MASS H3 History
Founders
Mid Argyle Swamp Skiers Hash House Harriers (or MASSH3 for
short) were founded by Brown Bottle of Glasgow H3, in
conjunction with Oink (aka Dr When) of Trossach's H3.
Early Days
The first remembered r*n was from the historic Clydeside
village of Bowling.
Bowling is famous for four reasons:
- C1st Start of the C1st Antonine Wall
- C18th End of the Forth and Cylde Canal
- C19th Little Mill Distillery
- C20th First MASS r*n
Brown Bottle
The first trail involved running up the town burn (east
end (not the Littlemill burn), under the A82, over the
Antonine Wall, towards the Kilpatrick mountain range
where they traversed an interesting agricultural
feature. Due to the siteing of Dykes, fences and water
troughs there had been much ground damage wrought by
beasts. The consequence was an extremely muddy bog at
an angle of 45Degrees or so. The trail went through
this Verdun recreation. The pack continued up and up
until they got to Loch Humphrey. The trail then took an
interesting turn by heading down the outlet sluice, and
back Bowling Basin by crossing the various "Get orf my
land" estates to the North of the village and then
clawing along the burn underneath the Littlemill
Disillery.
On On - The Bay Horse (C18th)
(The author was not at the first r*n so the above is
made up from his loose recollections. Though on a
personal note I would wish to add that having set a
Glasgow trail under Bowling using the Littlemill Burn it
is sore on the hands knees and head, unpleasant and
cold.)
Some other trails
Snoopy & Oink Snoopy, from San Deigo and LA,
and Oink, aka Dr When, live hared from Braeval.
A valiant start through the undergrowth and up the
hill from the cars. The pack were slow to start after
a heavy night in Clatties the night before.
The hare feared that Indiana Bones and Monkey Wrench
were closing in but with some difficult checks and
heavy undergrowth Snoopy managed to out fox the pack.
The forest is ideal MASS territory with no tarmac in
sight. Snoopy came to a metaled forestry road and
rather than risk the ire of the RA by crossing it took
the trail straight through an 18" bore culvert.
Indiana Bones, Oink, Culture Vulture and Monkey Wrench
dived through its 26' length and were out the other
side when the rest of the pack arrived.
Hughiee Blaaghrr was next in closely followed by Scoop
and then Raaalfff. Hughiee pressed his body against
the floor of the tunnel damming the water so that
Scoop and Raaalfff became concerned about its rising
level. They need not have worried, Monkey Wrench had
thoughtfully dammed the burn a bit upstream using some
handy timber. As Hughiees head popped out the far
(downstream) end he released the dam and out shot the
three water babies.
The trail went down the ravine near the golf course,
under the Aberfolye main street, across country and
down the path of the old railway (before its
refurbishment as a cycleway) to the On On at the
Trossachs Inn.
Tight Beaver (aka Claude Balls)
From the Forth Inn car park in Aberfoyle.
TB (for he was yet to get his weekend name) led a
splendid trail heading south from the town. Several
crossings of the Forth - despite the season - though it
is the last crossing that is most memorable. The hare
wrote in 2002:
I did almost cause the drowning of Peepers and Scoop
when I set one about five years ago. The Forth was in
spate and I hadn't really noticed because of
live-hare-panic.
Fortunately the hare had finished the trail and had
doubled back and was able to recover the flotsam and
escort them safely to the shore with Mr Creosote, Oink
and Hughiee Blaaghrr standing on the far bank (having
engineered a feet dry shortcut) supervising the
operation.
This trail also goes on record as having the largest
MASS pack for a MASS only event (to date, c20 people).
Kipper
Lanarkshire. It rained, it was wet, it was driech, it was MASS.
Brown Bottle
Bowling. The pack arrived late
from Glasgow and awaited in the Bay Horse for the hare,
who threw them out into the street. It was a sunny but
bitterly cold winters day.
The trail soon had as on the nor side of the A82, but
not for us the foothills, no the trail weaved its way
cross field, through wood, scrub and ravine to the crags
above Old Kilpatrick. Round and over these we went -
generally heading west. Along the ridgeline the trail -
sort of - went. The pack were not being fooled by the
blazing sun noting that that it was now around 3 pm and
the sun would be setting in an hour and fearing also the
darkening clouds.
After a about a mile, the pack were high above Bowling
when the snow started. Oink, Hughiee and Four Star took
shelter behind a dyke for the flurries to pass before
returning to the pursuit with renewed vigor.
Not before long they came to another ravine and making
there way down the gully and through the gorse they
followed the trailed through the woodlands and estates
that surround the Little Mill burn.
Before the sun set the pack were back in the Bay Horse
toasting Brown Bottles fine endeavours.
Septic Sporran and Hughiee Blaaghrr
Achnamarra. It is now a regular feature of West of
Scotland hashing that Glasgow H3 and Trossach's H3 ask
MASS to set their Saturday trails at celebration
weekends. The general proviso being that the trail
should be even more fun and hazard reduced.
With this in mind Sceptic and Hughiee took it on board
them to set one of Trossach's Mid Argyll Weekend runs at
Tayvallich. Another condition requested was Sub 60
(minutes).
The hares chose Achnamara, a place with which Hughiee
was well acquainted with, he had never been there before
but his father (when a school teacher) had organized
"show city kids what a sheep looks like" trips to the
outdoor centre there. So Hughiee had seen photographs
and it was always sunny.
So one hot sunny Saturday morning in June Sceptic and
Hughiee find themselves hungover, drunk and tired in the
forestry village of Achnamara. After some refreshing
Irn Bru the hares headed into the forrest where they got
thoroughly lost amongst think woods, ancient sheilings,
marshes and ruined crofts. The trail emerged out of the
Forrest above Kirkmichael of Inverlussa and went down
the Lussa gorge to the shores of Lock Sween and thence
across the shallows to the Oransay there, from whence
the trail led on in.
The pack coped well and followed the trail in just under the hour.
On On Tayvallich Inn
MASS offshore
Isle of Man Manx. The three legged beast
made up of Dublin, Trossach's and C&G, at Oinks
suggestion organized annual sojourns to Manx in the mid
1990s. One of the first IOM trails was deemed to be
MASS. It being sunny and dry the trail went to the top
of Snaefell (I think by train) and then through the wet
cloud it headed down and down and down.
The next year surveying the route (with no cloud)
through a boulder field that they must have taken on
that trail the participants considered themselves lucky
to have got through it without serious injury.
The 21st Century
Oink and Hughiee Blaaghrr Knapdale. After
the extremes of the two hares the year before Oink and
Hughiee took it on board them to set the 2001 Saturday
run for Trossach's Mid Argyll Weekend runs (Tayvallich).
Starting at Rodgers Corner the trail appears to follow
the route through the forrest of an old drovers path,
alas it was just a ridiculously long back check to give
the hares the time they required to set the trail.
Oink have weaved a trail through the forrest, over the
hilltop and past abandoned farms down to Bennacher Basin
on the Crinnan Canal. There Hughie had set a trail to
the Add and up Crinnan Hill before ending at Crinnan
Basin.
Despite the effort the hares had gone to in setting the
trail - and arranging access to paths closed by the Foot
and Mouth crisis. Many of the pack felt beat by the
time they reached the mid-point, but being of half mind
they soon worked out a short cut to the end.
Kipper who started late, however, got lost in the deep
undergrowth and was not seen until many hours had past.
(On an historic note that is the first known MASS trail
to have been recce'd (excluding map recce's in pubs
etc).)
On On Tayvallich Inn
Oink and Hughiee Blaaghrr
Isle of Bute. Noting how successful of the Trossach's
H3 Mid Argyle Weekend (Tayvallich) trails set by MASS
are considered, Glasgow H3 decided to approach MASS to
set the Saturday trail for there annual Isle of Arran
weekend (never held on Arran).
Honourable mention at this point should go to Claude
Balls for remaining in a fit state to drive (the unfit)
hares to the south of the island so that they would get
a head start on the pack.
After some gratuitous and futile hill scrambling at the
start of the trail the pack were soon all over the south
of the island trying to find the true trail. After a
short distance from the start, but long if had been an
eager trail follower the pack found themselves in a ruin
of a monastery. From there the trail led south then
west then north such that the pack found themselves back
beside the aforementioned ruins. Before long the trail
went through shaggy and up bracken covered hillsides and
across into the next valley.
Through some more woods the pack thought that the trail
would end in Kilchattan Bay. They were to be mistaken
as the trail skirted the village before on inning to a
stone circle in a clearing in the woods.
On On Kingarth Hotel
(Historical Note. First MASS with chartered coach)
Bodypump, Claude Balls (aka Tight Beaver) and Hughiee
Blaaghrr Kilmartin. By now it had become
accepted practice that the Saturday trail at the
Trossach's H3 Mid Argyle Weekend (Tayvallich) will be
with MASS. With such heavy responsibility the hares
took it upon themselves to remove the run from the
traditional area of North Knapdale to the Nor side of
the Canal in the Kilmartin Glen area. (Site of much of
Scotland's Pictish and Scots pre history.)
The trail started innocently enough in the flatlands of
the Nature Reserve and arable farmland, but soon at
Slockavullan the trail entered some overgrown woods and
through the flooded dank ruins of the mansion there.
Much heavy work was made bashing through the wood.
Where paths were found they were trenches of shaggy and
swamp. Making for the higher ground the hares set and
dispiriting back check and then some complex checks.
The trail weaved its way past and through many Standing
Stones, Cists, Temples and other prehistoric remains
before reaching Kilmartin.
(Historic Note, first trail to have two recces.)
On Inn Kilmartin Hotel
M' Diver, Claude Balls (aka Tight Beaver) and Hughiee
Blaaghrr Isle of Cumbrae. Noting how successful
the 2001 Isle of Arran trail set by MASS had been
Glasgow H3 decided to approach MASS. The GH3 hairazor,
Muff, asked some MASS veterans for advice and after many
map based recces in the splendid (from a beer point of
view) Three Judges in Partick, Muff got roped into
co-haring the 2002 GlasgowH3 Isle of Arran Weekend
Saturday run.
The trail was set on the base island, the Isle of
Cumbrae, from the town of Millport. It immediately went
into some native woodland and then after a brief respite
into another wood and up hill.
Reaching the moor near the only "top" on the island the
trail went across a shallow reservoir before reaching a
Whisky stop at the peak. From there the pack could
admire great views of the Isle of Bute and the also the
power stations at Hunterston and Inverkip.
Then down over scrubby pasture (with apparently a farmer
in pursuit) into the wooded east valley. Just above the
town the pack emerged from the wood to find themselves
at a beer stop (perhaps the first, but not the last I
hope, in MASS history). After some refreshing ales,
beers and lagers the pack headed On In.
On On Catherdal of the Isles.
(Historical Note. Most Recced MASS to date - all from
Pub, sometimes forgot to take map to pub.)
October 2002
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