walkhighlands

Share your personal walking route experiences in Scotland, and comment on other peoples' reports.
Warning Please note that hillwalking when there is snow lying requires an ice-axe, crampons and the knowledge, experience and skill to use them correctly. Summer routes may not be viable or appropriate in winter. See winter information on our skills and safety pages for more information.

Dalmally Horseshoe- or Stob Diamh from the east

Dalmally Horseshoe- or Stob Diamh from the east


Postby Mountainlove » Thu May 12, 2022 10:04 pm

Munros included on this walk: Stob Daimh

Corbetts included on this walk: Beinn a' Bhuiridh

Date walked: 07/05/2022

Time taken: 7 hours

Distance: 14.7 km

Ascent: 1260m

6 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).

On the look out for a Corbett to climb, with a thrown in Munro for good measure, I stumbled across a few reports including Black Panthers which talked about the Dalmally Horseshoe. The route would combine a Corbett and one of the Cruachan Munros. Upon closer inspection, it would also allow me to climb Stob Diamh from a complete different angle than I did 10 years ago, which was an added plus.

The route I took the last time to climb Stob Diamh, before continuing towards Cruachan

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts



The route for today- Stob Diamh from the east

our_route.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts




With a plan made, I left the house Saturday morning just after 7am. I knew there was a 'enough for one car' car park and some lay-by close by. Fingers crossed I would get a space! Surprisingly the single car park was still empty and I managed to squeeze my car into the bushes when I arrived around half nine.

Setting off I was completely alone minus a couple of Canadian geese, who made sure their annoyance, of me walking towards them, could be heard miles away. Honk Honk back to you too!

P1570711.JPG


About a kilometer into my walk I passed a gate and shortly after a small granite quarry the climb up hill began. The start was interesting, as I managed to find remains of old buildings and paths along the way (love a bit of history)

Ahead the hills were still hiding undertone a blanket of clouds.
P1570717.JPG


However soon the ground started to get steep. Slogging along the non existing path, I saw a sheep. Nothing unusual, but it was not moving and getting closer I wondered if it was giving birth... Just something about the position it was in.
When I reached the sheep I discovered the sad fact that it died giving birth. The wee babies head was out, but both mother and lamp were dead. I guessed it must have happened the night before. :(

P1570719.JPG
RIP


Thoughts about the dead ewe and lamb went through my head while I continued up the steep hill sweating buckets.
I was relieved when I reached the first high point with views towards Kilchurn castle and Loch Awe.

P1570726.JPG


However that was only the start of the long ridge ahead. I continued up the hill until I reached the flattish area and cairn called Monadh Driseig. An odd place for a cairn, but it was a welcome place to rest for a while and have a bite to eat.
P1570758.JPG
From the cairn with Loch Awe behind me



From the cairn the summit of Beinn a Bhuiridh was yet again rising steeply. I stuck to the edge, mainly to savor the steep cliffs, but had to do some detours around a few gullies. I was relieved when I reached the first summit, however the real summit was still another 400 meters away.

P1570768.JPG
Still a bit to go


P1570776.JPG
Stob Diamh in the distance


P1570789.JPG
Ben Cruachan in the distance


P1570785.JPG
Views from the summit area


With the final summit finally bagged after 3 h (stops included) I was keen to get going. The downhill climb was what I had expected...very steep, but sticking to the grassy slopes made it bearable and not too bad at the end.

P1570837.JPG
The Corbett Beinn a Bhuiridh looking back


Lairig Torran marked the offical path up the Munro Stob Diamh and from a world of peace and tranquility I was suddenly on a mountain highway. It was so odd seeing suddenly so many people! And OMG how easy was this Munro in comparison to the Corbett I just climbed.

P1570833.JPG


P1570840.JPG


Don't get me wrong, it's still a lot of uphill, but the path made it so much easier. I passed many people, most on the way down and after a few summits I finally stood on Stob Diamh, nearly 10 years after I first climbed it.

P1570848.JPG
Last summit before Stob Diamh


P1570879.JPG
Stob Diamhs summit and cairn


Enjoying the views and a lengthily break I chatted to another couple for a while until I made my way towards the last summit of Sron an Isean. A clear path made the walk very easy and as soon as I left the summit, I had the mountain to myself again.

P1570880.JPG
Sron an Isean


P1570886.JPG
The hills climbed looking back


P1570887.JPG
Towards Stob Diamh and Cruachan


The walk back was simply blissful.The track along the spine of the mountain dropped gently for a good 2 km before it was time to tackle the last sheepish 300 meters in height.

P1570896.JPG
The gentle walk back


P1570898.JPG
The last steep 300 meters...don't you think too the 3 rocks look like sheep?



Based on my map, two bridges would make the crossing of the burn further down easy. However the first bridge would have been a challenge to cross. I opted instead to cross the burn, which was far easier!

P1570903.JPG
A bridge no more


On the other side I aimed for the second bridge, which in comparison to the other one, was great. Once on the other side I was back at the track and simply had to return to the car.
P1570904.JPG
Much better


P1570908.JPG
User avatar
Mountainlove
Munro compleatist
 
Posts: 1346
Munros:88   Corbetts:54
Fionas:7   Donalds:10
Sub 2000:3   
Islands:10
Joined: Feb 2, 2010
Location: North Ayrshire

Re: Dalmally Horseshoe- or Stob Diamh from the east

Postby tweedledog » Fri May 13, 2022 10:00 am

Enjoyed that thank you. I'm very fond of Beinn a' Bhuiridh (which I can see from my garden). Though, as you say, the lack of any kind of path makes it more of a challenge than many a well trodden Munro. By the way, if you had kept going down from "bridge" that you very reasonably declined to cross you would have found an entirely seviceable proper bridge...
User avatar
tweedledog
Wanderer
 
Posts: 325
Joined: Jan 20, 2013
Location: Argyll

Re: Dalmally Horseshoe- or Stob Diamh from the east

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Fri May 13, 2022 4:39 pm

Great report, lovely photos! (But sad about the sheep)

thanks so much for posting this. These hills looked very fine from Beinn a Chochuill and Beinn Eunaich, so doing this route is high on my list. It is such a natural circuit when you look at the map - but as you note, there are relatively few TRs on Walkhighlands about it.

tim
User avatar
HalfManHalfTitanium
Mountain Walker
 
Posts: 2992
Munros:119   Corbetts:28
Fionas:6   Donalds:6
Hewitts:152
Wainwrights:103   
Joined: Mar 11, 2015

Re: Dalmally Horseshoe- or Stob Diamh from the east

Postby steverabone » Thu May 26, 2022 4:23 pm

Thanks for this report about Beinn a' Bhuiridh as I had intended to climb it last Friday from Loch Awe station. Sadly the ScotRail problems meant I had to go elsewhere (using Citylink instead!!).

Your description and photos will be most useful. I agree with your comments about how much harder climbing the pathless Corbetts is compared to climbing the paths on most Munros. Perhaps we should elevate the Corbetts above many of the Munros in terms of the effort and navigational skills needed?
steverabone
 
Posts: 90
Munros:190   Corbetts:41
Fionas:3   
Sub 2000:4   
Islands:38
Joined: Apr 6, 2008

6 people think this report is great.
Register or Login
free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).




Can you help support Walkhighlands?


Our forum is free from adverts - your generosity keeps it running.
Can you help support Walkhighlands and this community by donating by direct debit?



Return to Walk reports - Scotland

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Neil Mackie, Rory88 and 73 guests