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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:
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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.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
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First glimpse of Ben Lawers above the trees.
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One of the shielings, and the hilltop enclosure of East Mealour.
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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
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Lawers Burn from the bridge
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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.
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Creag an Fhithich, the forgotten peak of the Ben Lawers range
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An Stùc and Meall Garbh
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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.
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From here, Ben Lawers was looking grand.
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The burn flowing down from the Lairig is fenced off to permit nibble-free regeneration of the original flora.
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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.
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The rippled summit ridge of Meall Greigh from above the Lairig. The rather menacing sky came to nothing, and I enjoyed sunshine all day.
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Ben Chonzie, and a tiny bit of Loch Tay
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Shiny happy schist
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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.
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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).
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
A more elevated view across Glen Lyon, with Ben Alder above Beinn Dearg.
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A closer view of the hills from the Loch Ossian area to Drumochter
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Hazy Lochaber hills, from Binnein Mor and Ben Nevis to the Grey Corries. On the left are Meall Buidhe and Cam Chreag.
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Exploring the mini-ridge
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Last few steps to the top...
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VIews from the summit. Obviously, it was cold. But I sat there a very long time.
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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.
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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
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Ridges like waves
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Eigerwand
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Quick way down
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Stream above the hydro pool
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Loch Tay, and its local characters
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A post-walk Glen Lyon road trip
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Evening light on the Tarmachan ridge, and Loch Tay from Kenmore
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
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Half Man Half Titanium, on Flickr
Posh pint
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