MEALL CHUAICH: The Most Northerly of the Drumochter Hills

[Bonxie1]

Starting out, pushbikes at the ready, with the summit immediately above my head!

Sami alongside the Cuaich aquaduct, the summit is above the curve of the water.

I needed to collect our son, Sami, from St. Andrews University, and with a good half-day weather forecast promised for Drumochter for the following day, I hatched a plot for us to sneak up Meall Chuaich on the way back home to Orkney. This required an overnight with some hill pals of mine, Jo Cumming and Ian Hall, who run a wonderful Air B&B at the Kennels in Glentruim, just north of Drumochter. As well as great food and company, red squirrels visit the feeder on the window, and it’s a chilled and restful pit-stop used by many Munroists especially for those bagging the Drumochter hills nearby.

Cuaich hydro dam with Meall Chuaich reflected in the water.

Dawn proved misty, but things cleared quickly to reveal a fine morning. Breakfast, and a ten-minute drive later and we were being buffeted by A9 traffic in layby 94 (southbound). We could see that the summit and surrounds were completely snow-free, and so our winter kit was jettisoned! Lorries and cars continued to provide a turbulent few minutes as we removed bikes from the van and kitted up, but before long we’d headed back north for a couple of hundred metres, passed through the Cuaich entrance gate and up to the aqueduct, to turn eastwards with the Allt Cuaich below us on our left.

Cuaich hydro pipe with Meall Chuaich at rear.

It’s about 3 miles or so along the aqueduct, past the power station, and the small bothy south of Loch Cuaich to arrive at the start of the ascent, and so we had decided that pushbikes were the order of the day. Red grouse called incessantly from both sides of the track and even onto the flanks of the hill. It was that time of the year, the last few days of March, and the male grouse were in spruce, territorial condition and all fired up. We even saw a wheatear singing and displaying on the lower flanks of Stac Meall Chuaich and so the year was advancing.

Follow the signs! Meall Chuaich summit at the rear.

Cuaich power station, incredibly, is not far off a century old, and regarded by Canmore as a monument – see Cuaich Power Station | Canmore. It’s the most northerly part of the Tummel Hydro Power network, completed in the 1940s, and its single undershot turbine is fed from Loch Cuaich, which is dammed at its southern end. The aqueduct which we cycled alongside then carries the waters into Loch Ericht, which ultimately discharges into Loch Tummel to feed the Clunie and Pitlochry stations. On the morning that we passed the station, its dam was a mirror and reflecting the hills behind, so despite all the concrete and massive green pipes it almost passed as scenic.

The neat and well maintained bothy just south of Loch Cuaich.

Navigating the track and the route to the start of the climbing requires crossing several bridges, but signs proliferate. If you keep the Allt Cuaich below you, pass the power station by keeping it on your left, and eventually swing around the into the Allt Coire Chuaich rather than heading for the loch itself, it’s easy enough. Eventually you’ll happen upon a neat and well maintained bothy which is hidden by a bluff almost until the last moment, and from here you’ll see a final bridge over the burn ahead, which is the start of the ascent.

Some bog pine on the lower slopes just after starting the ascent, remains of the Forest of Gaick.

Keep following the signs!

After an hour of cycling we were ready to start the hard work, up a very wet and braided path. Another sign kept us left, and upwards towards Stac Meall Chuaich, but in the clear weather the path and the summit were both obvious and reassuring. There's some bog pine around, remnants of the ancient Forest of Gaick. Before long we happened upon a small pool, alive with the noise and movement of mating frogs. It was immediately dubbed the ‘Puddock Pool’.

The Puddock Pool, Meall Chuaich at rear.

Puddocks doing their thing.

The summit ridge is inviting from here, and the path skirts upwards but underneath Stac Meall Chuaich, before crossing a couple of minor boulder fields and easing onto the mossy summit ridge of Meall Chuaich itself. A couple of mountain hares – still white - lolloped away through the rocks. The summit is (of course!) at the far, eastern end of the broad ridge, which gives plenty of time to admire the nearest of the Drumochter Munros immediately to the south, Carn na Caim; and those across the A9 before Loch Ericht, Geal Charn and A’ Mharconaich.

Carn na Caim from Meall Chuaich.

Sami Summit!

We made the summit an hour and a half after leaving the bikes, and took stock. Meall Chuaich, being the most northerly of the Drumochter hills is renowned for its view northwards into Strathspey, Loch Insh and the Cairngorms, but our view today owing to the conditions was poorer than the views south and west. Indeed, as the morning wore on, the Ben Alder range almost cleared the cloud behind Loch Ericht, and the shifting skies and threatening squalls kept us entertained.

Summit panorama SW from left towards A' Mharconaich, Geal Charn, the Ben Alder range and Loch Ericht.

Dodging squalls across Carn na Caim. Not a single raindrop got us!

We re-charged and headed off as a cold wind bade us move. We passed a singleton, a runner, and a couple as we descended reasonably quickly. Despite watching the marauding squalls, we weren’t hit by a single raindrop, and remained dry all morning. We were soon back at the bikes, and then back by the roadside at 13:00, making for a pleasant four hour day – only another three-and-a-half hours north to the ferry! Our thanks to Ian and Jo for their hospitality, and especially for the loan of the bike!

A great morning's bagging for father and son!