Year of publication 1990 - Fell and Rock Climbing Club

THE GREAT CHASE: THE SEARCH FORWATERS COTTAGEJohnHartleyJust before an Easter break in the early 60s a heavily laden A35 vanbattled over the old Shap Road (A6) bound for Glencoe. The weather,as usual, was vile. As driver, I felt as though 1 were the helmsman of alifeboat rather than a driver of a motor vehicle as the van submergedbetween the waves of rain and spray billowing out from the wheels ofnorth-bound trucks.Some six hours later we were putting up a tent in Glencoe,optimistically looking forward to an Easter's mountaineering in themagnificent mountains of Lome and Lochaber. The first day was atraverse of the Aonaeh Eagach ridge in horizontal driving sleet. We gotback to the tent soaked, wriggled out of our wet clothes and into drysleeping bags and made a meal. The weather was getting worse. The tentwas firmly anchored but the fabric began to rip around one of the polesand. before long, the tent became a disaster area. In an increasinglyviolent storm, we donned our somewhat moist gear, collapsed the tentand bundled it, still wet and dripping, into the back of the van. Thethree of us followed it in and without a further word I turned the vantowards the Lake District. We arrived at Brackenclose in the early hoursof the morning and quietly found vacant bunks. I remember thinking tomyself just before slipping into a deep exhausted sleep, "gosh. I wish wehad a hut in Scotland".I became aware that David Roberts raised the matter of purchasing ahut in Scotland during his presidency. A property was found called"Breckiet House" in Ballachulish and members of the Committee hadbeen to examine the property and come away with mixed feelings. Asurveyor's report had been obtained and this had not made veryattractive reading. Apparently, after several meetings spread over aconsiderable period of time, the project died a death and little morepositive was done until a cottage was found in Glencoe which againneeded substantial structural work and which, at the end of the day.would have provided only modest-sized accommodation. This matterwas not pursued any further.I had gathered that the surveyor's report had rather disturbed anddemoralised the Committee. Such reports always stress the defects anddifficulties associated with any property: remember always that thesurveyor is not only looking at the building but watching his own back as8