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It's been a while since I've been out on the hills, instead I've had to settle for reading hill reports and decorating the dining room. Three weeks ago I knackered my back which had me laid up for a week, being the sensible chap I am, at the end of the week I thought it would be a good idea to go the gym where I managed to pull a calf muscle which meant another week off so at last today I was able to throw the boots in the car and head off.
Today was always going to be a Corbett day, I liked the look of the two Fife Flyer did last weekend at Lochearnhead but in the end plumped for Ben Vuirich simply because it's a hill I've been looking to do for about a year now. The forecast looked to be really good but it also sounded like winter was coming so an extra couple of layers were in the rucksack just in case.
I arrived at Straloch nice and early so was parked by the recycling area and walking for 8.20am.
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- Parking area
It was good to make my usual early start but the sun was still to make an appearance so it was a fairly cold start and the tarmac road up as far as the farm was very slippy.
As I approached the farm the dogs got wind of me and the barking started. The dogs at the farm set off the dogs in the garden in a house on the other side of the road so it was a pretty noisy 5 minutes till I was through the farm yard.
I then came to a cattle grid with a number of Highland cows on the other side.
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- A bit of an obstacle
As soon as these guys noticed me they made a lot more noise than the dogs managed. Not sure if it was feeding time and the farmer was late but whatever was upsetting them they were letting me know about it. They also weren't in a mood to move so I had to share the road with them. Behind the cows in the photo there were several with very impressive horns so I was keeping a close eye on them as I was only about 3 feet away from them.
Leaving the cows behind the tarmac road keeps to the east of the river and there's no need to get the map out until I cross over to the west side so I just enjoy the walk up the glen.
I met a guy on the bridge and he was telling me he had moved in to the cottage just up the road and he was heading a mile down the road towards the farm where he could get mobile reception. I was having a look at the cottage as I passed, at the bottom of the garden there was a bridge over the river then open access on to the hills - I think I hate him!!!
After crossing the bridge and then the cottage on my right I then went beyond the fir trees on my left and gave it about 300-400 metres before spotting a grassy track that was heading directly uphill more in the direction of Meall Daimheidh than Ben Vuirich but I decided it was time to leave the tarmac behind so took it.
It was a bit damp but the gradient was fairly easy and I was able to gain a bit of height easily.
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- Carn Dubh with Beinn a' Ghlo in the background
After about 15 minutes of climbing the gradient eased and I was now able to see my route ahead to reach the foot of the climb up to Carn Dubh. I took a fairly direct route towards the eastern side of Carn Dubh and was able to contour round the slopes to keep on a level gradient. On reaching a fence there was one boggy section that was pretty damp and a bit difficult mainly as it had been frosty but not cold enough to firm up all the peat bogs so some would hold my weight while others gave way and I was in mud up to nearly my knees.
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- Heather bashing towards Carn Dubh
I scared a huge herd of red deer just before reaching the start of the climb of Carn Dubh and it was a good excuse to stop and watch them before starting the main climb of the day. I had been looking at the hill from a distance trying to decide which route up I would take, in the end I just went over towards the east side and then as I climbed I headed west over the hill until I eventually reached a wall which I followed to the top. The lower slopes were quite steep and the climb took longer than I expected.
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- Gaining height and a dusting of snow on the ground
On reaching the top of Carn Dubh it was good to see that the final climb to Ben Vuirich would be easy and there was a white track all the way to the trig point.
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- Summit of Ben Vuirich now in sight
Now that I was on the broad top the wind was much stronger and it was bitingly cold (or I've become a wimp over the summer). When I got to the trig point I was quickly in to the rucksack for an extra layer and my neck fleece that goes everywhere with me in the winter months.
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- Summit of Ben Vuirich with Beinn a' Ghlo in the background
It might be bloomin freezing up here but it's a great day to be out and the combination of blue sky, fast moving clouds and snow has me captivated but it's not a day for hanging around so after ten minutes I was off again.
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- Looking East
I decided to head back down the east side of Carn Dubh as I wanted to see Loch Loch.
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- Loch Loch in the distance
Having taken a more easterly route down I thought I might as well head down to Creag Uisage rather than my route in.
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- Looking back to Ben Vuirich
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- The small bump of Creag Uisage ahead
It looked like the walk down could be a bit damp as it's a bit of a bowl that looks like it would retain a lot of water but it was better than I expected although there are one or two very small hidden burns to watch out for.
Taking this route down meant I met the road about half a mile higher up the glen but it was good to hit the tarmac and take a layer of clothing off as well as the hat, gloves etc as now that I'm out of the wind it's quite warm.
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- Looking up the glen
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- and again
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- and again
Being back on tarmac meant that it was a fairly quick walk back down the glen and it was good to see the cows had moved away from the cattle grid and I didn't have to squeeze past them.
Back to the farm, wound up the dogs again then another ten minutes and I was back at the car. Time for this walk was 5hrs 26 mins with 4hrs 56 mins walking and 30 minutes putting on and taking off layers.
Great day out on a good hill.
