free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
The weather forecast was good so I set off early to have a walk up this hill that I've had my eye on for some time. However, there was thick fog which didn't clear until Crieff, so the journey up was a bit slower that expected. Still, I parked at Amulree just before 9 and set off along the track towards Glen Fender. It was a good track leading to a bridge and then a tall style and finally to the estate road in the glen.
- Walking up Glen Fender
It was very pleasant walking up the glen in the early morning sunshine and I made good progress to the second-on-the-right track heading up the hillside. It got a bit steeper now so out came the poles but I gained height quickly (well, fairly quickly!) and soon reached Beinn Liath.
- Meall Dearg from Beinn Liath
Meall Dearg still looked a fair distance away but I knew from my research on Google Earth that there was an estate road most of the way to the hill. This made for a pleasant high-level stroll but there were plenty of ups and downs along the broad ridge. After a final steep ascent, I realised it was time to leave the track and head on to the 'rough stuff' to reach the summit trig.
- Leaving the track to head for the summit
There were some lovely wet peat hags to negotiate and plenty of heather and tussocks to test the ankles and knees before a final steep rise to reach the gleaming white trig. I t was quite hazy at this time so the views were good but not great but Farragon Hill and Schiehallion were fairly clear.
- Meall Dearg summit pan
- Looking back to Beinn Liath from the summit
After a bite to eat and sit to have a look around, I set off back down through the hags and heather to reach the track but if I was expecting a nice easy stroll out I was mistaken: there were a few too many ascents on the walk out for my liking - especially the last km or so from Glen Fender to Amulree which seemed to be all uphill - gentle uphill true enough but at the end of a fairly long walk, any uphill is a bit of a struggle, especially when one is building up hill-fitness. It was a relief, then, to get back to the car which I had parked in the shade of a tree and guzzle down a t least a litre of refreshing water.