by m3doc » Sat Sep 05, 2015 8:34 pm
Sub 2000' hills included on this walk: Black Craig
Date walked: 03/09/2015
Time taken: 7.75 hours
Distance: 21.4 km
Ascent: 1154m
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Parked at old bridge (the new one is still single file!) over River Kin on B836, 1 mile west of junction with A815 Dunoon road. Side stepped adjacent padlocked forestry gate and powered easily up 197m with e-bike in 25 minutes to top of forestry road loop where the Coffin Trail sign post is. The adjacent wooden bench, table, shelter pictured by smiffysmc 4 years ago is no longer! According to the 1:50,000 map the Coffin Trail was further west but no longer exists.
A forestryharvesting track rises up 100m to a stile across a sheep fence which can be followed (no obvious path) up to Bealach na Sreine to a junction of fences at Point 325m in half an hour. There is a new fence replacing an older one from there up Green Knap towards Leacann nan Gall and the fencers' ATV track can be followed until it reaches an old fence coming up from the right. A derelict old fence continues up to Cruach nan Capull with old ATV track assisting progress for a bit (2 hours from Bealach, 3 hours from car).
I rebuit smiffysmc's wee cairn on Leacann nan Gall. On the way back I bypassed to the right the small bump before Leacann nan Gall and the latter's summit to Bealach na Sreine (another hour)
An ATV track heads over towards a small ravine ahead to the right.where it ends but a delightful deer path rises up right from there towards Black Craig but dissipates on reaching flatter ground. A prominent cairn ahead is misleadingly not the top (it is not even on the top of a subsidiary bump!) which is a further 500m south to the right and has a smaller cairn (3 stones) (1.5 hours from Bealach)
The 1.5 mile zigzag north, east and north again, along the broad tussocky ridge to the Trig pointed Bishop's Seat is not pleasant going only aided by occasional bits of sheep path and a fence guiding part of the route up to the summit. Good views from here over Dunoon (an hour from Black Craig).
Return by aiming towards Bealach na Sreine skirting above a large ravine then heading left down towards another smaller ravine which is met by a fence coming over from Point 325m and where it meets the ravine the latter can be crossed at a shallowing. A sheep path below the fence can be followed a bit then contour descent to meet the upward route and fence back down to forestry track and 8 minutes by e-bike back to car (under 8 hours total, 260m ascent and 5 miles by e-bike).
- Attachments
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- B836 at River Kin bridge with padlocked gate at forestry road
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- Bishop's Seat - Back Craig ridge
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- Bealach na Sreine and Green Knap
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- Forestry harvesting track goes up left from forestry road "The Coffin Trail"
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- Stile, to left of tree stump, over sheep fence followed to Point 325m on Bealach na Sreine
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- Point 325m with new fence up to Green Knap. Old fence coming up right from forestry track. Near fence going to ravine thence up towards Bishop's Seat
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- Looking back to Bealach na Sreine from ATV track. Bishop's Seat top left with descent to bottom of ravine (right of centre) where fence from Point 325m neets
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- Looking back to Bealach na Sreine. ATV track goes to bottom of dark ravine to right whence deer path runs up right towards Black Craig. Descent from Bishop's Seat to bottom of ravine to left where meets fence from Point 325m on Bealach na Sreine
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- Cruach nan Capull (L), Leacann nan Gall (centre) and Green Knap (R)
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- Loch Striven and Arran from Greene Knap
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- Cruach nan Capull from Leacann nan Gall cairn
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- Looking back from Leacann nan Gall summit cairn to Green Knap and Bishop's Seat - Black Craig ridge
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- Looking back at Black Craig N side of Leacann nan Gall
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- Cruach nan Capull S to Arran
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- Cruach nan Capull back to Leacann nan Gall and Bishop's Seat - Black Craig ridge
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- Black Craig summit "cairn" to Cruach nan Capull and Leacann nan Gall
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- Bishop's Seat along ridge from Black Craig
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- Final approach to Bishop's Seat
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- Bishop's Seat overlooking Dunoon to Gourock
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- Bishop's Seat selfie
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- Bishop's Seat with descent line to Bealach na Sreine showing Leacann nan Gall and immediately behind it Cruach nan Capull
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- Bisop's Seat N to Sgorach Mor, Bheinn Mhor and Clach Bheiin, Beinns Bheula and Rhuadh
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- Ravine with fence upper right coming over from Point 325m on Bealach na Sreine
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