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The Perthshire Alps

The Perthshire Alps


Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Thu Apr 21, 2022 7:13 pm

Route description: Meall Greigh, Meall Garbh and An Stùc

Munros included on this walk: Meall Garbh (Ben Lawers)

Date walked: 18/03/2022

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Scotland is so amazing. You set out from a pub car park in a pretty village, and a simple uphill walk takes you to places like this:

ImageIMG_8988 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

I would grade this route PD/F (pretty damned fantastic). The risky crux move is dodging the traffic through the village to the horn carver's shop - have you been inside? It is fascinating, like stepping back to some kind of workshop in Middle Earth.

Behind the shop, the path along the Lawers Burn makes an enticing start to the day.

ImageIMG_8796 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8645 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8793 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8717 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8702 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8799 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

First glimpse of Ben Lawers above the trees.

ImageIMG_8801 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

One of the shielings, and the hilltop enclosure of East Mealour.

ImageIMG_8802 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Whenever I see this hill it reminds me of Galleons Lap in Winnie the Pooh.

"At the top of the Forest are sixty-something trees in a circle. Nobody had ever counted whether it was sixty-three or sixty-four, not even when he tied a piece of string round each tree after he had counted it. It was the only place in the Forest where you could sit down without getting up again and looking for somewhere else. Sitting there, they could see the whole world spread out until it reached the sky."

Out and about enjoying the sunshine

ImageIMG_9216 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Lawers Burn from the bridge

ImageIMG_8812 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

At first, the snowy summits around Coire nan Cat seem distant and unassuming. It sneaks up on you. At the hydro pond, the surround of peaks suddenly appears in its true stature.

ImageIMG_8826 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Creag an Fhithich, the forgotten peak of the Ben Lawers range

ImageIMG_8836 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

An Stùc and Meall Garbh

ImageIMG_8848 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

From the pond, I followed a faint path towards the Lairig Innein. After a short distance I came across this ruin - one of several in this area marked on the map.

ImageIMG_8853 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

From here, Ben Lawers was looking grand.

ImageIMG_8854 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

The burn flowing down from the Lairig is fenced off to permit nibble-free regeneration of the original flora.

ImageIMG_8871 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Lairig Innein opened up a new view, to the north across Glen Lyon and the four-munro circuit I'd done a couple of days earlier on a raw, windy day.

ImageIMG_8882 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

The rippled summit ridge of Meall Greigh from above the Lairig. The rather menacing sky came to nothing, and I enjoyed sunshine all day.

ImageIMG_8883 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Ben Chonzie, and a tiny bit of Loch Tay

ImageIMG_9182 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Shiny happy schist

ImageIMG_8893 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

The view ahead. Meall Garbh summit is the ridge on the far right, not the mini-ridge to its left which appears more prominent from below.

ImageIMG_8898 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Meall Greigh again, ripple effect still going. The map shows another large concentration of shielings in this corrie (Coire nam Buidheag).

ImageIMG_9169 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

A more elevated view across Glen Lyon, with Ben Alder above Beinn Dearg.

ImageIMG_8905 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

A closer view of the hills from the Loch Ossian area to Drumochter

ImageIMG_9106 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Hazy Lochaber hills, from Binnein Mor and Ben Nevis to the Grey Corries. On the left are Meall Buidhe and Cam Chreag.

ImageIMG_8914 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Exploring the mini-ridge

ImageIMG_9161 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_9149 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Last few steps to the top...

ImageIMG_8928 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

VIews from the summit. Obviously, it was cold. But I sat there a very long time.

ImageIMG_9084 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8956 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8954 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

A wider view of the Lawerhorn range. In the distance on the right are I think the hills on the south side of Glen Lochay, with Ben Challum on the right-hand side.

ImageIMG_8972 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

After a while, I had a leisurely little explore of the summit ridge, to the point where it started to descend steeply.

Looking back to the summit

ImageIMG_9073 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Ridges like waves

ImageIMG_9033 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Eigerwand

ImageIMG_9029 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Quick way down

ImageIMG_9179 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Stream above the hydro pool

ImageIMG_9211 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Loch Tay, and its local characters

ImageIMG_9221 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_9243 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_9783 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

A post-walk Glen Lyon road trip

ImageIMG_8412 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8423 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8399 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8419 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8388 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8381 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8424 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8376 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8385 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Evening light on the Tarmachan ridge, and Loch Tay from Kenmore

ImageIMG_8456 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

ImageIMG_8471 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr

Posh pint

ImageIMG_7903 by Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Last edited by HalfManHalfTitanium on Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:44 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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HalfManHalfTitanium
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby EmmaKTunskeen » Fri Apr 22, 2022 9:50 am

Love the photo of early spring moss - very delicate. And you gave me a chuckle at "Whenever I see this hill it reminds me of Galleons Lap in Winnie the Pooh. "At the top of the Forest are sixty-something trees in a circle. Nobody had ever counted whether it was sixty-three or sixty-four..."" :D
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:21 pm

EmmaKTunskeen wrote:Love the photo of early spring moss - very delicate. And you gave me a chuckle at "Whenever I see this hill it reminds me of Galleons Lap in Winnie the Pooh. "At the top of the Forest are sixty-something trees in a circle. Nobody had ever counted whether it was sixty-three or sixty-four..."" :D


Thanks very much! Having just been to Long Meg Stone Circle (went there to hear the dawn chorus - it is a great spot for is as there is both woodlands and small thickets) I was put in mind that it has a similar story - in fact on numerous visits we have tried to count the stones but have never agreed. There are between 65 and 70, that's all we can say!

Likely to be human error, rather than mystical interference by the Spotted or Herbaceous Backson...

Tim
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby The English Alpinist » Mon Jun 13, 2022 4:53 pm

The Perthshire Alps indeed, I was wondering what it would be like in snow up there. How did you resist the temptation of An Stuc?! It was imposing enough in June, but quite a spectacle in these conditions. My favourite 3 pics are Ridges like waves, Eigerwand and the mistle thrush.
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Fri Jun 17, 2022 4:53 pm

The English Alpinist wrote:The Perthshire Alps indeed, I was wondering what it would be like in snow up there. How did you resist the temptation of An Stuc?! It was imposing enough in June, but quite a spectacle in these conditions. My favourite 3 pics are Ridges like waves, Eigerwand and the mistle thrush.


Thanks!

I resisted An Stuc the same way that Wainwright resisted the temptation to climb Broad Stand (the direct ridge link between Scafell Pike and Scafell, thought to be the first UK rock climb, done by the poet Coleridge in around 1800)

"my continuing disappointment at not climbing Broad Stand is amply compensated by the pleasure of going on living."

tim
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby mrssanta » Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:02 pm

Fantastic!
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Wed Jun 22, 2022 6:13 pm

mrssanta wrote:Fantastic!


Thanks very much! - much appreciated.

But, your Fersit to CMD route looks better!

Tim
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby Colin1951 » Thu Jun 23, 2022 12:09 pm

What a beautiful set of pictures. You’ve created a wonderland amongst hills that are usually quite prosaic. Really enjoyed this, thank you for posting.
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Re: The Perthshire Alps

Postby HalfManHalfTitanium » Fri Jun 24, 2022 4:38 pm

Colin1951 wrote:What a beautiful set of pictures. You’ve created a wonderland amongst hills that are usually quite prosaic. Really enjoyed this, thank you for posting.


thanks so much Colin1951!

Really appreciated, thank you.

Tim
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