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Grahams: Beinn na Gainimh.
Date: 16/11/2014.
Distance: 10km.
Ascent: 650m.
Time taken: 2 hours, 20 minutes.
Weather: Overcast but clear. Not particularly cold.
I was down in Dundee this weekend to meet my new niece for the first time. She spent most of her time sleeping and pooing (which wasn't greatly different to my weekend, come to think of it. Must be some kind of delayed reaction to the previous weekend's meet), and by Sunday lunchtime we were ready to leave. Gill was working in Glasgow for a couple of days, so I dropped her at the station in Perth mid-afternoon. I was hoping to nip up Beinn na Gainimh and Meall Dearg before heading up the road, but I was an hour or two later than planned, and doubted I'd manage both.
Still, a couple of hours daylight so I went for Beinn na Gainimh first, since the weather forecast had improved. This looked to be the more interesting of the two by far. I parked in Glen Quaich a little way short of Croftmill and left the car at 2:45 pm.
Hmmm…somehow I doubt it:
The initial walking was easy as the track shown on the map had recently been resurfaced for a hydro scheme. This led me most of the way to Loch a' Mhuilinn, where I followed a branch to the hydro intake and splashed across the burn. I was straight onto the steep slopes of Meall Mor, which were also very dry and composed of grass and short heather - much easier underfoot than I expected.
Looking up Glen Lochan:
Loch a’ Mhuilinn, Creag Grianan and Meall nam Fuaran:
I gained height at an odd angle to the skyline, so it felt like I was never getting any closer to the top. However before long I popped out on the 704m summit of Meall Mor. There had been large herds of deer on the skyline, but they had gone by the time I arrived. I was relegated to using my phone camera, so wasn't able to get a decent shot of them from afar.
Loch Freuchie and Meall Dearg:
…again with Loch a’ Mhuilinn:
Next was a pleasant bit of ridge walking - I'd partly chosen this route to include it. Beinn na Gainimh lay a good 25 minutes away over the intermediate summit of Creag Grianan. There were some pleasant crags along here, a little like those up Glen Lee in Angus, although not quite as impressive. There was also a double electric fence, although I didn't need to cross it at this point.
Creag Grianan from Meall Mor:
From the summit of Creag Grianan:
The best summit of the walk was Creag Grianan, and there were some interesting faults and slippages into Glen Lochan on the section between here and Beinn na Gainimh.
Looking towardsBen Chonzie from Creag Grianan:
…and back to Loch Freuchie:
Meall nam Fuaran across the glen, with many faults and slips in the foreground:
I was soon on the plateau of Beinn na Gainimh, the edge of which had a nice view down Glen Almond. I could just make out Stob Binnean behind Ben Chonzie, caught in the sunset. There was also a red glow over Fife and the east, but I had to climb the electric fence and wander through some peat hags to the summit cairn to see this properly. The best of it had gone by the time I arrived. Still, a nice sunset.
Just too late for the best shot – red sky over Fife:
Meall nam Fuaran and Meall Eanchainn from Beinn na Gainimh:
Ben Chonzie and Creag Uchdag:
Again, with a sliver of Stob Binnein behind (centre left):
I took a slight shortcut back to the last bealach I had crossed, where I had to climb back over the fence. Nowhere particularly easy here - I can confirm that at least one side of it was switched on! I was keen to make the descent back into Glen Lochan before it got completely dark as I had noticed the ground to be very uneven here. It was all the way down, with interesting crags and cravasses - not the place to be after dark though.
Ben Chonzie:
Once down in the glen, I crossed the burn and followed the boggy path for a short while, before climbing a short way up the opposite slopes to pick up a new track I had seen from higher up. This eventually dropped back down to the shores of Loch a' Mhuilinn, from where it was an easy walk back to the car in the half-light, accompanied by lots of grouse and deer.
Last light in Glen Lochan – Creag Grianan:
On my way along the road to the car, I was passed by a 4x4 which turned round and came back passed me again. It was an estate worker who had spotted my car on the verge and was checking I wasn't poaching! He was very pleasant though.
I thought briefly about nipping up Meall Dearg in the dark. It probably wouldn't have taken much more than an hour up and down, but in the end I decided I didn't fancy it. Instead it was down to Dunkeld and onto the road north.
