This round of four Munros was the main reason for us renting a cottage on the Roro estate in Glen Lyon for the 2011 bagging exercise. Located on the south bank of the River Lyon we had an unobstructed view of Carn Gorm’s western and southern side from the cottage. Quite a bulk of a mountain.

Even though the hill was very close Frank and I nonetheless drove the four kilometres to the start of the hike by car. We set out from the parking in Invervar, crossed the street, opened the gate and were on our way. Shortly after having reached the rim of the forest we left the land rover track behind us and climbed due east on a good stalkers path on the southern flank of the ridge leading to Meall nan Aighean our first Munro of the day. The path’s good layout allowed for easy progress. Higher up the going became a little less easy since there were some steeper sections and the path tended to disappear and reappear. Soon, however, the path deposited us on the crest of the ridge at an altitude of about 550 to 600m. From there it was a steady walk up the ridge which tended to level off once the summit got close.

The terrain being easy we enjoyed the views of the Lawers range to the south and of the ridge walk that lay ahead of us to the north. At the summit of Meall nan Aighean we paused for some cookies and water. Then we retraced the steps of our ascent for a few hundred metres. Soon, however, another track led us in a northerly direction and delivered us at the bottom of the south-eastern flank of Carn Mairg which is a steep grass slope strewn with boulders and interspersed with rubble and some scree. On this easy ridge walk this was the day’s only intimation of more difficult terrain. Nice for a change! Once on the wide plateau-ish summit slopes of Carn Mairg Frank and I soon reached … [Read More]

2011 Staying in Glen Lyon on the Roro Estate allowed us to gain easy access to two great foursomes. One to the north – The Glen Lyon Four – and one to the south – Meall Greigh to Ben Lawers. The tour of the second row of four Munros was the aim of this day. Staying on the private road along the south bank of the River Lyon we drove our car to Roromore. Works close by forced us to leave the car half a kilometre west of the farm. We followed the track past Roromore through the meadows along the River Lyon for a few kilometres, reached the large tree plantation south of the track and stayed on the track until we reached Inverinain.

Maybe two hundred metres past the cottage a steep and caterpillar-marked track climbs diagonally through the trees for about 200m. At a height of 350 to 400m it turns due west and leads around the crags of Creag Dubh. Then the track zig-zags up to a height of 550m and peters out on grassy and and squishy terrain. Heading southeast first and gradually in a more southerly direction Frank and I climbed the north ridge of Meall Greigh more or less sticking to the obvious line of fence posts. The combination of undulating terrain and strong westerly winds made progress a little slower and energy consuming than we had expected. But the views were good and especially the dark north-east face of Meall Garbh was interesting. Before final pull to Meall Greigh we paused and replenished our batteries.

After that the main east-west ridge was not far away anymore and we were greeted by very strong winds indeed. Walking upright to Munro No. 1 of the day was not easy at all. However, finally we both touched the summit cairn and immediately retraced our steps to the beallach between Meall Greigh and Meall Garbh. There the winds eased off a bit since the bulk of Meall Garbh protected us from the worst. Up the well-defined … [Read More]

This round of four Munros was the main reason for us renting a cottage on the Roro estate in Glen Lyon for the 2011 bagging exercise. Located on the south bank of the River Lyon we had an unobstructed view of Carn Gorm’s western and southern side from the cottage. Quite a bulk of a mountain.

Even though the hill was very close Frank and I nonetheless drove the four kilometres to the start of the hike by car. We set out from the parking in Invervar, crossed the street, opened the gate and were on our way. Shortly after having reached the rim of the forest we left the land rover track behind us and climbed due east on a good stalkers path on the southern flank of the ridge leading to Meall nan Aighean our first Munro of the day. The path’s good layout allowed for easy progress. Higher up the going became a little less easy since there were some steeper sections and the path tended to disappear and reappear. Soon, however, the path deposited us on the crest of the ridge at an altitude of about 550 to 600m. From there it was a steady walk up the ridge which tended to level off once the summit got close.

The terrain being easy we enjoyed the views of the Lawers range to the south and of the ridge walk that lay ahead of us to the north. At the summit of Meall nan Aighean we paused for some cookies and water. Then we retraced the steps of our ascent for a few hundred metres. Soon, however, another track led us in a northerly direction and delivered us at the bottom of the south-eastern flank of Carn Mairg which is a steep grass slope strewn with boulders and interspersed with rubble and some scree. On this easy ridge walk this was the day’s only intimation of more difficult terrain. Nice for a change! Once on the wide plateau-ish summit slopes of Carn Mairg Frank and I soon reached … [Read More]

A dreich day in Scotland was the weather forecast and a dreich day it turned out to be. But of course that did not keep us from ticking our Munros. The day can even boast a ‘first’ as regards the location of the lunch break.

Now, after having successfully reconnoitred the locations of and roads to all the dammed lochs in and around upper Glen Lyon on an earlier day, we made it to the Loch Daimh dam (Giorra dam) without a problem. We had intended to do the high-level tour of Loch Daimh and bag both Munros on the circuit. However, the prospect of close to 20km of ridge walking quickly lost its appeal when we donned our gear in driving rain and strong wind even at glen level. We chose to climb Stuchd an Lochain first. So we used the land rover track on the south shore of Loch an Daimh and as the books say picked up the path which leads to point 887m on the east ridge of Stuchd an Lochain. After the initial maybe 500 metres of easy going the path changed its character and turned into an unrelenting grind up the steep slopes of the mountain. The path surface is of a deplorable quality. It’s more like walking up a deep scar filled with scree, earth, loose rocks, bog and sand. Often a combination of all these within a few yards. Thank providence that it was not too sodden since the rain had been not so bad the day before.

With considerable effort we reached the uppers parts of the hill and bumped into the one or two steps on the ridge which had to be surmounted before reaching point 887m. There a very strong wind greeted us. From point 887m the obvious continuation along the ridge was the next point on the agenda. When the elements gave us some respite for a few seconds we looked down into the northern corrie way below us and caught a glimpse or two of Lochan nan Cat … [Read More]

A dreich day in Scotland was the weather forecast and a dreich day it turned out to be. But of course that did not keep us from ticking our Munros. The day can even boast a ‘first’ as regards the location of the lunch break.

Now, after having successfully reconnoitred the locations of all roads to all the dammed lochs in and around upper Glen Lyon on an earlier day, we made it to the Loch Daimh dam (Giorra dam) without a problem. We had intended to do the high-level tour of Loch Daimh and bag both Munros on the circuit. However, the prospect of close to 20km of ridge walking quickly lost its appeal when we donned our gear in driving rain and strong wind even at glen level. We chose to climb Stuchd an Lochain first. So we used the land rover track on the south shore of Loch an Daimh and as the books say picked up the path which leads to point 887m on the east ridge of Stuchd an Lochain. After the initial maybe 500 metres of easy going the path changed its character and turned into an unrelenting grind up the steep slopes of the mountain. The path surface is of a deplorable quality. It’s more like walking up a deep scar filled with scree, earth, loose rocks, bog and sand. Often a combination of all these within a few yards. Thank providence that it was not too sodden since the rain had been not so bad the day before. With considerable effort we reached the uppers parts of the hill and bumped into the one or two steps on the ridge which had to be surmounted before reaching point 887m. There a very strong wind greeted us.

From point 887m the obvious continuation along the ridge was the next point on the agenda. When the elements gave us some respite for a few seconds we looked down into the northern corrie way below us and caught a glimpse or two of Lochan nan Cat … [Read More]

It was a rather cloudy day with the occasional prolonged spell of rain. Initially we had intended to do Meall Buidhe and Stuchd an Lochain but – can you believe it – we drove the car to the wrong dammed loch in Glen Lyon: Not Loch an Daimh but Loch Lyon where it took us about half an hour and 200m of climbing before we realized that we were heading anywhere else but Stuchd an Lochain. Oh my! At least we met a very friendly and nosy lamb that climbed with us much of the way 🙂

So, back at the car our options definitely needed some reconsidering to be done. Since we had proven our route finding ability to the maximum already we decided to go after a less difficult task and moved from Glen Lyon to Glen Lochay via the private hydro road. Well, we did find the parking and starting point for the Meall Ghaordaidh hike alright!

On came the protective clothing and off we went from Duncroisk along the right-hand bank of the Allt Dhuin Croisg. The going was good on the track leading up the grass slope. Soon we crossed the dry-stone wall using a stile and then the track continued up the hill. After maybe 20 minutes we found the point where the path leading up the broad southeast ridge of Meall Ghaordaidh begins close to a metal pole rammed into the dirt. From there on it was a monotonous slog up a boggy, grassy and ill-defined ridge. The path was easy to follow but higher up it divided. I chose the left branch, Frank the right branch and we lost sight of each other in the fog and clouds. But soon our ways reconverged and we finally reached the rockier section further up which heralds the end of the “bog slog” and the beginning of the final climb to the summit. In pouring rain we climbed these last 300m over minor bands of crags and rocks. Then, finally, we reached the summit with its … [Read More]