Meall Onfhaidh and the Harry Potter train

25 May 2010.

Participants - Me and Steven
Where - Meall Onfhaidh, 681m/2,234', Graham, Map 41, NN 010840

 I had been to the Fort William area on many occasions but had never walked up Glen Suileag and both the Grahams on the west side of that glen were new to me. Meall Onfhaidh, apparently meaning hill of fury, looked as though it would be the better of the two so that was the one we went for. The estate seemed to be very walker friendly and there was a good car park off the loop road at Fassfern. The first couple of miles was through a mainly birch forest and it was very pleasant walking. Here is the first view of Meal Onfhaidh through the trees.....

We were not alone! We came across this chap on the path- at least I think it is a chap- how do you tell the sex of a Slow Worm?.....

We got a better view of the hill from where we left the forest.....

after which the path descended to the river to cross it by a bridge near to the old house at Glensulaig before rising again to a col between our hill and the Corbett of Meall a'Phubill. We left the path here and took to the long east slope of the hill where we found a rough vehicle track which greatly assisted progress. The cairn was of course at the furthest away point. Here I am at the cairn; behind me is the Munro, Gulvain.....

There were also good views to the Ardgour hills.....

and to Ben Nevis..... 

Rather than go the long route back down the east ridge, we dropped off the hill in a general southerly direction; it was steep but got us down quickly and we rejoined the path at the edge of the forest. I stopped at a stream to have a drink and was immediately attacked by midges, the first sighting of them this season. Possibly more serious was the fact that I picked up a number of ticks during the course of the day, there seem to be a lot about this year. I had hoped that the severe winter might have substantially reduced the numbers of midges, ticks, clegs etc but the opposite seems to have happened. This walk was about 9 miles and as the start was almost at sea level we must have climbed almost all of its 681m of ascent. It took us 6 hours.

If you're in the area, it's worthwhile going to Glenfinnan to watch the steam train crossing the viaduct- the train and location used in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and featured in a number of other films. We went on the day following our walk. The viaduct has 21 arches and was built between 1897 and 1901.

Meall Mor (Rannoch Moor)

24 May 2010.

Participants - just me
Where - Meall Mor (Rannoch Moor), 492m/1,615', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 50, NN 304471

 If you're looking to break up a journey along the A82 with a short hill walk then you can't do much better than stop at the southern edge of Rannoch Moor and climb Meall Mor. About 45 minutes up and down should suffice plus whatever time is necessary to take in the wonderful views of the surrounding hills. And if you're collecting Marilyns then the bonus is another tick on the list! Here is a picture of Meall Mor that I took from the main road at Lochan na h-Achlaise in 2008.....

Today we were heading north and the weather was fine with great visibility so a break was called for to take the pictures that I didn't manage to get on a previous visit. There was space to park the car at the start of a rough track that went up to a phone mast. I will let the pictures that I took tell the rest of the story. Here is the view over the summit cairn to Beinn Achaladair and Beinn an Dothaidh.....

and the view south over Loch Tulla with Ben Lui on the horizon.....

and west to Stob a'Choire Odhair..... 

    

and further round still to Clach Leathad and Meall a' Bhuiridh.....

and of course there is a good view of Rannoch Moor over Lochan na h-Achlaise and Loch Ba.....

Beinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers and Meall Corranaich

17 May, 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Beinn Ghlas, 1,103m/3,619', Munro; Ben Lawers, 1,214m/3,984', Munro; Meall Corranaich, 1,069/3,507', Munro; Map 51

I left the house with the intention of doing a new Marilyn in the borders but the weather was better than forecast so at the end of the street I turned left instead of right and headed for the highlands! And so I found myself at the NTS car park on the road from Killin to Glen Lyon contemplating my first Munros of the year. One of the advantages of being retired is that I don't have to climb popular hills at weekends and so can avoid the crowds; so I was a bit miffed to see that about 25 other people were setting off for Beinn Ghlas at around the same time as I was. Hmmmm, on a Monday in the middle of May... Here is a view of Beinn Ghlas, greenish grey hill, from near to the car park.....

On the way up to the ridge, there was a good view of one of the other Lawers group Munros, Meall Corranaich, which I had no intention of climbing today.....

I have always wondered why Beinn Ghlas is classed as a seperate Munro, as it is really only the west top of Ben Lawers and there is a drop of only about 200m between the two. The top is marked by a small cairn situated right on the edge of the northern face; arrival here brought Ben Lawers into view for the first time.....

I didn't linger, the hordes were coming up behind me! It was a very gentle descent to the col with the main objective of the day, Ben Lawers, hill of the loud stream, and Scotland's 10th highest mountain, looming up ahead.....

The summit was marked by a trig on an eroded mound and a view indicator without its information panel. The two hills in the background are the next two Munros to the east, An Stuc and Meall Gharbh with Lochan nan Cat below them.....

I chatted to a guy at the summit who told me that he was attempting a Munro round in 6 months, not a continuous round but a fortnight at a time followed by a week's break. Not the best way to enjoy the hills, in my view!

I did think about carrying on to An Stuc but decided against it as I would have had to have reclimbed Lawers on the way back; instead I just turned round and went back down the way I had come. This is the view of Beinn Ghlas from the way down showing well the little height loss that there is between it and Lawers.....

There is a good by-pass path to the north of Beinn Ghlas that goes to the col between it and Meall Corranaich before dropping down Coire Odhar and this was the way that I went. This is a view of Meall Corranaich, crooked hill, from the Lawers/Ghlas col.....

I stopped for a drink at the col at the top of Coire Odhar. It was only 2pm and I started to wonder if I should do the third Munro as well. The way up was steep but short and there seemed to be a good path weaving in and out between the rocks....hmmmmm. So here I am at the summit....

The west ridge of Meall Corranaich back to the road was long but I found that a good path had developed. From about 2/3rds of the way down there was a good view back towards Ben Lawers and Beinn Ghlas.....

and a little further on the view ahead was to Lochan na Lairige and Meall nam Tarmachan on the other side of the road.....

Lower down still, I was able to cross a stile over the NTS boundary fence and rejoin the ascent path a few hundred yards from the car park.

Stats for the day were 3 Munros, about 7 miles, 1,100m (3,600 feet) of ascent and it took me 5 hours and 45 minutes. Very enjoyable!

Ben Donich

12 May 2010.

Participants - Me and Steven
Where - Ben Donich, 847m/2,778', Corbett, Map 56, NN 218043

 Ben Donich is one of the numerous high mountains around Arrochar; I have climbed it on a number of occasions both from the east at Ardgartan and from Glen Croe to the north. On this occasion, we tackled it from Glen Croe where a marked path starts at a Forestry Commission car park not far from the junction of the Rest and be Thankful and Lochgoilhead roads. The summit is on the fourth bump from the left looking at this picture.....

After a few hundred yards of forestry track, a good path branches off to the left and zigzags up to meet the north ridge. It was steep to begin with but there were good views which gave an excuse for a pause. This is looking back down to Loch Restil at the side of the main road with another Corbett, Stob Coire Creagach in the background.....

After the first steep section, the path levelled off for a bit before we reached an area of big boulders- the hillside looked like it had been broken apart. Some of the gaps between the boulders were quite deep- ok in summer but I guess that this area requires a lot of care when snow covers the ground and the path is not obvious. This is the approach to the boulder area.....

and this is among the boulders, Beinn an Lochain in the background.....

This was the best part of the ridge for viewing the hills round about. Here are a few pictures, firstly of Beinn Narnain and the Cobbler.....

and of Beinn Luibheinn and Beinn Ime.....

and over Arrochar to Ben Lomond.....

and to Beinn Luibheinn, Beinn Ime, Beinn Narnain and the Cobbler.....

and down Glen Croe to Loch Fyne with the hills of Mull on the horizon.....

Towards the top of the boulder area, there was a slight descent via a rock step (ok, you noticed, this picture was taken ascending the step on the way back!).....

after which it was a gentle stroll across the summit plateau to the trig. Here I am approaching the trig.....

Unfortunately, the sun was in the wrong place to get a good photograph down Loch Goil towards the Clyde estuary with the islands of  Cumbrae, Ailsa Craig and Arran and it was also a bit dull in this direction. So here is that view that I took on a previous visit.....

We stopped to look at a few of the boulders on the way down so the whole trip took just over 4 hours. It was a trip of around 4 miles with about 550m of ascent.

Green Hill

9 May 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Green Hill, 588m/1,930', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 71/78, NS 862125

I was returning from a weekend of MBA meetings at Langwathby and as the weather had brightened up, I diverted the short distance to Wanlockhead to do Green Hill. I had climbed this once before but on a poor day with no views so this was an opportunity to see what I had missed. This is Green Hill from the road approaching Wanlockhead.....

and this is a view of Wanlockhead from the climb.....

It was a very easy climb from a high start point and an hour up and down was all it took. The hill is actually named Stood Hill on the map with a 587m spot height but the actual highest point is supposed to be further south-east although it is not obvious. As well as not being named on the map there is no cairn; poor Green Hill! The summit is somewhere around here with a view of Lowther Hill and it's masts in the background.....

Ben Bowie

7 May 2010.

Participants - Just me
Where - Ben Bowie, 314m/1,029', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 56, NS 339828

Today was another day in which a dull morning gave way to a brighter afternoon so I decided to go for a walk. Ben Bowie, 314m/1,029', a Marilyn that sits above Helensburgh on the Clyde coast was my choice. This is a view of the hill from the town that I took last year.....

I started from the B832 road which goes between Arden and Helensburgh- there was space to park the car at the end of the track which starts from near Daligan farm. The track meanders gently across and around the hill so that I actually approached the summit from the south side of the hill. This is a view back down the track with a glimpse of the Cowal hills and the Gare Loch.....

There was a gap in the trees where the track levelled off, a short bit of rough ground and a final ascent of about 60m up a heather covered slope beside a fence and I was at the top. This is the view to Loch Lomond.....

and across the Clyde to Greenock with the hills of Arran in the background.....

Not bad for such little effort! Two hours was enough for this hill; the whole walk was about 3 miles with 260m of ascent.

Ben Venue

3 May 2010.

Participants - Me and Steven
Where - Ben Venue, 729m/2,391', Graham, Map 57, NN 474063

It was the May bank holiday so the hills were busy; I had to park on the verge at the side of the road as the car park was full. We took the south approach from Loch Ard; I have used both this and the approach from the hotel at Loch Achray and I reckon the Loch Ard approach is the best- much less forest. Ben Venue means hill of the caves; from Loch Ard it is a round trip of about 7 miles with almost 700m of ascent and it took us over 5 hours.

The first part of the route followed a narrow path, very muddy in places, through  birch trees high above the stream. This is the path close to the start, where it is wider and where there is no indication of the mud ahead.....

After about a mile, the path emerged from the trees and the views opened up. This is looking towards a hill at the top of the glen called Beinn Bhreac which I suppose is really another top of Ben Venue....

After crossing the stream, the path continued at a fairly gentle angle across the hillside below Beinn Bhreac. We reached a fence with a stile from where we could see Ben Venue for the first time.....

The path continued to contour across the hillside with a steep drop on the left hand side. There was also a first view of Loch Katrine- from where Glasgow gets much of its water supply- with the pointed peak of Stobinian prominent behind it. And with perfect timing, the steamer that takes tourists for trips on the loch put in an appearance to give the picture a bit of scale.....

The upper slopes of Ben Venue are quite rocky.....

and there are a few false summits before the cairn is reached. It was worth the effort however as it is a magnificent viewpoint with most of the hills of the southern highlands in view. This is Steven ensuring that he reached the very, very, very top. Ben Lomond is the big hill in the background (left).....

I think that the best view is up Loch Katrine.....

There is also a good view east to Loch Achray and Loch Venachar with Ben Ledi to its north.....

We had only just reached the top when I saw someone I recognised- Liz from the MBA who had come up from the Loch Achray side with a group of friends.

We didn't bother going on to the east summit- although it is the one with the trig it is 2m lower and the views would have been the same. So after sitting about in the sun in the shelter of the cairn for a bit we turned for home. Ben Lomond is again the hill in the distance, it is a hill that seems to get into most views in this part of the country.....

On the way down, we came across a wee pool with lots of frog spawn- now turning into tadpoles which were no doubt busy eating each other.....

And here are two pictures showing the route on the way down. Firstly Beinn Bhreac from the slopes of Ben Venue.....

and a view down the glen towards Loch Ard with the Campsie's in the distance.....

Walking back through the birch trees, we heard the sound of a cuckoo, the first of the year. A sign of summer approaching, although its persistant call does get a bit annoying!