Ben More 4 from Inverlochlairg

[RTMcB]

The thought of watching a really stressful Wimbledon men's final was too much to bear, so instead we opted to undergo the arduous task of the Ben More 4! These had been on my list for a single outing for a long time, plus since moving to Glasgow we can now see them all from our flat.

BenMore4_07_07_13.gpx Open full screen  NB: Walkhighlands is not responsible for the accuracy of gpx files in users posts

A word of warning, the road in from Balquiddher is arse-clenchingly narrow, with blind corners and summits everywhere. Plus lots of folk were using the passing places to park their cars whilst camping on Loch Voil.

The weather conditions on the hills were excellent, although the heat made for thirsty progress. I'm knackered and my thighs are still burning - I'll let the pictures do the talking, the route was straightforward but steep in places with some bog. We did this route anti-clockwise, Stob Binnen first, ascent starts from the car park, north to Ben More, retrace steps, down into the glen then up Cruach Ardrian, south to Beinn Tulaichean then down to Inverlochlairg. Currently there's some hydro electric work going on and detour signs were in place. We followed them at first but the signs were really vague and unhelpful. We were completely shattered thus decided to just climb some fences to get back onto the road.

Stob Breac to the south from the southside of Stob Binnen

07 Jul 2013 HX20v.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

A wee pool on the way up Stob Binnen

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-22.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Loch Voil

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-9.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Grassy ridge of Stob Binnen

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-28.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Conical peaks

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-30.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Thank you to the hill runner who took our photo on top of Stob Binnen, you are one of the most interesting people we've met in the hills, truly inspiring, keep it up!

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-45.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Alot less snow on the Ben since we last papped you 3 weeks ago!

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-49.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Ben More Trig

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-55.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Ben More cairn

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-58.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Sauchiehall St (Ben More style)

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-62.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Descent down from bealach between Ben More and Stob Binnen was steepish and wet underfoot, plenty of frogs!

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-63.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

The bottom of the glen was so quiet and boulder strewn

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-66.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr


07 Jul 2013 HX20v-67.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Plenty opportunity to fill up on much needed water,we went through 7 litres!

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-73.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Walking south through the glen Beinn Tulaichean came into view

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-76.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

The rocky cliffs on the south of Cruach Ardrain were fantastic

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-78.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Stob Binnen in the background

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-84.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

There was nowt for it but to get into this waterfall

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-87.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr


07.07.13 A550 88 by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Looking back to Ben More and Stob Binnen

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-89.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

More waterfall goodness

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-92.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Cruach Ardrain from the plateau at about 700m, so close yet so far! Rather than head straight up the south side, we carried on to the left to pick up the well worn path between the two summits.

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-93.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Beinn Tulaichean from the same vantage point. Remarkable how lush it was up there.

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-94.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

So relieved to make it to the summit of Cruach Ardrain, every step we took from here would be a steep nearer the car and a well deserved pint!

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-106.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Cruach Ardrain from Beinn Tulaichean, path between the was short and obvious.

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-116.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

I was shattered.

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-125.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

From where we came, looks steeper than it felt.

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-128.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Stob a'Choin (centre) from the descent south off Beinn Tulaichean

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-136.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

A mutt - yes but not on a Munro, not even our mutt! Dinner in Mhor 84 at Balquidder, well earned

07 Jul 2013 HX20v-137.jpg by r.t.mcb, on Flickr

Then home to find out Andy Murray came through in straight sets - awesome! Well done lad

[Steve B]

That was a good walk in the heat! Nice pictures too.
Did the first 2 from the same direction about a month ago, a great way up them. Don't think I would have had the energy to add those last 2.

[weaselmaster]

Funnily enough I'd been talking about doing the 4 on that route sometime as we drove past on sunday.
Only done these hills in the snow, so good to see them in green for a change.
Well done on getting all 4 in on such a hot day

[SMRussell]

Nice wee report husband This was an excellent but exhausting day in the hills - my thighs still feel like they've been injected with rage
Benmore Glen is just lovely - we even stopped for a wee nap on a nice flat slab of rock before heading up towards the bealach between Cruach Ardrian and Beinn Tulaichean. As we were descending in a Southerly direction off BT we noticed a great looking potential wild camping spot at about 904mtrs. Opportunity missed!

[pigeon]

That must have been a tough day in that heat,everything is steep from the Inverlochlarig end innit Liked your first pic of Stob Breac,done this recently with Stob a Choin and they are steep buggers as well Good stuff,well done both of you

[jmarkb]

Very good effort on a hot day: I'm sure I'd have canned it at the half way mark!

A word of warning, the road in from Balquiddher is arse-clenchingly narrow, with blind corners and summits everywhere.

And stray Buddhists from the retreat centre are another hazard!

[simon-b]

Well done getting these 4 in the heat, RT and SM. I did Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain from here in rain, mist and a gale in May, but at least the drive in was quiet.

[ScottishLeaf]

Well done you two....I don't think I'll be following your lead and doing all 4 of these in the heat your two did them in... I'd be JmarkB's boat and canned it after the first two! They look steep enough!

[malky_c]

Great route . I was on the other side of Inverlochlarig later on in the day looking at this lot and thinking they are so much more impressive than I give them credit for. In my mind, hills around Crianlarich = uninteresting grassy lumps (I don't know why I make that connection, as I've had a few good days out on them).

Years ago, when I had driven up to Glasgow for an open day at the university, I tried to do all 4 from the Crianlarich side. Unfortunately, I only had a couple of tangerines and a peanut butter sandwich with me, and after detouring to Meall na Dige, I totally ran out of energy and couldn't haul my way up to Cruach Ardrain. I gave in, crawled back to the car and drove all the way back to Wales after eating a whole packet of Club biscuits that I picked up on the way through Crianlarich. Maybe that has coloured my memory of these hills

[basscadet]

For some reason those crianlarich hills are right sare on the thighs eh?
Tried to do all 7 in a weekend, but ceased up on the sunday and had to call it a day after 5.. 4 is pretty darn for a days walk

[Gavin99]

Well done , that's a lot of ascent in that heat . I think I'd have been sneaking off to the pub after the first two hills

[SMRussell]

Thanks all from RTMcB and me

Well done , that's a lot of ascent in that heat . I think I'd have been sneaking off to the pub after the first two hills

I was certainly tempted to just jaunt on off down the Glen but RT was determined we were going to bag the four. If there had not be as many opportunities to fill-up on water though it just wouldn't have been possible in that heat.

[catmandu]

Thanks for this report - great route suggestion - I followed it today and found it very pleasurable. Would definitely recommend doing it anti-clockwise - it makes the first two hills quite easy though the real challenge of course is Ben More to Cruach Ardrain. I took a more direct route than the one described here but not sure it helped me any. Took just under 10 hours.