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Arr...! Schiehallion! It sounds a bit like something a pirate would say, somehow. Anyway, that's where we were heading to today. Rain was forecast later in the day, but it wasn't supposed to reach the east until early evening, so a shortish Munro seemed to be a good plan. Turns out that this part of Scotland is quite a long drive from Paisley, especially when you get stuck behind slow vehicles practically all the way after turning off the A9. It was about half ten when we arrived, taking one of the last spots in the car park even though it was a weekday. Midges and other flies were there to greet us.
After paying for parking we set off along the trees edge at a speed just quick enough to escape the midges. The larger flies kept up a little longer until the breeze picked up on the ridge. From near the start, Schiehallion's summit seemed to be the dividing line between fog (on the north side) and blue skies. Better weather than the Ochils which had been covered in blanket cloud on the journey up.
Once we could see over the level of the trees we'd just left, good views began to open out over Loch Tummel.
Despite the full car park the hill seemed fairly quiet. The weather was sunnier and the breeze gentler than expected, and I was wishing I'd brought a sunhat. Soon though, an interesting diversion was provided in the form of a baby adder slithering across the path into nearby heather. This was the first time an adder had stuck around long enough for us to take a photo...
Views were now really opening out behind us:
Back down the path:
Soon, it was boulderfield time. A large cairn lay just ahead, but I had my suspicions about this being the summit. Glancing at the map confirmed this!
In fact, from the cairn, it was clear that the summit was still a little way away...
Glen Lyon munros:
Further up the ridge:
Soon we were at the summit - ah, this is where all the crowds had got too! Lovely weather still - the clouds approaching from the southwest seemed to have stalled. We noticed these random spirals on one of the rocks:
Also, there were some views
With the help of an online panorama saved on my phone, we tried to identify the various hills - visibility was about 50 miles today. Towards Ben Nevis:
Loch Rannoch:
Dunalastair Reservoir:
Loch Tummel:
Cairngorms:
After a leisurely lunch we headed back down the same way - no adders this time! The weather stayed fair for the descent - a pretty straightforward Munro, great views and some interesting wildlife as a bonus
