The Bochel

26 June 2013 (afternoon)

Participants - Just me
Where - The Bochel, 491m, Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 36, NJ 232232

It brightened up as the day went on so I decided that as it was only a 5 mile drive to get there, I would climb The Bochel as well. It would have been a shame not to have done it when I was so close and this was one of my feeling fitter days! The Bochel is one of the hills that didn't make it on to the original Marilyn list but was subsequently found to meet the relative height criteria. This hill is on the Glenavon estate which also welcomed walkers. I parked in the Allanreid car park about a mile south of Tomnavoulin. Ben had to stay in the car as there were a lot of sheep in a field that I had to cross and as I also found out there was a fence to cross. So the way up the hill was not dog friendly. This is a view of the hill from near to the car park.....

I crossed the footbridge and almost immediately went into a field, crossed it, went through a gate onto rougher ground, crossed that, then a fence and I was on to the heather slopes. It was steep but there was not too far to go. As I climbed, I could see this morning's hill, Carn Daimh, to the north with the Ladder hills behind it.....

Higher up, there was the semblance of a path. The angle eased and in less than an hour after leaving the car, I was at the cairn. The Cairngorms formed the backdrop to the west.....

but it was the hills closer by that caught the eye. This is looking back to the start of the walk- in the trees to the left- with the Corryhabbie hills beyond. The top of Ben Rinnes is just visible above the hill on the left.....

To the south were the Ladder Hills. The highest point, Carn Mor is a Corbett that I climbed years' ago; I seem to remember it as a long slog across heather slopes from the Lecht road.....

This was another fine viewpoint, well worth doing and it only took 1 hour 30 minutes.