Buachailean

 24 September 2022

Participants: Just me

Where: Buachailean, 346m/1,135', P 63m, Tump, OS 63, NS 122 702

I had had my eye on this hill south of Dunoon for some time, waiting for a good weather day to bag it. Standing above Loch Striven and facing a number of islands in the Clyde estuary, it had to be an ace viewpoint. And so it was. I drove to Greenock and the ferry terminal at McInroy's Point. On the ferry heading to Dunoon.....

I headed south out of Dunoon and stopped at Ardyne Point to get a photograph of my objective (the hill on the right).....

There is a good Forestry car park at Ardyne, lots of spaces but only a couple of other cars in it today. The forestry isn't thick; indeed most of the mature trees have been cut down although they have been replaced with more conifers. I followed yellow marker posts initially, they took me to where the path reached a forestry road. A couple of hundred metres to the left and I arrived at the start of a narrower path which led all of the way to the summit trig. I was now out of the trees and there were views back; there was a large cruise ship moored in Rothesay Bay.....

 The views were exceptional. Best were those seaward, over Bute to Arran and Kintyre with Ailsa Craig visible on the horizon.....

The Wemyss Bay to Rothesay ferries crossing the Clyde estuary.....

Looking down to Loch Striven.....

Looking over Bute to Kintyre.....

I spent a fair bit of time at the summit but eventually dragged myself away and started down the way I had come up.....

There was time to wander about Dunoon before catching the ferry back to Gourock and the drive home.....

One of the best hill expedition days of the year.