Saturday August 1, 2015

41The Herald Magazine

Left: Ben Venue in the Trossachs was the location of an incident that gave Nick

Nairn, opposite page, pause for thought, when a pleasant walk rapidly became

a situation fraught with danger PHOTOGRAPH: TRAVEL LIBRARY/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

MUNRO CHALLENGE

HOW TO TAKE PART

Polish your hiking boots and treat

yourself to a new rucksack: next

month sees the annual Isle of Skye

Blended Scotch Whisky Munro

Challenge taking place on Munros

across the country.

Following the success of last

years inaugural event, Isle of

Skye Blended Scotch Whisky, in

association with outdoor specialist

Tiso, invites everyone from novices

to outdoors enthusiasts to savour

the Scottish outdoors and support

the vital work done by Scottish

Mountain Rescue (SMR).

The Munro Challenge helps raise

awareness of the charitys life-

saving voluntary work, encourages

enjoyment of Scotlands beautiful

landscape and, most importantly,

raises money for the charity. Last

year walkers raised more than

21,000 for SMR.

Entry is simple assemble a

team of colleagues, friends or

family, or even take on a personal

challenge and climb on your own.

Complete the online registration

form and encourage everyone to

help you raise money then climb

one of Scotlands 282 Munros

this September.

Day in, day out, all year round,

SMR is a crucial resource to

all those who enjoy Scotlands

mountains and desperately

needs support.

More than 1,000 SMR volunteers

spend upwards of 30,000 hours

of their time just on call-outs every

year. They are often braving the

elements and risking their lives so

that we can all continue to walk,

climb and explore the Scottish

countryside. Annually it costs

around 1.2 million to run SMR,

with 70 per cent of that money

generated through fundraising

alone. Isle of Skye 8-Year-Old

Blended Scotch Whisky is the only

major commercial sponsor.

With hill-walking, climbing and

adventure travel in Scotland on the

increase, more and more pressure

is being placed on the voluntary

teams. Public support is key to

helping them with the provision of

their specialised rescue equipment

and much-needed additional

resources.

More information on the Munro

Challenge is available at Tiso stores

across Scotland.

To sign up or for further details, visit

isleofskyewhisky.com/munro-

challenge. The closing date for

registration is September 6, 2015.

I

TS BEEN a while. As nippers my siblings

and I would relish jaunts north to visit our

cousins in Taynuilt, then a small village

on the banks of Loch Etive. Jealous? Just

a little. Clark and Graham grew up with

both feet squarely in Highland life shinty,

fishing, er, Runrig while we made do with

coastal Ayrshires sober charms.

But its my birthday and Im going

back to Taynuilt (now, like yours truly,

considerably larger) after too long a

separation to see what fettle the Taynuilt

Hotel is in now that its owned by the

chef John McNulty, who counts the feted

Kilberry Inn among his past postings.

Well well, I think, as we survey the

bar. This is a huge step forward from the

libations of generations past. Besides

dozens of gins, the bar stocks an estimable

range of high-end whiskies and beers, the

latter including Innis & Gunn on draught

and bottles of such joys as Schiehallion

and Jarl. As for wine, the staff pride

themselves on selecting wine that will thrill

your palate without busting your budget.

Dinner is a similarly gratifying affair,

marrying profound flavours with the sort

of portions you need if you embrace the

outdoor life as you very much ought to

round these parts. We took our bikes from

Port Appin over to Lismore but there are

hills aplenty and opportunities for sailing

and fishing by the dozen. McNulty and his

young team are in their element, garlanding

robust, well-sourced and precisely cooked

mainstays with gourmet flourishes that put

a bowling ball in your belly and a smile

on your face. Their recently-awarded AA

Rosette is well deserved.

Our nautically-themed Etive Suite comes

with all the bells and whistles, though

for most of our stay I am too bushed by

eating, drinking and the outdoor life to pay

much attention. That said, if the quality of

ones sleep is a barometer then our room

is slumber nirvana. Ill be back, but I wont

leave it so long this time.

Sean Guthrie was a guest of the Taynuilt

Hotel. One nights dinner, B&B starts at

139 based on two sharing. Visit

taynuilthotel.co.uk or call 01866 822437.

BY SEAN GUTHRIE

TAYNUILT HOTEL

ARGYLL

his Port of Menteith cookery school, in

early January. He reached the 2,392ft/729m

summit and was enjoying lunch when he

noticed an ominous black cloud heading in

his direction. I remember thinking: That

looks quite substantial, he recalls. Four

or five minutes later, I couldnt see more

than a few metres in front of my nose.

Nairn spent an hour trying and failing

to find the path down. The wind was

picking up and it was strong enough to blow

me over. I was starting to think: This is a

bit dodgy. Nobody knew where I was and it

was starting to get really cold and snowy.

So he took a gamble. He sat on his

rucksack and attempted to slide to safety.

I went flying down this hill and hit a big

rock and went shooting up in the air. It was

that thing when youre rolling and bouncing

up and down, and Im thinking, If I hit my

head, Im in big trouble. However, I landed

the right way up, and I was fine.

Not all climbers are so lucky. Thats

why the work done by the volunteers who

make up Scottish Mountain Rescue is so

invaluable. Nairn agrees. Its incredibly

important what they do, he says. Anybody

who has ever been out on the hills and has

got into trouble knows that. Weve all got

the reassurance of knowing those guys are

there for us.

I know some of the mountain rescue

team, and I know they even get called out

on Christmas Day. They save lives and they

do it for nothing, so its great when we get

the opportunity to give a little bit back.

THE

GETAWAY

I had to be

rescued by

a guy coming

down the

other way.

But it didnt

put me off.

Quite the

opposite