lochearnhead 1964

LOCHEARNHEAD MODEL

WE COMMENCED the construction of the Lochearnhead model at the beginning of February. Mr. Sheppard explained to us that
it would be a long and tedious job and had previously instructed us what in general would be done in the construction of the model:
Mr. Tempest already had the base board prepared in the Carpenters' shop. We then set to work, first tracing the main contour lines,
starting with the base board representing a height of three hundred feet. The tracings were taken from a No. 54 Stirling Ordnance
Survey Map, and put on to a piece of hard-board the correct size of the shape and size of the contours. Before tracing on to the
hard-board the tracings were enlarged, as approximately as possible, to one and a half times the map size. After this the boards
were taken over to the Carpenters where Mr. Nutter or one of the boys cut out the irregular shapes on the band saw. During the
first week or two there was much scepticism at the 'queer' shapes that either Dave Blower or myself kept showing up with. We then
returned these shapes to the Art Room and nailed or glued them to the previous piece.
This work was carried out on Friday afternoons, during project period, and evenings, during Art Club classes. As we pressed on
anxiety crept upon us. Although it did not reveal itself to others I think Mr. Sheppard realized this and offered much encouragement.
These anxieties were due to us wondering whether or not we would complete it without any slips.
At first the shapes on the board looked out of proportion and seemed impossibly to be that which we had pictured in our minds,
but as time went on they gradually began to materialize into what we had pictured and expected, and we became confident in our
ability. At one point we had used almost every piece of hard board available, of the correct size.
By about the middle of March we had completed all work concerning the cutting and tracing of the hard board and shaped the
banks of the four main lochs and filled in any holes or joints with Alabastine. Before the shaping of the banks we had glued, with
Evo-Stik, correctly shaped pieces of coloured gelatine to represent the depth and colour of the water.
Because it was drawing near to the end of term, Mr. Sheppard allowed us to continue work on the model during art and tech.
drawing classes. When this extra time was granted to us we began the plaster work. Mixing the plaster and spreading it on to the
area we were working on and pressing and squeezing it here and there with our fingers, into the required shape, building up
mountain peaks and smoothing down valleys, glens, etc. We then covered all plaster work with thinly mixed Alabastine. After this
we drew in with pencil the routes of the rivers and locations of small lochs in the hills and valleys, and cut along them carefully
and not too heavily with small penknives.
The latter part of the plastering was carried out during the last five days of term. During these last five days we were given further
time still by being allowed to work all day in the Art Room with the model.
We then started painting. First we painted the four sides in black poster colour then the top surface in a very light green which was
a mixture of green and yellow, also poster colour. After this we painted the rivers and smaller lochs in blue poster colour. Then we
mixed a series of poster colours to try to give a rocky effect to some of the peaks. We then cut out, as carefully as possible, the
roads and railway lines. This was a very difficult job as we had to ensure that the road surface was clear and as flat and lifelike
looking as possible. These were then painted, the main road in red and the two secondary roads in yellow. The railway was then
painted black with short bisecting lines placed as close intervals along its whole length. The stations were painted as orange spots.
Then we wrote out a list of names of places and took it over to the Printing Department where Mr. Powell had a 'proof taken and
checked the size of the letters with the model. We then placed the model in a raised position and left it over the Easter period to
dry completely. When we had first put the plaster on it had, in
drying, become very warm. This phenomenon was due, Mr. Sheppard explained, to the molecules expanding through the mass of
drying plaster.
After returning from the Easter holidays Dave went to the Printers for the names, cut them and glued them on and then varnished
the completed model and left it, where the dust could not reach it, to> dry.
We wish to thank Mr. Sheppard for his supervision and help throughout the whole of the project.
VICTOR ROWLANDS Goldonian Summer 1964

AN OUTWARD BOUND COURSE
LIKE TO go on an Outward Bound course?' Mr. Newton asked Gordon and I.
'Yes please' was our instant reply, thinking what a nice holiday we were in for, but as you will see by the following account it was
no holiday!
When we arrived at Euston there was a special carriage reserved
for us on the train, which proved to be our first cut from civilization. After the journey we were greeted by the usual camping
weather—rain.
At the school, which is in Eskdale, Cumberland, we were given a meal and then split into patrols; this was so arranged that no two
people from the same area were in the same patrol. There were nine patrols altogether, all named after famous explorers. After all
the sorting out was completed we settled down for our first of many uncomfortable night's sleep.
We were roused at 6.30 a.m. next morning, and still half asleep went for a run round the tarn, and half-way round we received our
first shock, being told to run through the 'whimsey' (a small waterfall of ice-cold water). We were really awake when we got through.
Back in the dormitory we tidied up before breakfast, after which we went to assembly and then started our basic training for
mountain work first aid, camping, mountain rescue, rock climbing and cooking the types of food we would be issued with when
we went into the mountains. This training went on for the first week except for the Thursday, when we went (according to the
programme) 'for a quiet walk', but which turned out to be repairing an old wooden bridge nearby. For four hours we heaved and
tugged and eventually got one 25ft. log into position, after which we returned by a long route to the school. The evenings were all
spent listening to lectures about the mountains we were to climb.
FIRST EXPEDITION
This took place during the second week and we started off with a three-hour hike to Scafell, and after a four-hour climb reached
the summit, which is just over 3,000 ft. above sea-level. Going down was more fun as we had to descend some way on a rope, not
very far but it was quite nerve-racking, for our first experience of this type of thing.
Our first night was spent about 300 ft. under Scafell Pike, another peak on the ridge. It poured with rain all night and our only
shelter was one bivouac sheet between two. So you will appreciate no one slept that night. At 4 a.m. I heard a voice calling out to
the instructor, 'Sir, Brian won't get up', whereupon we followed the instructor and found their bivouac in Gin. of water. Brian was
lucky to get away with a mild attack of exposure.
At 7 a.m. we broke camp, all of us soaked to the skin, downhearted and hoping that we would be returning to school, but these
hopes were soon shattered when we reached an hotel where dry clothes were sent out to us.
After packing our gear again, we went off and over another mountain, Great Gable, which is just under 3,000 ft. high. On the top
Is a war memorial in memory of members of a climbing club who fell during the Great War of 1914-18. Down into Windy Gap
and up and over Green Gable we went until we came to an old quarry near Lake Buttermere, and it was here we stopped for our
second night, which we anticipated being as bad as the first, but it was not for my pal and I, we slept like logs!
Next morning we had the long trek back to school, and on the way we split into two groups, my group going over Indell Fell and
the other going round the bottom.
SECOND EXPEDITION
This was programmed as a climbing expedition, but the weather decided things differently for us, and we spent our time sitting in
the tents while the wind and rain did its best to beat the hide off us, and it very nearly did! The last night was the worst, and at
2 o'clock in the morning there was a. yell nearby 'where's the jolly old tent gone?' (or words to that effect). It had blown 50 yards
down the valley. As a result we then had to house the two unfortunates, making us four in a two-man tent, but not for long because
it was our turn to become involved in a collapse. Fortunately, with four of us, we were able to re-erect, and in any case we didn't
want to freeze to death. In the morning three of the five tents had been blown away, but in the daylight we were able to recover all
of them, which was a good thing as all lost property has to be paid for by the losers.
FINAL EXPEDITION
For this finale we had to make our own routes between certain check points. Our route took us over Filler Rock, about 3,000 ft.,
and as usual it rained all the while, and with low cloud and high wind things were not all that easy. On top of Filler Rock we met
two other patrols so we joined forces. It was at this point it was reported that we had a boy with exposure on our hands, so we
decided to go down with him as quickly as possible, but no sooner had we started than one of the other boys slipped and hurt his
knee, which meant we had to send five boys down with the exposure case, and at the same tune to get help for the other casualty.
We waited for three hours for someone to come, but no one did, so it was decided to move down under our own steam and
eventually we reached the base and after a lot of fuss and bother managed to get the two boys taken back to school. We got to
sleep about 1.30 a.m. that night. The rest of the expedition was spent walking over small fells, after which we made our way back
to school.
On the last Friday of the course we were given a medical check and a private interview with our patrol instructor. The rest of the
day was spent packing and clearing up, ending up with a large dinner in the evening.
At 5.30 a.m. on the Saturday morning we were wakened, and had our last meal before being transported to the station, and from
then on it was celebration all the way home.
It was really tough going all the while, but even so Gordon and I would like to' thank everyone who made it possible for us to go
on this course.
BERNARD MUNRO [Bernard's companion on this course was Gordon Fletcher—ED.]

LOCHEARNHEAD 1964
ON TUESDAY, 16th June at 6 p.m., all the boys who had been selected to go to Lochearnhead assembled in the gymnasium to
receive our briefing from Mr. Newton, who was in charge of all arrangements. This included a list of items we were to take,
including rucksacks and anaraks.
Friday, 19th June. During the afternoon we took all our kit down to the gymnasium where it was checked and packed properly.
Tentage, cooking utensils, maps, compasses, and all the general equipment was packed into bundles for easy loading on to the two
mini-buses, which had been hired for our week's expedition. Mr. Newton and Tony, who is a member of the Hertford Rover Crew,
and who had given up a week of his holidays to act as official examiner for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, arrived with
our transport at 8 p.m., and we were on our way by 8.30 p.m. There was a terrific thunderstorm which we managed to keep up
with all the way to the Scottish border, and then it stopped perhaps its passport was not in order. During our 416-mile journey we
made three stops for petrol and meals, which were haversack rations plus, of course, a good cup of tea. It was quite tiring for we
boys who were just riding, so goodness knows how Mr. Newton and Tony felt, driving all the way with no one to take over.
Saturday, 20th June. We arrived at Lochearnhead at 11 a.m., and unpacked the vans and stored our gear in the places at the station.
Mr. Newton prepared dinner for us, which was very good. After we had eaten he gave us our first lecture which was about the
station and how it had been made into a mountain training base. Following this we were given lectures on hygiene, camp and
mountain clothing, care of our feet, and all the advice about looking after ourselves when out on our expeditions. This was all
very interesting but of course we forgot a lot of the things we had been told when we got out on our own.
Sunday, 21st June. We did not rise too early as we were all very tired after our night and day journey, and after breakfast we had a
good look round the camp and the neighbourhood before we had dinner at i p.m. After dinner we all got into one van and
Mr. Newton and Tony took us round some of the higher mountains, and when we came to one which was not so high we all got
out and climbed part of the way up. It all looked very easy but, as we found out, it was very tiring. We then drove fairly slowly
back to camp where we enjoyed a nicely prepared tea. After tea we were shown how to read a map and find direction with the aid
of a compass. We then split up into groups and planned our routes from the camp. Again we found planning these journeys took
much longer than we had anticipated.
Monday, 22nd June. We got up quite early so that we could get ready for our hike, which was to take three days and nights. Each
group was ready to start at 12 noon and away we went in our different directions, and I am only able to describe ours, the 'Gold'
journey.
We travelled about 15 miles and reached our check point at Calender in good time, had a good wash and a hot meal, and were not
late to bed as we were all very tired after a hard day.
Tuesday, 23rd June. We overslept and were not up until 9 o'clock, but even so we were on our way by n o'clock, and as the day was
very hot we wished we had wakened earlier, so that we did not have the hard climb in the full sun. However, we reached our
destination at Dalckonzie, near the River Earn, which is about 5 miles from the base, one hour late we had underestimated the
distance. When we eventually got to our camping area there was a strong wind blowing which made tent pitching quite a hazard.
However, in due course we had managed it and got ourselves a good hot meal, and were very thankful to creep into our beds and
sleep.
Wednesday, 24th June. We got under way a little earlier this day, although the journey was not so long as the previous two days,
we had only to travel about 12 miles to Eildreach, 2,099 ft above sea-level, but once again it was very hot, and we were glad to
stop for a couple of 'brew-ups' on route, but we eventually reached our destination about 8 p.m. We had a real 'slap-up' meal and
then had a good wash in the loch. We did not get to bed until 11.30 p.m.
Thursday, 25th June. Breakfast this morning was scrambled egg and bacon, which gave us a good start before returning to base
and we arrived there just at midday and in time for dinner. After dinner all the Gold group went up the mountain opposite the base
while the other two groups went on a compass hike.
In the evening we were all assembled in the station and Mr. Newton held a post mortem on the camps, pointing out the faults we
had made, as well as the good points. We then made up our log books and by 10.30 p.m. we were all in bed for our last night's
sleep at the station for 1964.
Friday, 26th June. We were up early and after breakfast we started to clear up the station and load up for the journey back. In view
of the high standard set by our boys last year, we were all determined not to let the side down by leaving any rubbish around, and
so we cleared the whole area up very thoroughly.
We finally left the station about 4 p.m. and started southwards, seeing some of the lovely sights of the highlands and some of the
hills we had climbed earlier in the week. It was an even more tiring journey for Mr. Newton and Tony coming home, and we had
to make frequent stops while they collected themselves with a few minutes sleep. We eventually arrived at the School at 10 a.m.
on Saturday morning, very tired and very hungry, but nevertheless very happy to have had the opportunity of going on this trip.
We would like to take this opportunity of thanking everyone who was concerned in arranging this expedition, especially
Mr. Wheatley for allowing us to go, and Tony for coming along as examiner, and of course Mr. Newton himself who must have
worked harder than all of us put together, as well as having the responsibility of the twelve boys who were more often out of sight,
but we know we were never out of mind. The following is a list of boys and their groups:
Gold: J. Brown, P. Gregory, D. Langler, R. Hendry.
Silver: R. Bowden, B. Smith, R. McNamara, A. Cummings.
Bronze: T. Hill, R. Nairn, B. Foote, P. Salkeld.
D. LANGLER, J. BROWN Goldonian Winter 1964