Beinn Bhreac, Port Ellen, Islay

[mrssanta]

Well this wee hill does not even feature on any lists of hills that I know of and at only just over 220metres high it is not one that sees hordes of visitors, but this was the last day of my holiday visiting my mum and I fancied a bit of fresh air and some map reading practice. Although a small hill, it is rough going over trackless heathery and boggy ground and a good walk nevertheless.
St John's church in Port Ellen serves soup, filled rolls and home made cake in the Saint Columba Hall in Port Ellen every Thursday during the summer season. It so happened that my mum's turn in the kitchen was this same day, so I filled myself up with broth, egg and salad roll, tea and some rather good pear and almond cake. (They do gluten free and veggie as well) the whole lot for just over a fiver.
I set off from the St Columba Hall up Mansefield Road and out of the village towards Lagavulin, but very quickly taking a left turn up hill up the lane that leads to Kilbride Farm, known as the Brahunisary Road because it also passes the farmhouse of Brahunisary. I always loved that name.
On the way took a wee detour to find the Well marked on the map near the ruined chapel of Cill Tobar Lasrach (so presumably the well is Tobar Lasrach)

Cill Tobar Lasrach. The well is in the middle of the rushes at the edge of the field. I couldnt get near because it was well churned up by cows.

Brahunisary Farmhouse from the road

The lads were out bringing in silage bales with several tractors and I waved to one as I passed Kilbride. The intention was to pick up the track marked on the map going up to the moor, but in fact the track on the ground bore very little relation to what was on the map.

boggy meadow at the front with the Kilbride tractor collecting silage bales

wild Valerian and cow parsley, meadowsweet and other flowers fringing the Kilbride River

the tractor works round the standing stone.

The track was a little more obvious going through a gate into a boggy field (Gortain Buidhe) with an enormous herd of cattle including a bull (Good afternoon, Your Majesty is what I was taught to say, show them a little respect).
I skirted the cattle to the east and thereby left the track again, crossing this large field by means of a wobbly route which avoided the worst of the bog. There are many black lines marked on the OS 1:25 000 map and on the ground these represent narrow 2-3 foot high banks covered with heather; presumably they would originally have marked out field boundaries.

Good Afternoon, ladies and Your Majesty.

Looking back to Laphroaig the Bonded Warehouses visible to the right

Lagavulin

I saw a gate in the top left corner of the field but on coming closer this only led into the next field, not onto the moor, so I followed the deer fence along eastward until I came to a gate, an interesting combination of bog-hop and clambering along said heathery banks when the bog became too wet or un-jumpable.
Once on the moor I headed roughly up hill through a broken fence past what I assume was a ruined dwelling and up to the top of Cnoc an Eireachdais at 184 metres. From there I could see that there was another fence to cross but fortunately a gate was visible not too far from the low part between the two hills. Going through this gate was a bit of an experience as there was a good area of very wet mud all around it which necessitated hanging on to the gate post on a tiny tussock of grass while negotiating the gate.

ruined dwelling?

to beinn Bhreac from cnoc an Eirichdais

nice bog and heather to walk over always full of surprises

Up to the top of Beinn Bhreac and there was a view at the top as far as Sanaigmore way to the north, but not good for a photo as it was a wee bit hazy. The pictures really don't do justice to the views, which are very wide, but not dramatic like big mountains are.

from the top, wee lochan and moor going on for ever.

from the top to Port Ellen

I could have come home via Borraichill Mor which is the backdrop to Port Ellen but I was not sure of the way off this hill without meeting more cows and bog, so I opted to go back via Brahunisary.
I came down the steep western nose of Beinn Bhreac to skirt round the boggy bogs where the water collects eventually to become the Kilbride River, plouged through some rather high bracken, and then followed a deer fence to the corner of the next field from whence I crossed the field at an angle to meet the end of the track. I figured that the track that leads from Brahunisary into this field would provide a bridge of some sort across the drainage ditch marked on the map and this would lead me back to the metalled road.

The Bog to Avoid, with Borraichill Mor behind.

through the shoulder high bracken.

through the shoulder high bracken.

follow the deer fence

Beinn Bhreac, the speckled hill, looking back the way I came

sundew in the bog

take a guess across this lovely floral meadow - can't actually see where I am aiming for because of the curve of the hill, but I hit it bang on!

bridge

back to the Farm track

the fruits of the farmer's labour

From there it was just a walk back into Port Ellen, round the back of the village and back to Granny's house in good time for tea.

coming into Port Ellen again

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