his. He probably did a Munro in terms of ascent and a half marathon.

I can't say it was a pleasant day weather wise. The light was not at all special. Big black columns of rain swished across surrounding hills and there was always the feeling a right soaking was imminent. Despite this I thought the Glen looked brilliant and I cursed my restricted time window. This is the view up Glen Roy towards Brae Roy where I got soaked on the bike yesterday but the three tide lines on each side of the glen -The Parallel Roads- really make the picture for me. There are few, if any, better examples on our planet. (You will see them better hitting L for large)