Meall Buidhe (Glen Lyon)...and memories of an earlier escapade

Participants - Just me
Where - Meall Buidhe (Glen Lyon), 932m/3,057', Munro, Map 51, NN 498499

Meall Buidhe is one of the easier of the Munros but its position on the eastern edge of Rannoch Moor makes it well worth climbing. It's a straightforward walk, nothing steep, and I have been there on a few occasions. My last visit, in 2009, was on a glorious spring day when the area was looking at its best. It's a popular area and the start point for both Meall Buidhe and Stuchd an Lochain but there is plenty roadside parking at the end of the public road just before the Loch an Daimh dam.....

 

I found traces of a path up the gentle slopes although it was a bit wet in places. The view to the west along Loch an Daimh opened up as I got higher; the hill with the snow patch on it in the far is another Meall Buidhe of which more later.....

I reached the ridge just to the west of the top Meall a'Phuill and followed it more steeply to an unnamed 917m top where the ridge swung round to the north. This is the view to the northern section of the ridge from below the 917m top.....

and from the cairn on that top looking south to the Ben Lawers group.....

It was great walking on short grass from there to the summit where I stopped for ages to sit in the sun and admire the views, south-east to the Lawers hills.....

and south west to the other side of Loch an Daimh.....

Most folk climb both Meall Buidhe and Stuchd an Lochain in the one trip. The usual way to do the two Munros is to do one, go back to the start at the dam and then do the other. Standing at the cairn on Meall Buidhe one day many years ago however, we decided that it would be a great idea to link them by walking round Loch an Daimh. The fact that it was already getting on for noon on a fairly shortish day didn't really figure in our thoughts. A look at the map showed that it was roughly 5 miles to the far end and the Corbett of Meall Buidhe, that is 5 miles as the crow flies. However there were lots of ups and downs on the way and with no path, time was already getting on when we eventually reached the second Meall Buidhe. This is a rather remote Corbett and when we got there, the summit seemed closer to Glencoe than to the Loch an Daimh dam. Probably an illusion though. Still, the route back to the dam along the south side of the loch was shorter than the outward route. The only problem was that another Corbett and a Munro stood in the way.

The Corbett of Sron a'Choire Chnapanich has easy grass slopes; unfortunately,you have to make a zig-zag to get to the cols either side of it and these cols are ridden by peat hags. By the time we got to the second col below the west ridge of Stuchd an Lochain we were knackered and darkness was approaching. The thought of having to climb all the way up Stuchd an Lochain just to go down the other side was too much. So we headed for the loch side. Now anyone who has tried to follow the shoreline of one of these man made lochs will know what a daft idea that was. Contouring across a steep hillside is always strength sapping and frustrating. And the shoreline was comprised of uneven boulders so that wasn't an option either. While we tried to follow the edge of the loch as closely as possible, in places the shoreline bit into the hillside and we had to divert upwards. It was only 3 miles but it took an age. We should just have gritted our teeth and climbed the Munro and followed the path down. The loch side approach took longer and it was dark when we eventually got back to the car.

Although we'd made a bit of a b###s of it, this was a fine walk and one to be recommended for a long summers day. On my 2009 trip however, I was content just to sit at the cairn on the Munro and remember the earlier visit to its namesake and then slowly meander my way back to the dam enjoying the view across the glens to Meall Ghaordaidh as I descended.....

Penvalla

2 January 2009

Participants - Just me
Where - Penvalla, 537m/1,765',Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 72, NT 151395

This is an account of a New Year walk. Sadly, not this New Year; although I am recovering from my op, I am nowhere near ready to set foot on a hill. Rather it is a look back to a walk that I did a year or two back when I was staying at Polmood, a hut near Broughton that belongs to the Border Bothies Association. On New Year's day we walked up the valley of the Gameshope burn past the MBA bothy of the same name and on up to Molls Cleuch Dod. Cloud came and went and there was some fresh snow on the tops and it was generally not too bad a day to be out.

The following day dawned clear, frosty and very cold. I was heading home and decided to make a diversion to climb Penvalla, the easternmost hill in the Broughton range. The other hills in the group are best approached from Broughton; the easiest route to Penvalla looked to be from the south. So I drove to Stobo and parked at the side of the road leading to the church. A good track followed the east side of the Easton Burn, a Right of Way that was now part of the John Buchan Way.....

Penvalla soon made an appearance.....

 Approaching a forest area, I heard the sound of gun shots. A pheasant shoot was under way. A lookout had been posted to ensure that no walker got within range of the guns and I had a sudden fear that I was not going to be allowed to go any further. However, the chap was very pleasant, wished me a Happy New Year and told me a bit about the shoot as pheasants flew out of the wood closely pursued by a variety of dogs, folk on bicycles and in 4WD's. All very convivial, unless you were a pheasant.

I was soon on my way again, leaving the wood, crossinsg the burn and following the track out on to the open moorland. The sun was out and it was very pleasant as I climbed steadily up the track.....

At the 382m spot height marked on the map, I left the track and headed over Mid Hill straight for the summit of Penvalla. This is looking to Broughton Heights.....

and back in the direction that I had come to the Peebles valley.....

As the day was short, I didn't linger for too long but retraced my steps back to Stobo. All was now quiet in the woods.

Ben Tianavaig

May 2009

Participants  - Just me
Where - Ben Tianavaig, 413m/1,355', Sub 2k Marilyn, Map 23, NG 511410

The weather seems to have settled in to an overcast and often wet spell. Looking out of my window, the Campsies are more often than not covered in clag. So to cheer myself up, I will end my posts for 2012 with a look back to a trip on a glorious sunny day in 2009. It wasn't a long walk- only 1 hour and 30 minutes to the top- but it represented all that is good with hill walking.

Most of my hillwalking trips to Skye have resulted in me getting no further than Sligachan or Glenbrittle and the Cuillin and the Red Hills. I have never, however, been fully comfortable scrambling about on high, narrow and rocky places and this feeling of unease has got stronger as I have got older. So on this trip I decided to fore go the Cuillin and have a look at some of the smaller hills that the island had to offer. I had also discovered sub-2k Marilyn, another reason to give the scary places a body swerve!

Ben Tianavaig caught my eye as one that should prove interesting. From Portree harbour, it just looked like another hill of no special note.....

But from the south, near the village of Braes, it looked entirely different, like a hill that had been split down the middle with only half remaining, the other half having disappeared into the sea. Really dramatic, I almost expected Johnny Depp and the Black Pearl to sail out from beneath the cliffs. OK, a bit of an exaggeration but it was an unusual hill.....

The above pic is taken from near Braes and this one is from Raasay at the other side of the Sound of Raasay.....

I drove to the village of Camastianavaig and parked at a picnic area at the beach. The map showed a path starting at the houses a couple of hundred yards further on (where the road swung to the left and next to a post box) and going up a narrow "close" between two houses and on to the open hillside. It was a bit rough in places lower down, a good excuse to stop and catch my breath and gaze at the views opening up behind me.....

Ahead, I could see what looked like a band of crags and I wondered if there was an easy route through them. There was, close to the seaward side. Beyond that, the going became excellent on short cropped grass and by sticking close to the cliff edge I got some great views. Arrival at the trig opened up views to Portree and the north.....

The summit was a marvellous perch; the hill dropped away abruptly very close to the trig and it looked like a long way down to the sea. I sat around for ages looking down the Sound of Raasay to the distant Red Hills.....

There seem to be a number of similar small hills in Skye that end in precipitous cliff top views. I look forward to visiting them also.

I hope that everyone who reads this blog enjoys great hill walking in 2013. Happy New Year to all!

Beinn a'Mheadhoin

September 2009

Participants - Just me
Where - Beinn a'Mheadhoin, 610m/2,002', Graham, Map 25, NH 219255

So here's the first of my retrospective reports. It was one of these days when I had no firm plan of what I was going to climb, I had enjoyed an excellent walk on Ben Wyvis the day before so I was looking for something that was not too strenuous. I headed to Strathpeffer and the car park for Cnoc Mor but there were a number of signs telling me to keep out as tree felling was taking place. So I thought that I would do something up Glen Strathconnon instead but soon encountered signs saying that there would be long delays on the glen road as resurfacing work was taking place. A three point turn and I headed for the road to Glen Affric instead.

Beinn a'Mheadhoin only really registered with me as a possibility when I stopped in the car park at the bridge over the Abhainn Gleann nan Fiadh to look at the river and to consult the map. The track opposite the car park was the one that I had used years' earlier when I climbed the Glen Affric Munros. I followed it for less than a mile before taking to the hillside. There was a great view of Sgurr na Lapaich from the path, from this angle you wonder why such a striking hill is not a Munro in its own right but closer inspection shows that it is only the sharp end of a gentle ridge that runs all the way to/from Mam Sodhail.....

 Climbing the gentle slopes.the view soon opened out up Gleann nam Fiadh to the Munro of Tom a'Choinich.....

 The going was mainly on grassy slopes and it wasn't long before I could see my objective.....

I reached the flat area that contains the summit in about 1 hour and 15 minutes after leaving the car. There were two cairns, the more westerly was the viewpoint and the other, smaller pile of stones the other side of a small lochan, marked the highest point.

I didn't stay at the smaller cairn long but hastened back to the viewpoint....magnificent! This is the  view to Sgurr na Lapaich, Mam Sodhail, Carn Eige and Tom a Choinich.....

Carn Eige and Tom a'Choinich.....

Toll Creagach.....

across Glen Affric to Sgurr nan Conbhairean and Mullach Fraoch-choire.....

and west to Loch Affric and Mullach Fraoch-choire.....

It's funny how unforseen circumstances can lead to such a great day- although the opposite is true as well I suppose! In this case, a combination of tree felling and road works conspired to direct me to this previously unthought of Graham, one of the best that I have climbed

Now for a pause....

I'm going to be out of action for a few months. If it had to happen then I suppose that this is the best time of year! Hopefully, I should be back to hill fitness by the time the better weather and longer days return. In the meantime however I'm going to keep the blog going. I have photographs from walks in 2009 and early 2010 prior to my starting the blog.....the walks are still fresh enough in my memory to put them into trip reports. Hope you enjoy!

Cairnie Hill

23 November 2012

Participants - Just me
Where - Cairnie Hill, 228m/749', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 59, NO 279155

I was on my way to the Dundee Mountain Film Festival and as it was a beautiful day I stopped for a walk. I chose Cairnie Hill on the grounds that although I have climbed it before it had not yet been included in this blog. Anyway, its a nice wee hill. There has apparently been doubt as to whether it in fact qualified as a Marilyn but a survey a few months ago found that its relative height was more than 150m so its status has been confirmed.

Cairnie Hill lies above Lindores Loch south of Newburgh. It is not named on the 1:50 000 map but is on the larger scale map. Although the car park was closed, I managed to get the car off the road close to a fisherman's hut from where it was only a short walk south along the road to the start of a track that went to within a few yards of the summit. Lindores Loch looked very pleasant; there was a large flock of swans at the side furthest away from me and it is obviously an over wintering habitat for birds.

This is pheasant rearing country and there were lots in the wood, definitely not a hill on which to take a spaniel! I was pleased to see thet there was still a bit of colour left on the trees and the area around the summit was very pleasant.....

Approaching the top.....

The highest point is apparently a rock close to this beautiful and distinctive old tree.....

I wonder how much longer it will stand. A path is being formed from the track to the tree so this hill must be attracting its share of Marilyn baggers. Its not really surprising as the views are fine; this is to Norman's Law and the Tay.....

and this is across Fife towards Mount Hill which is close to Cupar.....

Cairnie Hill is not at all distinctive from the countryside round about but it provided a very pleasant short walk.

Tosson Hill

18 November 2012

Participants - Neil, Steven and Ben
Where - Tosson Hill, 440m/1,444', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 81, NZ 004982

The dying days of autumn so we headed south to catch the last of the colour on the foliage (and add a new sub-2k Marilyn to the list of course!). I was really taken with Northumberland when I visited for the first time earlier in the year, it is so close to Scotland yet entirely different- quaint villages, the different use of stone in buildings, and of course the dialect. It deserves more of a visit than a weekend comprised of short days at the fag end of the year. We were staying at Rothbury which is at the foot of the Simonside Hills and the object on this occasion was Tosson Hill, the highest point in the range.

I drove up some narrow country roads through the hamlet of Great Tosson to a large Forestry Commission car park and picnic area at Simonside forest. It had been frosty overnight and it was a glorious day although the forecast was for more rain and wind to come in later. Although a lot of the foliage had fallen from the trees, the colours were still really strong and emphasised by the deep blue of the sky. The route followed good forest tracks initially; out of the car park past an information board and through a one-barred gate and then gently uphill until opposite a radio mast where we turned left. This is shortly after we left the car.....

At the next junction we turned right; the track rose uphill at the side of the forest and there was a good view back to Rothbury.....

The map that I had printed off the internet suggested that our track should still be deep in the forest but in fact it was just outside. However it was obvious that we were heading for the foot of Simonside crag which was where we wanted to be. But when we got there confusion took over for a few minutes. The other bit of the forest that was marked on the map had been felled and it wasn't immediately obvious where the path that led up on to the moors actually was. After one false start we found it; it wasn't in particularly great condition but it led to where we thought that we wanted to be. As we got higher the views started to open out, this is looking east over Coquetdale and the village of Thropton and the second picture is looking north to the Cheviot.....

We reached a fence and a gate and I took another picture looking north to the Cheviot.....

At this point all doubts that we were on the right hill disappeared, we could see a large cairn in the distance across the moorland. The path, still very muddy, ran along the top of Ravens Heugh, another area of cliffs. This is looking back at it from closer to the cairn.....

And then we were there.....

The cloud was already starting to build in the west and there was a fairly brisk, cold wind blowing so we didn't linger for long before setting off back the way we had come.....

This is obviously a very popular walking area; there were lots of people on Simonside and the ridge to Dove Crag but no one else seemed interested in Tosson Hill. Simonside looked a great walk and if I was coming here again I would do that walk and not bother about the Marilyn. Although it was November and I expected that the moorland would be wet I guess that up on the fairly flat plateau it is never very dry underfoot. Past Simonside, I tried a shot of it straight into the sun, there is a figure on top close to the right edge that gives it some scale.....

Cademuir Hill.....Luck or what?

11 November 2012

Participants - Neil, Steven and Ben
Where - Cademuir Hill, 416m/1,365', Sub-2k Marilyn, Map 73, NT 242377

I had looked at Cademuir Hill in passing on a number of occasions and done just that, passed it. The few reports that I had read talked about huge problems in finding a route through the forest that covers the upper part of this hill; the most recent comments that I had come across were "not a nice hill" and "thoroughly unpleasant". Anyway, we were going to Peebles for a Sunday outing and the temptation to give the hill a go proved too strong. I expected that I would have no chance in finding the cairn, particularly as I don't have a gps and the few paths marked on the map apparently bore little resemblance to what is on the ground.

We parked in the Cademuir Forest car park on the south-west side of the hill. A rough path headed up towards the forest.....

This path reached a forestry road at a red marked waymark post. I reckoned that the top of the hill was roughly above us (obviously!) but slightly further to the north. So we turned left on to the track and followed it until it turned into a path which headed steeply uphill. After about 150 yards the path levelled out and I guessed that we must have come all the distance in a northerly direction that we needed. There seemed to be a break in the trees above us at this point - it was not obvious that it continued any distance but we decided to take it anyway so turned right. In fact, there were what looked like old vehicle tracks so the going was OK. Higher up, we appeared to arrive at a junction of similar forest breaks and solely on instinct, we turned right at this point and then almost immediately left. We were back following the vehicle tracks uphill. There was only one fallen tree that we had to get past and not long after that, the forest break that we were following flattened out and we were looking at glimpses of sky through the trees.....

The ground looked higher to our right so we went that way. It looked as though we had hit on the summit area so we scouted around a bit. And, miracle of miracles, after rounding another fallen tree we spotted the cairn.....

Here is the evidence to prove that we made it to the top.....

And here is a close up of one of the party, who was persuaded to sit still for a moment with a shout of "Ben.....num nums" which is dog speak for food in our house.....

There were, of course no views. I suspect that there are other breaks in the trees that lead to the cairn from the main track but we didn't bother to look. We just went back the same way. Going downhill, there was a view of the 407m top, which has no trees, to the west.....

So Cademuir Hill turned out to be not difficult at all; in fact it was easy peasy! Luck or what?