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It was a rather damp looking July day and the forecast wasn't great anywhere, so we opted to complete the Bridge of Orchy munros. We did not have huge hopes for good views but we had been lucky in having excellent views on our other two walks in the area. Starting early we left the car park at the Bridge of Orchy, crossed the A82 and turned right up a short road heading towards the train station. We passed underneath the railway, then turned off onto a wide path running to the south of the Allt Coire an Dothaidh, the path proceeds on a nice gradient up into Coire an Dothaidh. We crossed the burn and then before reaching the bealach the path briefly steepens considerably and is quite rocky but with no real difficulties. By the time we reached the bealach the clag had cleared slightly and we could see the sun shining on Loch Lyon.
- The path up to a murky looking bealach
- Getting closer to the bealach
- Steeper section in Coire an Dothaidh
- At the bealach looking towards Loch Lyon
We opted to go to Beinn Dorain first, the visibility wasn't great and after climbing up to about 850 meters we made what we thought was a wrong turn. We would later find out it was an alternative route to the summit. After retracing steps we followed a path along Am Fiaclach, to Carn Sasunnaich (The Englishman's Cairn). I was glad I had read about this as in the poor visibility it could have been mistaken for the top. We proceeded onwards along a slightly narrowing ridge and up to the actual summit. We didnt expect the weather to improve as it would do, otherwise we would have stayed longer and got some views. As we returned to Carn Sasunnaich we began to see some views, including looking back down to the start of the walk at the Bridge of Orchy.
- Cairn Sasunnaich (The Englishman's Cairn)
- On the summit of Beinn Dorain
- Cloud clearing from the Beinn Dorain ridge
- Looking back down to the start
- Looking back
Descending from Beinn Dorain there was a good view of the way up Beinn an Dothaidh. After getting back to the bealach we followed the clear path as it contoured around the western side of the munro. It was here that when looking at the amazing views towards Loch Lyon and Beinn Mhanach I had one of my first proper slips on a walk. My leg didnt look or feel too bad at the time so I carried on. The path then became boggy before climbing to a sort of summit plateau, we looked out at the view from the summit and decided to head to the slightly lower western top where we had heard there were better views. Reaching this we were not disappointed and I was able to see plenty of munros I have yet to do including the Black Mount, Etive munros and even Ben Nevis in the distance. There was also an excellent view across to Ben Achaladair with Rannoch moor and Loch Ericht in the distant background.
- Looking towards Beinn Mhanach
- The way up Beinn an Dothaidh
- On the summit of Beinn an Dothaidh
- Towards Ben Lawyers and An Stuc
- Munros still to do!
- Towards the Ben
- Ben Achaladair and Loch Ericht
We headed straight from the western top to intercept the path of ascent and miss some of the bog. The way back presented a great view of Beinn Dorain. As we headed down from the Bealach my knee which I had fallen on earlier began to hurt and I had a sudden sharp pain in it. This seem to be made worse by the rocky path down. Once back on the less steep and less rocky path the pain went away and only returned when I reached the tarmac road. Despite this it was a thoroughly enjoyable walk once again with excellent views. When my munros are done, I will certainly be returning to these hills.
- Towards Beinn Dorain
- The way down
- Looking back to Beinn Dorain
