The Plaque is back!
B-29 Superfortress 44-62276 in Succoth Glen.
(Distance covered = 6.3 mile/Ascent +745m)

Succoth Glen and the crashsite of a Boeing B-29 were within walking distance of Lochgoilhead, where we were staying during our week in Cowal, where Heather was dancing in the World Championships.

As I didn't have any travel to do in the car and because the B-29 was not too great a distance away from the Hotel, I had time to have my breakfast before setting off, the full Scottish Breakfast including the square Scottish sausages, which are much nicer than the Sausage shaped English Sausages, and a pancake shaped thing made of potato. All delicious but I should imagine very fattening, but I wasn't worried about that because I'd already seen the steep hill I had to negotiate once I set off for Succoth Glen.

Drynsimie Hotel, our accommodation for the week.

The forest track I needed to take started off in our Hotel grounds so it wasn't long before I was on the steep slope through the plantation that I could see from the Hotel and burning off the calories I had acquired at breakfast.


Drynsimie caravans and Lodges, we were posh and stopped in the Hotel.


 Even low down on the ascent there was lovely views across to Lochgoilhead and down Loch Goil so I wasted a bit of time taking photographs of the scenery.


                               View down Loch Goil from the forest track up the hill.

Not too far along the forest track it leveled of and then threatened to descend again so I had to leave it and continue climbing up the hill on an even steeper slope, there is a notorious path I had read about which heads straight uphill, or downhill depending on if your going or coming back, following a firebreak through the woods, but as some of the trees had been felled I decided to take a shortcut and turned uphill before I reached the firebreak. My shortcut would have been fine if it wasn't for all the leftover twigs and branches lying around that made progress slow, the heat didn't help either as yet again my good luck with the weather meant it was very warm and sunny.


                                view across to Lochgoilhead from above the tree line.

 Although initially my shortcut was not as easy as it looked, halfway up I came across another forest track which continued uphill taking me through the top of the woods and onto the open hillside. Once onto the open hillside the bulk of the altitude had been gained for the day. The next 3/4s of a mile was a easy gradual climb into Coirein Rathaid which is Lochgoilhead's version of the Kyber Pass.


                            Coirein Rathaid, the gap between the two hills on the skyline.

 Once through Coirein Rathaid I followed the burn down a gentle descent towards the forest in Succoth Glen. There are B-29 parts scattered over a large area in the woods and in the burn. The first parts I came across lay in the burn just before it entered the woods.


Succoth Glen from Coirein Rathaid


                                       The tailgunners position from the B-29

 I followed the burn downstream into the woods for about 1/2 mile finding parts from the B-29, then I doubled back and had a search around in the trees. When the B-29 crashed this plantation wasn't there, it was planted much later. Because of this the trees have been growing around the pieces concealing some of them.


Large lump of wing hidden in the trees.Hidden in the trees are several very long sections of wing, one of which must have been about 30 to 40 ft long.


area where the bulk of the wreckage lies.

above and below:-One of the engines

The plaque attached to the memorial dissapeared and it was believed to have been stolen, but happily that wasn't the case as it had been removed for refurbishment ,although it wasn't there when I visited, it is now back in place .

Above and below:- memorial cairn, where the plaque used to be attached can be seen on the one above.(it is now back in place)

Next 4 photos:-2nd engine still at crashsite

This crashsite is well known, well visited and well picked over by souvenier hunters. There used to be four of the propellors ,but propellors are always a prime target so these were hacksawed off and taken sometime in 1991. There has been appeals for anyone who has taken anything to put it back!.
Anyone who has taken something, large or small or has had any parts passed onto to them and would like them returned to the crashsite instead of having them languish in a shed or garage can contact Keith Beckett at the following address: beckett.keith@googlemail.com and he will arrange to collect it and return it to Succoth Glen. Despite all the parts that have up and left over the years there are still tons of pieces remaining, as can be seen in the following 10 photos.

 

The walk back to the Hotel was a case of going the way I came, at least until I got to the top of the tree line where I used the path down the firebreak, which turned out to be much easier going then my shortcut on the way up, however I may not have thought that on the way up as it was kind of steep!

Above and below:-Some photographs on the way home


Drynsimie Holiday resort,the golf course surrounds the burn flowing into the loch, there's a lot of my golf balls in that burn and a couple in the Loch!

When I arrived back at the Hotel I even had enough time, and energy, to have a round of golf on the hotel course before it was time for tea.