What a Difference a View Makes!

[cbuchanan3]

With a busy few weekends ahead at home we were keen to get out this weekend and get something under our belts. As usual weather looked like it wasn’t going to play ball with it looking like rain forecast for all of Saturday – typical!

After a Friday night discussion we settled on a trip to Bridge of Orchy and tackling Beinn Dorain & Beinn a Dothaidh.
Setting off just after 7am and a Callander pitstop for rations had us up there before 9 and we parked in the car park next to the hotel which is signposted as a car park and not for exclusive hotel use (was only afterwards realised there was another pay and display just down the road and probably should have been in there).

Fortune seemed to be favouring us with the weather and it was fairly mild with no rain although plenty clouds swirling about – no views from higher up then!

Crossing the road and under the railway and then left to pick up the route had us on the well trampled path up the hill.
It’s an interesting approach up to the bealach, picking you’re way through the scree and boulders underfoot and you soon find yourself in an impressed coire…..you then quickly find your way up a steep section which brings you to a large cairn where the decision is left or right. We chose right and tackled Beinn Dorain first. The first part of the route finds its way though some prettly large slabs, but there is a route to the side if you pretty not to go so direct. I was finding it tough – not sure if it was just the fact that there were no vies and so the day was just going to be a plod through the relentless cloud.

Despite reading all of the reviews we got to the first cairn where I suggested a photo – my son who was navigating suggested we wait and get it at the true top! Once there, we did eventually get a picture but didn’t hang about as it was pretty bleak.
Rather than retracing our steps, a quick look at map suggested there was a route that hugged the side of the hill and picked up the main path further down. Turned out to have a wee bit more interest to it, scrambling and picking our way through the rocks, and through the brief glimpses in the clouds I could pick out some pretty spectacular drops!

We’d decided that we’d get down to the cairn at the pass and then stop for some lunch before tackling Beinn Dorain.

The route follows a well worn path and you gain height quite quickly before hitting some pretty boggy ground. It was so wet that there was nothing to do except try to pick our way though it and in doing this we found ourselves going left and almost up the route which is traditionally the way down! So a quick traverse and we found the path that takes you to the summit. The lack of views was bugging me as it would have been spectacular to get the views over Rannoch Moor and beyond, but that’s the way it goes and we just took a quick snap and headed back down the way we came.

Again on the way down whilst picking our way through the bog we found ourselves a bit off track that required a correction to get us back on track and picking up the path when it reappeared from the mud!

We made good time and I was surprised how quickly we found ourselves at the pass and then picking our way down which had me on my backside a couple of times – care required when it’s so loose underfoot! Once you got through this it’s a fairly easy trek back to the car park and we only had the briefest of showers for 10 minutes which was surprising, but welcome, given the forecast!

It's a must for a return visit in better weather!