free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Having done the southernmost Graham last Saturday - Cairnsmore of Fleet - it seemed symmetrically fitting to take on the Northernmost Donald, Beinn nan Eun up in Glen Artney. So much for my new lexicon of South Scots as opposed to Gaelic - here we were with "Allt na Caillich", Beinn Odhar" and Coire Seasgaich" on the map - this is Gaelic country. As it's a Donald that didn't feature on Percy's original list, he wasn't up here in his kilt I guess.
We were only getting one hill day this weekend, so I picked somewhere that would be apart from the larger groups of hills. This combination of Donald/Graham seemed that it would fit the bill nicely. I decided we'd stay at Comrie Croft campsite, where we'd enjoyed a weekend in the early summer - no sitting round a campfire this time though, with a crap weather forecast. We got away from work before 3pm, but already the motorway signs were noting queues from Junction 26...I elected to go over the Erskine Bridge, thinking to go up the back road to Dunblane. Uh-oh - the road to Faifley/Duntocher is closed! I'm now stuck crawling along the dual carriageway towards Glasgow thinking I'd have been better choosing the motorway - it's always the way you don't choose that's better
Fuming, we did manage to turn north at the next roundabout and head up through Milngavie and out on the Drymen road. Hearing of congestion round Dunblane, we opted for the Aberfoyle/Callander route. Oh the rain was vicious, pelting down against the windscreen as we turned and twisted up by Strathyre and I wasn't relishing putting up the tent in it - but it eased as we went along Lochearnside and- to my surprise - was almost dry as we got to the campsite and pitched high in the forest. The rain did come on heavily at times overnight, drumming on the nylon whilst the wind whistled through the treetops.
Sub-tropical camping (compared to frozen solid tent last week)
P1110665 by
Al, on Flickr
Saturday morning was quite dry as we gathered up the tent and drove the short distance into Glen Artney. A nice recently resurfaced road brought us to the car park beside the church. Allison still wasn't over her recent bout of illness - from the coughs coming from her it sounded like she should be heading for a sanatorium in the Swiss Alps rather than Glen Arntey Donalds - more
The Magic Mountain than Uamh Bheag. So I was glad that there was no snow to tramp through, to drain her depleted energy reserves further. I'd pinched Malky's route, up Auchnashelloch Hill first, round Uamh and finishing on Eun. I was expecting bog, especially with all the rain/snowmelt of the last fortnight. It turned out to be not bad, actually. There was a fast running stream to cross on the way up, some nimble leaping onto a tussocky islet mid stream required. Otherwise it was weirdly unseasonal - green shoots of new reeds spearing the air, sphagnum mosses providing a living carpet rather than the blanket of snow we should have been expecting.
Our route ahead
P1110668 by
Al, on Flickr
The Lednock hills to the north
P1110669 by
Al, on Flickr
P1110672 by
Al, on Flickr
River crossing in action!
P1110675 by
Al, on Flickr
Ben Vorlich behind the wind farm
P1110679 by
Al, on Flickr
At least we were shielded from the worst of the wind coming up this way. I could see the tips of wind turbines from the wind farm on the southern side of the hill, from which direction the wind was coming. As we neared the top of Uamh Bheag we were exposed to the full blast of it - all I can say is that i was glad we were at 664m, not 1064. We'd come up a bit too close to the trig point - and had to track over to the 664m west top (which is actually 665.5m, not the 664 marked on the map). Wow, it was windy there. We tracked back along the fence line and had a bite to eat, huddling behind a peat hag out of the wind.
There were a few peat hags to negotiate
P1110682 by
Al, on Flickr
Cairn, Uamh Bheag
P1110685 by
Al, on Flickr
It's a bit windy
P1110686 by
Al, on Flickr
P1110687 by
Al, on Flickr
Next it was a descent following the fenceline east towards the windfarm. There's a strange cairn to pass beside, then we headed north, avoiding the worst of several deep channelled hags. Reached the cairn on Beinn Odhar then set our sights on our final target, Beinn nan Eun. This involved walking along numerous of the peathag channels - like sunken roads. Fortunately most were not too squelchy underfoot. The summit is the wooden post-in-stones, although I did go for a wander to find the 631m ring contour marked on my gps- this was lower than the post
Off down the NNE side of the hill, along the top of surprisingly steep grassy crags - this enclosed perhaps the only patch of remaining snow in Perthshire
I started down the northern rather than WNW shoulder and needed a quick correct in route.
Down towards the windfarm
P1110691 by
Al, on Flickr
Cairn marking the site of the slaying of the last Scottish Giant in 1572. His shinbones were used in the door frame of the Glen Artney Church
P1110692 by
Al, on Flickr
P1110693 by
Al, on Flickr
View back to Uamh Bheag
P1110694 by
Al, on Flickr
Sunken roads on Beinn Odhar
P1110696 by
Al, on Flickr
Summit post, Beinn nan Eun
P1110697 by
Al, on Flickr
As we headed down the hillside a small group of deer dispersed below us, re-assembling after we'd passed by them. We made for the bridge across the Allt na Caillich, choosing to cross the smaller bridge over the adjacent stream and returning along the western side of the Allt. I headed across to the church, which has boarded up windows, although the door opens and it seemed to still be aired inside - I couldn't see a thing due to the windows being blocked- the lights didn't come on. Back at the car and a wet drive down the road, via a slap up meal at the Banana Leaf where the waiter informed us we had ordered too much food - not a morsel of it left when we'd finished
P1110698 by
Al, on Flickr
The last remaining snow in Perthshire!
P1110699 by
Al, on Flickr
P1110700 by
Al, on Flickr
God don't live here anymore
P1110701 by
Al, on Flickr
P1110702 by
Al, on Flickr