The Smiddy, sitting below the foot hills of An Teallach The Smiddy” at Dundonnell is exactly what the name suggests: it was originally a working blacksmith’s forge serving the local community on the shores of Little Loch Broom. Smiddies were once an essential part of Highland life, providing tools, shoeing horses, and maintaining agricultural equipment…
Milehouse cottage, hut for the weekend Tucked away in Kincraig near Loch Insh, with the Cairngorms practically on the doorstep, Milehouse Cottage, owned by the Ladies Scottish Climbing Club, once again proved it’s a belter of a base for a club meet. It’s long been a favourite with outdoor folk and it’s not hard to…
There’s not many club meet firsts left in a mountaineering club lucky enough to boast such a deep bench of hut veterans, but Raymond managed to pull one out of the hat with this meet. No creaky bunkhouses, no smoky bothy tales, this time it was a booking at the Spean Bridge Community Centre. The…
Weather in Scotland so far in 2026 had been nothing short of abysmal, especially for those on the north and east sides of the country. Great hillwalking days had been very few and far between. There was a big BUT though for the club’s February meet – an unexpected but very welcome weather window signalled…
Crianlarich Youth Hostel – AGM & Burns Supper – 16th/17th January 2026 Blogger: Graeme Wilmott FRIDAY Members of the 45 Degrees Mountaineering Club travelled from near and far to gather for our AGM and Burns Supper meet, with Crianlarich Youth Hostel providing a base befitting both mountain adventures and later revelry. Parked right in the…
Elphin Caving Club Hut – 10th/11th October 2025 Guest Blogger: Graeme “The Shopkeeper” Wilmott It was almost a year to the day the club last visited the well sited Grampian Caving Hut in the spectacular landscape of Assynt, boasting superb views of Canisp, Suilven, and Cul Mor from the conservatory. In attendance: Angus Campbell, George Henderson,…
Coruisk Hut – 16th/17th June 2025 Ten years ago, the club visited the lonely Coruisk hut tucked below the southeastern edge of the great Cuillin ridge in Skye. Although we hadn’t had the greatest of weather, it was an unforgettable trip for different reasons – unplanned swims, submerged breeks and a gritty walk out over…
The 45 Degrees MC Burns Supper held at the end of January is always eagerly anticipated coming after a longer than average gap between meets. If the weather plays kind, there is the opportunity for some intrepid winter hillwalking – and if it doesn’t the social element of the meet more than makes up for…
The last club meet of 2023 saw us visit, what was for us, a new hut. More of a large holiday-home than a club hut (I actually drove past it thinking, “that can’t be it”!). Overlooking Loch Linnhe, Craigallan is situated about 2 miles from Ballachulish on the A828 to Oban, below the Western flanks…
This month’s meet saw a long-awaited return to the SMC’s Raeburn Hut at Laggan, the one and only previous meet there being back in March 2016, when the relatively recently-formed club enjoyed a great weekend of weather and wintry conditions. The weather was set fair once again, coinciding with the beginning of a cold snap…
45 Degrees Mountaineering Club 