November Bivy a Month (#3)

With a short weather window (low temps, dry conditions and clear skies) combined with a high solar activity forecast, the November BAM was hastily thrown together. Given the chance of seeing the northern lights, we assessed possible bivvy locations based on their elevation and view North. Based on this, we chose one of the highest points on the Campsie Fells located near a Met Office radar station.

I set off from Milngavie pretty late, around 11pm as my wife had been on a night out. This is part of joy around BAM - given there is no time or distance pressure we can leave at any time and go as far or close as we like or is possible. I met Campbell and we headed along the old railway towards Lennoxtown and the start of the long climb up the crow road.

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On this occasion we had Luke along for his first BAM ride. While we were travelling light, he was on his steel frame tourer and even had along a cheese board. Legit!

Nevertheless, he was happy (type 2 sorta happy) climbing the long 5km climb alongside us. To get to the radar station you climb up the main road and then join an off-road access path for the rest of the way.
There was the usual banter but having Luke along meant we got a chance to catch up with his news. Which on this occasion was cantered along the face he had had to recently close down his bike shop. Sad news, but a reflection of the wider industry struggles. He was happy though, having given it a solid effort for the past few years and an engineering career to move back into.

After a quick picture next to the golf ball, we jumped the wall heading to the trig point. Not only did this have great views looking north, it was also a fantastic viewpoint overlooking the bright lights of Glasgow.

We set up camps and tucked into our snacks,; campbell and i jealous of the cheese and biscuits setup Luke was enjoying.

It was bitterly cold but that meant solid dry ground for camp and also kept the sky clear, meaning we had  incredible views for miles.

Unfortunately the solar activity had calmed down so we didn’t see any northern lights, but the moon provided great light for the mountains in the distance.

With a dram or two warming our cores, we jumped into our bags to head to sleep.

I was woken in the middle of the night with rain on my face. Gone were the clear skies and in their place was mist. On this occasion, it wasn’t rain. Instead, we were in the clouds and it was the condensation. I closed over my bivvy bag, leaving a small air hole and tried to get back to sleep.

Waking in the morning, we packed our kit with the intention of getting down the hill asap to some food. Google maps promised us a cafe in Lennoxtown at the foot of the Crow Road would be open, but we were skeptical. After a cold descent in our full winter down gear our fears were realised. However, along the road there was another little unlisted cafe that had a light on. Result. A good old Scottish morning roll and a cup of tea to warm us up.

We chatted for a while about the previous night, future trips and the general concept of BAM, and how it is a great focus to encourage adventure out of what feels like nothing. It was a quick fuel stop before we parted ways to our respective homes and duties!

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