Bruce's Crown 2024 report by Alasdair Meldrum

Friday (and Saturday morning!) adventure was the "new" Bruce's Crown race. The Bruce's Crown race Bruce's Crown first came to my attention 4 years ago when I did the Ring of Fire route in the Galloways - 48miles and 50 summits! I kept getting snippets of an amazing race that followed a similar route. Step forward Nicky Spinks who decided to resurrect the race! We needed a team of four so Mark Caldwell Mark Smith and Alasdair McCallum "stepped" forward! We knew the night time navigation was going to add to the challenge, but we had not planned for the added dimension of Storm Kathleen blowing in! A 4.30pm start, to try and get over the Mingaffs before darkness, we almost made it! We never quite got the best line so endured a bit of Galloway terrain before the check point. Up onto the Rhinn's of Kell's we struggled to find Darou summit. Navigation, for real, in the dark and clag and wind and rain is hard! We were soon following walls and tracks to summits, but everything looks different in the dark. Follow the track - which keeps disappearing in the dark or follow the compass? We did a bit of both and hit the check points without any further bother! The rain had started, but fortunately the gale force wind was mainly at our back, except on the approach to the summit of Bow where we got a full sideways battering! Full waterproof kit was on and I can highly recommend double waterproof jackets - its a life saver! We finally got onto the forest track at Loch Doon for the trudge to Sheil Hill. Two aid stations manned by Galloway Mountain Rescue Team eased the journey - great work by all the volunteers! After last manned checkpoint, with 30 plus miles in the legs the real fun was about to start! Getting down the Awful Hand ( Sheil Hill, Craigmasheenie, Tarfessock, Kirriereoch Hill, Merrick), back to Loch Trool into the teeth of Storm Kathleen! As we approached the summit of Shalloch it was a challenge to make forward progress! You know it is windy when you have to make a serious effort to go downhill! We were all running low on energy and regularly re grouped behinds walls and stones, but finally made it to summit of Merrick for the descent and down the road to the finish. A great adventure and day (and night) in the hills. Last time I was on summits with weather that bad is probably 30 odd years ago when I taught skiing at Glenshee - at least then you could drop off the hill in minutes.

Setting off first on the newly resurected Bruces Crown Race from the benign Caldons Camp felt a little underwhelming...boy how that would change as the night unfolded. I had warned the team Apocolypse Now, Andy Heading, Marianne Heading & Steve Sanders, not to judge the race by the first climb. Lamachan is an energy sapping slog and when you get to the top its no summit , just the end of the wall. It was still broad daylight but thick cloud and a momentary lapse of concentration and the feint trod was gone causing a wee wobble. An equaly momentary break in the cloud and we could see the line between Benebrack and a gnarly lumb of rock just to the right leading nicely down to Nick of Curleywe. Curleywee, short and sweet is probably the nicest summit on the round but in zero viz its just another cairn on a hill. Got a good line down and good to see Ross & James hunkered down in loup of Lagan.

Ground to map nav was now becoming impossible so it was point to point over gnarly ground and intermittant ATV track to Millfore trig. It should have been a fairly straight line over flatish boggy ground towards Cairngarroch. A short while later we are looking into a craggy abbys of swirling mist, we had drifted right towards Buckdas of Cairnbaber ( couldnt make it up could you !!). 200m dog leg brought us back to flat ground and .. way hey a fence and a stile, not just any stile the slipperyest stile in the world, we opted to stride the wire. Cairngarroch summit then a tussock fest descent down to CP5. Food and cheery MRT. With the Quarry OoB a contour of Darrou was off so it was strait up, Steve S up front found us a great line & bang on.

The rain had started in ernest and the wind was picking up, we headed straight over Little Millyea and headed for the hand rail walls not before putting on another layer of waterproofing. It was turning out to be "T' Big Coat Weather".

What could possibly go wrong on th Corserine ridge..? theres hand rail ,ATV track and if you stay high, nice short grass & easy undrfoot..... Drum Roll... enter Kathleen the goddess of washingmachines, someone had pissed her right off & she was going to make life hell. Its a long way alng the Corserine ridge and under normal circumstances you can roll along from easy summit to easy summit. Andrew and Marianne had the bit in their teeth and the descent to the woods in their sights, blessed with longer legs than steve& I were striding out. Next minute M is no longer next to A, Kathleen has picked her up chucked her 10 feet sideways and left her in a heap. They link arms and gain some stability.

Finaly, out of the wind in the shelter of the trees we have a breather and some food , the first for hours. I curled up on the floor to die then thought better of it and had a jell. Pulling into CP11 was like pulling into Tebay ! Loads of food, Great MRT and volunteers catered for our every need. There was no will to carry on so we pulled the plug. I went back up last W/e to take a few picture and look for a few bits of kit reported lost up there Pic below of the Range of the Awful Hand.

Big thanks to Galloway MRT & all the volunteers who had to endure a pretty rough night on our behalf. A big hand to James upon whose shoulders the decision rested to send teams over the top or through another bog to finish, Good call James.

Word on the street is entries are opening soon! In time honoured Marketing blurb...." Book early to avoid dissapointment!!!"