free to be able to rate and comment on reports (as well as access 1:25000 mapping).
Date: 25/4/11
Hills: Beinn Chuirn, Beinn Dubh
Present: Just Me
Weather: Dull start but clearing up to fine sunshine, just a bit windy though.
Distance: 6mls approx
Height Ascended: 3231ft approx
Time taken: 7hrs. You’ll all know by now I never hurry. The holiday Monday found me looking for a shortish day out so I would not be caught in the traffic heading home at Loch Lomond. Well that was the plan anyway, but it failed as I still got caught in it
. Anyway, decided on the Corbett Beinn Chuirn and not feeling like a walk up the track to Cononish, I opted to ascend from Glen Lochy. Arrived at a small parking spot at the side of the road just by Arrivain on the A85 just before 8am. Bit of a grey start but the sun was trying to break through as MWIS had forecast.
Crossed the road and headed down to the railway bridge.
With the recent dry spell it was an easy crossing of the River Lochy below the bridge.
Beinn Dubh and a very dry Allt Garbh Choirean.
All the TR’s I read about ascending from this side, nobody seems to have done the whole traverse taking in Beinn Dubh, so I was heading there first to extend the day a bit. It was easy walking up the West side of the Allt Garbh Choirean with the option of following an atv track at the side of the forest. Not a breath of wind here, so it was feeling quite warm
.
I arrived at this gate leading into a young plantation.
I followed the atv track through the gate and continued up the hillside untill the track ran out and I was met by a wall of trees
.
Headed over to the deer fence, and looking up the length of it I couldn’t see any sign of a gate, so I had to clamber over it. By the look of the bit I climbed, I was not the only one. Once over I just made my way straight up the slope in front of me.
View back down to Glen Lochy.
I never paid much attention of my heading, so I arrived on the ridge a bit further East than was really necessary. Never mind it was easy walking alone the ridge to the summit of Beinn Dubh. Catching a cool breeze now, so the jacket had to go on.
View towards the broad Summit of Beinn Dubh.
10mins had me arrive at the small summit cairn. Beinn Chuirn behind.
Ben Lui and Beinn a’Chieibh.
Summit pose with Ben Cruachan range behind
.
Looking down Glen Lochy and over to Beinn Chuirn.
The best viewpoint down Glen Lochy is a few meters west of the summit
.
Zoom to Beinn a’Chieibh.
Time to head a long the broad ridge towards point 773 on the OS map before heading to Beinn Chuirn.
Real easy walking on the short grass with just a faint trace of a path now and again. Weather was improving all the time but the wind was still cool.
Ben Lui catching a bit of cloud.
Some sunlight breaks through and lights up the route ahead.
Not much to mark the summit of point 773, but still time for a pose with Beinn Chuirn behind
.
Headed over to the south and took a short break out the wind behind a rocky outcrop, with a good view of Beinn Dubhchraig,Ben Oss and Ben Lui.
After a 20min break I was off again with a slight drop down before following a line of old fence posts towards Beinn Chuirn.
Arrived at this cairn first with the main summit a bit further on.
As I reached the summit the sun went and seeing as it was a right bitter wind raking the hill, I continued past the cairn and looked for some shelter to have lunch. Dropping down a few meters to the N/E you are greeted by some impressive cliffs.
And a mighty fine panorama of hills stretching into the distance.
Spent a while here relaxing out the worst of the wind, before dropping a bit further down the hill and getting busy with the camera.
I imagine this is a good winter climbing gully.
Zoom shot down to the River Cononish.
Zoom to the summit of Ben Lui.
Zoomed panoramic. Beinn a’Chreachain on the far left to Ben Challum on the right. Guess the rest yourself, no prizes though
.
Looking back up to the summit of Beinn Chuirn.
Last look at the cliffs before heading back to the summit.
Posing on the summit of Beinn Chuirn
. Sunny, yes. Warm, no!
Zoom to Ben Cruachan.
Zoomed panoramic to Ben More, Stob Binneinn, Cruach Ardrain and Beinn Tulaichean.
Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Dorain.
Looking back West to Loch Awe and Ben Cruachan.
I decided to head back towards my ascent route as I was after a sunny shot of Beinn Chuirn from that direction. Again, the walking is very easy on grassy slopes down towards my ascent route earlier in the day. I was heading to just left of centre in the shot below.
Had to cross over a few small streams before heading down towards the forested area.
The shot I was after with the hillside bathed in sunshine.
Looking down into Glen Lochy.
I started walking down the side of the deer fence I had climbed over in the morning. Looking down in front of me I could see another fence cutting across my route with no sign of a gate or style to be seen, when! I came across a ruddy large hole you could walk through
. I had climbed the flipping fence for nothing
. Don’t think it will be here for long as there was new fencing materials lying nearby.
Hole in the fence .
By the time I got back down to the side of the Allt Garbh Choirean the sun was really blazing down
.
River Lochy and Beinn Chuirn.
Beinn Chuirn and Beinn Dubh looking much better than they did at the start of the day.
I really enjoyed this route today and thought it was much better than just heading up and down the grassy spur the SMC guide describes. The race was now on to hopefully beat the holiday traffic down the side of Loch Lomond. I lost, it was already at a crawl from Luss to Balloch at 3.45pm
.
