by AndyHam » Tue Apr 20, 2021 6:08 pm
Munros included on this walk: Ben Vane
Date walked: 19/04/2021
Time taken: 4.5 hours
Distance: 12 km
Ascent: 913m
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Making use of the longer days we decided to bag Ben Vane late on a Monday afternoon , hopefully missing the crowds who had packed the hills at the weekend following Covid19 restrictions being lifted.
It had been a nice clear , warm day in the central belt but had started to cool a bit by the time we arrived at the Inveruglas car park , which , was empty bar two or three cars. There is a parking charge however the machine wasn't working on this occasion.
At 16:00 I set off accompanied by my daughter and Mario my 12 year old staffie/mastif cross.
It's a 2.2 mile walk from the car park to the start of the path up the hill. There is construction work going on beside the road up so beware of diggers and trucks.
The path up the hill is steep from the off , rising quickly. The further up you go the path becomes quite eroded in places making it loose under foot. As you near the summit there are a few sections that you need to scramble/climb.
By this time the wind had got up and was blowing a gale , so much that my daughter felt she was going to get blown over.
I'm afraid the dog was showing has age at these obstacles and struggling to get up. He absolutely hates being lifted and at one point he turned back , tail between his legs. He was coaxed along with dog treats and a helping hand pushing him up at times.
We reached the flat summit after 2hr 30min. The strong wind meant my jacket went on and we didn't linger. After a few photos we started back down.
The steep eroded path presents challenges on the way down too. The loose surface demanding concentration to avoid slips.The dog handled the decent much better than I did.
We got back to the car at 20:30. Mario flopped onto the back seat exhausted and he's still knackered as I write this a day later.
We didn't see a soul on the hill and I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of litter.
In summary , this is a tough wee munro and not a hill you can go for a casual walk up.
Due to its steepness you will require a reasonable level of fitness and be confident scrambling and hauling yourself up eroded sections.