Cnoc Reamhar- much effort for a little one

29 September 2013

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Cnoc Reamhar, 265m/870', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 55, NR 766912

Cnoc Reamhar is one of the smallest sub-2k's that I have climbed this year but it probably took more effort than any other. There was no indication of what was to follow however when we left the car park at Crinan harbour. It was a really beautiful day, the area looking at its best.....

We followed a way-marked path which led along the shoreline then upwards through some birch trees to join a forest track. At a junction, signposted, we took the left hand branch. After a bit Cnoc Reamhar came into view.....

Just after that, a mishap occurred, my own fault. I was trying to do two things at once- walk along and read the map to see if there was any indication of a route through the massed ranks of conifers. So of course I tripped and landed full length. Ben thought this was a great game as I reorganised myself; apart from wrenched muscles or something in my arm I had got away with it. Cnoc Reamhar still seemed a long way away, and there was still no sign of the break in the forest that I knew was there.....

Eventually I came to a big cleared area to my right and the track ended. This time I stopped and sat down to look at the map. I had come way too far. So it was about turn and after about a mile I saw it, a rough track running into the trees. How I didn't spot it when I first passed it I don't know. It starts towards the bottom right in this picture.....

It turned out to be an old forestry track, probably put in when the forest was being planted and never used since. After a bit it started to run parallel to the ridge. After a few hundred yards of this, I decided that it was not going anywhere near an exit on to the hillside above so retraced my steps. Just before the track turned downhill again, I spied a possible break on my left. There was some fallen timber but above that it looked as though the break opened out a bit and headed for a notch in the ridge to the north of the summit. I decided to try it so up we went; it was not too bad going at all. Then, another obstacle. A fence, with barbed wire on top. I wasn't going to get Ben over this. Just when I was on the point of calling it a day, I found a ditch under the fence that probably contained a burn in the rainy season. There was just enough room for Ben to get through. Above, the hillside opened out and there was a view back down to the forest.....

It soon became clear why the fence was there. Cow pats! I hoped that the perpetrator's  would be well down the other side of the hill, although there was plenty evidence to show that they wandered up to the top. It was a steep wee climb on to the ridge and- hooray- there was the trig- at last!

After all the travails, it turned out to be a great wee narrow ridge with superb views, although it was a bit hazy. Here is Ben at the trig.....

A view down to the forest with the track that we had walked in clearly visible.....

A view south to Loch Sween......

And a view to the Paps of Jura.....

I didn't hang about too long, the ridge was narrow with cliffs on one side and I didn't want Ben wandering off. On the way down, I suddenly spotted a bovine and more to the point, it spotted us. I didn't wait for it to summon up it's mates. Fortunately, although showing signs of wanting to investigate, Ben reacted to the command and we dropped into the gully, over/under the fence and into the safety of the forest.

How not to climb a hill, and take the best part of five hours doing it!

Meall a'Bhuachaille and Ryvoan Bothy

24 September

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Meall a'Bhuachaille, 810m/2,657', Corbett, Map 36, NH 991115

I was heading home after my short trip and decided to cross the Cairngorms (by car of course!) and call in at Ryvoan bothy (Ruighe a'Bhothain or Shiel of the Bothy) for a look-see as it had been ages since I had been there and much work had recently been done to smarten it up. It is one of the most visited of the MBA bothies as the visitors book indicated but it was in great condition, thanks to the efforts of the Maintenance Officers. The building as it stands today is all that is left of a farm, a much bigger building that was abandoned in 1877. The bothy comprises a single room with a lean-to porch; it looks very small from the outside but is surprisingly roomy inside.  There is even a sleeping platform! The MBA took on responsibility for its maintenance in 1972 and I remembered it as being pretty rough and ready on the previous occasions I had been there. Not now though.

 

 

 

 

It had been overcast as I was driving to Glenmore and I passed through really misty conditions just before Aviemore but the clouds were breaking up as I approached the bothy and by the time I had had a good look round the tops of the Munros were clear. The fine Corbett of Meall a'Bhuachaille overlooks the bothy and the path up starts at the bothy door. I didn't take much persuasion when Ben left the bothy and headed straight for the hill path! I have been up here many times but not for a few years. In the intervening period, considerable work has been done on the path. What used to be a rough, boulder and heather mixture of a path is now a motorway surface standard. There was a good view back down to the bothy from part way up.....

 

 

In no time at all we were approaching the large shelter cairn.....

 

 

However, a smaller cairn close by was the viewpoint for Loch Morlich.....

 

 

The cloud was floating around the tops of Bynack Mor and Cairngorm.....

 

 

It was good to be back in the 'gorms again even if it was only a fleeting visit on this occasion.

Fourman Hill, Knockan, and ton up for Ben

23 September 2013

Participants: Neil and Ben

Where: Fourman Hill, 344m/1,128', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 29, NJ 571458 and Knockan, 372m/1,220', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 28, NJ 351463.

 

The forecast was correct, it was a cracking day. The colours on Ben Rinnes were amazing.....

But it was a less striking looking hill that I was aiming for, Fourman Hill, a sub-2k north of Huntly.....
 

 

It didn't matter that it was not very high, the view from any hill would have been worth the effort today. There was space for the car at the top of the minor road that branched off the A97 at the Bogrie hotel and continued uphill for about a mile past the farm at Fourmanhill. There wasn't going to be much ascent today to claim the sub-2k's; there was only about 100m worth of climbing from the car park to the top of Fourman Hill and about the same on Knockan later in the day. From the road, a track meandered gently up a pleasantly wooded area on to the open moor.....

There was a cairn and trig situated inside a patch of gorse.....

 

 

and there was a view, inevitably in this part of the country, to Ben Rinnes.....
 

 

Another small sub-2k, Knock Hill, was a few miles away to the north. I climbed this one a couple of years ago.....
 

 

I really like the contrast between the moorland and the farmland in the north-east; this is looking across Banffshire.....

The next hill that I had targeted was not so nice looking, really only an area of high moorland and now also spoiled by wind turbines. The starting point was a minor road between the A95 west of Keith and the B9115 to Dufftown. There was space to park at a cattle grid beside the start of the wind farm access road, which I simply followed up on to the plateau....
 

 

The angle of the "climb" can be seen in this photo.....

I hadn't, of course, taken the map with me not realising that the plateau would be so flat that the highest point would not be obvious. Doh!

However, after a bit of searching a cairn was spotted. It was so flat up here that there wasn't much of a view although Ben Rinnes did make an appearance on the western horizon. I'm not certain that the cairn is the highest point, the ground immediately to it's north looks as though it might be a bit higher. For anyone else who ventures onto Knockan without a map the cairn is a couple of hundred yards north of turbine no.4.
 

 

This was Ben's hundredth listed hill (Munro/Corbett/Graham/Sub-2k). He found a puddle to have a celebratory drink from. 

And then it was back down the track to the car.....

I rounded off the day by visiting Balvenie Castle at Dufftown.....

This ruin is notable for housing at various times the Black Comyns, the Black Douglases and the Earls of Atholl. There is a connection to Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots was a visitor. Although now looked after by the State, it is owned by an American. So does history unfold!

Meall Alvie

22 September 2013

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Meall Alvie, 560m/1,837', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 44, NO 203919

I was heading for the north-east again and stopped at the car park at Keiloch just past Braemar to give Ben a walk. I hadn't intended to go up a hill today but the weather had turned out to be so good that after walking up the track for a bit I decided that I just had to get higher! I had climbed Meall Alvie before, in March 2012. From a distance, it looks like a tree clad monstrosity but on closer inspection, the trees are fairly well spaced out and the underfoot conditions are reasonable.....

There was a good view of Lochnagar from the path just before we started up the hill.....
 

 

I took exactly the same route as I had the last time; starting the climb at the whitewashed cottage of Felagie and following an old wall up the hill. There was some heather but it was mostly grass underfoot. I couldn't claim all round views but there were some breaks in the trees; from about mid-point I got this view north to the Corbett, Culardoch.....
 

 

The trees were more thinly spaced out at the top but I still had to look for the cairn, even although I had been here before. It is hidden between some young trees. In a few years time when the trees on the summit area have grown a bit the views might not be so good but for now they are still there, even if you have to dodge about a bit to see them all. This is looking to Lochnagar.....
 

 

and to Culardoch....

and to Morven, a Corbett north of Ballater.....

and there was just a glimpse of the corries of Beinn a'Bhuiridh in the main Cairngorms.....
 

 

It really was a glorious day, Scotland at its best. The colours at this time of year are really deep. And the forecast was the same for tomorrow, when I was intending to do two new sub-2k's.

Ben Clach

10 September 2013.

Participants: Just me
Where: Ben Clach, 533m/1,748', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 57, NN 759152

I had driven past Ben Clach many times. It is a nice looking hill but the acres of scrub land between it and the road had always put me off attempting it. That and the fact that the map has "Danger Area" written all over it around this hill. However, the area is no longer used by the military since the nearby camp at Cultybraggan closed a year or two back. And closer inspection of the map and a look at other folks reports on the web suggested that the ground might not be as bad as it looked so off I set today to add the hill to my list. It was another day of great clarity with the colours getting really deep as autumn approaches. The path marked on the map leaving the road at 780152 actually exists. There was space to park at the gate at the start.....

and the path turned out to be a track that is obviously still used occasionally. It was a really good surface with a bridge over the only burn that I had to cross on the way.....

I left the track after about a mile where it started to head downhill towards the Corriebeagh Burn. The next bit was awful- long, thick grass- but fortunately this only lasted for a few hundred yards before I was on steeper slopes and shorter grass. Early September probably wasn't the best time of year to do this but at least it was dry underfoot. I reached an area of hillside containing a number of erratics and had a rest beside one of them. The view is looking east along Strathearn and the hill to the right of the picture is Torlum.....

It got rougher again higher up when I reached the heather but there were no problems and I reached the top about 1 hour 40 after leaving the car. No massive cairn on this one- just a wooden pole stuck in between two small rocks beside a small pool. This is not a summit for a misty day (where have I said that before)! Still, there was a good view west to Stuc a'Chroin and Ben Vorlich.....

 

To the north I was looking at Ben Chonzie above the village of Comrie.....

To the south there was a good view of the Ochils.....
 

 

It was breezy on top so I didn't linger for too long. Back at the erratics, I had another stop. I find descending much more tiring than ascending and I was again pretty whacked after I had re-crossed the area of long, tangled, grass. But, all in all, Ben Clach turned out to be a well worthwhile hill.

 

Cruinn a'Bheinn

5 September 2013

Participants: Neil and Ben
Where: Cruinn a'Bheinn, 633m/2,077', Graham, Map 56, NN 365052

Cruinn a'Bheinn is a Graham that sits in the shadow of Ben Lomond. I had been meaning to do it for a while but had never got round to it until today. They say that the atmosphere is at its clearest after rain. Well, it had rained overnight so I was hoping for great things- I was not to be disappointed. So there are rather more photos in this report than usual! I drove to Inversnaid and parked in the large car park in front of the hotel, it was quite warm and some folk were sitting at tables outside eating their breakfast- very civilised! Looking across Loch Lomond, the hills were clear, a good omen for the day.....

The first couple of miles followed the West Highland Way. I was the only person heading south but there were lots heading north and carrying big packs. Rowchoise bothy must have been busy last night. This part of the Way is really pleasant, a good surface and plenty views across the loch through the trees. This is looking to Ben Vane.....

We were in no hurry and I stopped after about a mile to let Ben take a dip in the loch.....

After a couple of miles we arrived at Cailness cottage.....

and it was time to leave the Way. A 4WD track started behind the cottage and headed steeply up the hillside in a series of curves. And I mean steeply, it must be exciting being driven down the track in particular! The sky had been getting a bit grey and there was clearly a shower coming in over the hills on the other side of the loch.....

but it never reached us. As the track approached the plateau, Ben Lomond came into view.....

and then I got my first sight of the day's objective, a real pudding bowl of a hill. It looked like there was going to be a lot of wet moorland to cross to get to it but it actually wasn't too bad and there were tracks in places, particularly close to the line of an old fence that eased progress.

My faith in MWS was vindicated as it started to clear from the west as we got higher- here are the Arrochar Alps coming back into sunshine.....

And here are a few pictures that I took of them on the way up.....

The hill was quite steep nearer the top, then there were a couple of false tops and then we were there. There was only a small cairn but then I suppose that this isn't a well frequented summit. Ben Lomond looked very close and I could see that there were a lot of folk on top of it. It looks as though you could combine the two hills but that's for someone who is a lot fitter than me.

I took some more photos: the Arrochar Alps again.....

and a view of the hills around Crianlarich with Ben More and Stobinian on the right.....

The 4WD track goes through to Loch Chon which is west of Aberfoyle. This is looking along it to the Marilyn of Beinn Uamha, one that I have still to do.....

The view of Cruinn a'Bheinn and Ben Lomond was better when we got back to the track than it had been on the way up.....

this is looking across Loch Lomond to Loch Fyne; the hill is the Brack.....

and a few more of the Arrochar Alps taken on the way down. Ben Vane.....

Ben Vorlich....

and a final panorama......

My stamina levels have dropped considerably since my stay in hospital and my legs were a bit wobbly on the last mile back to the car. I stopped for 10 minutes to let Ben have another dip in the loch, there are some really lovely spots to sit and relax around here. It had taken the best part of 7 hours to do this hill, a long day for us and even Ben seemed to be a bit tired. But then he had covered at least 3 times the amount of ground that I had!