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I Woke up to one of those rare Scottish sunny days, there was only one place on the agenda for today, the majestic Beinn Dorain. For me, it ALMOST has that same effect as the bookil does when you drive past, you just want to stop and walk straight up it there and then!!! So packed and out the house for 8.45, and parked up in the layby just before the hotel for 10. Took a right opposite the hotel to head for the train station, then through the underpass and through the gate onto the open hill. What a fabulous day for a fabulous hill, can't wait to see the views from Dorain....
- Unfamiliar view of Dorain from the roadside
- Beallach & an Dothaidh
Its a gentle incline on the walk towards the Beallach, and even the climb to the Beallach itself isnt too bad, with the views opening out behind you for those all important "photo breaks." I would imagine this would be alot boggier though after rain.
- Path upto Beallach
Once at the Beallach I followed the path left to go for an Dothaidh first, got to a small cairn which I assume marks where the path is for the descent, as after this the path pretty much disappeared, but on a clear day such as this, navigation wasn't going to be an issue. There are 3 tops on an Dothaidh, and I believe the middle is the true summit, which was confirmed by my gps, but I visited all 3 anyway. Great views all around, especially over Rannoch Moor towards The Ben
- Small cairn where path disappears
- South to Crianlarich Munros
- Summit Cairn
- North towards The Ben
Had a quick lunch then made my way back to the Beallach to start the climb up Dorain, unfortunatley for me, the clag had decided to drift in from the West, and it was starting to look like I'd had any views I was going to get for today.
Not that it was going to spoil my day, as I was now walking on one of Scotlands most beautiful mountains
The walk up Dorain was fairly easy on a far better path, though there is a large cairn not far short of the actual summit which could cause some confusion if the mist is down.... thankfully I had done my homework
I did get itty bitty views along the summit ridge, but not what I'd hoped for...can't have it all I suppose
- Not summit cairn!!
- Across the a82
- Quick view east before the clag came back in
- Just like that!!!
- True Summit
Easy descent following the route of ascent, and all in all on a day like this (apart from the summit clag on Dorain
) I found this alot easier than I thought I would. Good paths most of the way, though as previously mentioned, in wetter times the walk in would probably not be so pleasant.