Walkhighlands

A day out in the hills is a great cure for jet lag. I'd just come back from a week in Texas, and the forecast for the next day was looking good - a rare treat this month. We've done this walk a few times now, and really enjoy it, though it's odd that despite a good path up Beinn Each and a reasonable one continuing to Stuc a' Chroin, there seems to be none for the return, which involves a rough heathery descent to the track in Glen Ample - if anyone knows a better way I'd be glad to hear of it!

It turned out to be a stunning day with fresh snow on the tops and super visibility - the Galloway Hills which are 80+ mil;es away were clearly visible. The first winter conditions of the season are always someting to relish. We didn't make especially fast progress and the ground was a bit icy ion places, but we just made it back as it was getting dark.



Stob Binnein and Ben More


Meikle Bin


Ben Lomond


Beinn Each


Stob Binnein and Ben More again


Stuc a'Chroin


Ptarmigan


Arriving at the top of Stuc a'Chroin


Ben Lawers from the top of Stuc a'Chroin


Arran


Raven looking for lunch scraps


Tarmachan Ridge


Looking back to Beinn Each (on the left)


Meall Ghaordie


Tarmachan Ridge again


Meall an-t Seallaidh


The Cobbler and Beinn Narnain


Being watched...


Last light on Ben Lawers...


....gone


Sunset over Ben Ledi

Few words jmarkb, but some very beautiful photos and a couple of nice wildlife shots

Amazing pictures - such a perfect day all over Scotland wasn't it!

It's also good to know that there's another route up Stuc a Chroin that is passable in snow as I had a failure in April when approaching from Ben Vorlich

ancancha wrote:Few words jmarkb, but some very beautiful photos and a couple of nice wildlife shots

Thanks, and sorry for the brief write up!

Jaxter wrote:Amazing pictures - such a perfect day all over Scotland wasn't it!

Yes, a stunner, best day out for months.....

Jaxter wrote:It's also good to know that there's another route up Stuc a Chroin that is passable in snow as I had a failure in April when approaching from Ben Vorlich

Yes, it's good alternative, though the descent off Beinn Each is a bit steep in places and the lumpy nature of the ground between the two summits would make for testing navigation in poor visibility. Yet another option would be the SE ridge starting at Braeleny, straightforward apart from the river crossing near the start!

Lovely, my kind of day! Though I’m yet to venture out on the hills on a day like that. Stunning photos!

Cracking photo's there jmark looks better in snow than when I was there recently

That's a great set of pix jmark
It was some day wasn't it? I was on Beinn Each and I'm considering going back another time to do Stuc from that side, having done it the usual way. It looks a nice route. There were two runners doing it. Needless to say - I didn't see much of them!
The views are great from Each. I didn't catch any wildlife that day so I loved seeing the ptarmigan, in particular. It's a beauty. Love your Lawers in the sunset shot - that's stunning. I was on my way home by that time and wondered how good the setting sun would have been, viewed from a hill, so thanks for that lovely photo

You don't need too many words when you have those pix.

Great photos -I was out in Glencoe that day. It was stunning. I'm keen to try out this route as have done Ben Each and Stuc a'Chroin independently from opposite sides...

Great photos jmarkb - and a fine way to get over the jet lag!

Thanks for all the kind words about the photos everyone, much appreciated.

katyhills wrote:It was some day wasn't it? I was on Beinn Each and I'm considering going back another time to do Stuc from that side, having done it the usual way. It looks a nice route. There were two runners doing it. Needless to say - I didn't see much of them! The views are great from Each. I didn't catch any wildlife that day so I loved seeing the ptarmigan, in particular. It's a beauty. Love your Lawers in the sunset shot - that's stunning. I was on my way home by that time and wondered how good the setting sun would have been, viewed from a hill, so thanks for that lovely photo

Thanks katy, it was worth being late back for those views - Ben Lawers is perfectly framed by Glen Ample as you head back down. The ptarmigan was just below the summit of Stuc a' Chroin and let me get very close. We saw the pair of runners - they were just about to catch us up, but then they must have dropped off the ridge as we didn't see them again. It is a nice route, despite the deep heather on the way down. For a slightly longer day, and when the rivers are low, the round of these two from Braeleny is another option I can recommend.

Very nice photos indeed! I was on the Black Isle this day and it was just grey
I hoped to get photos like yours today at Rothiemurchus but unfortunately it was to cloudy (damn mountains ). Should've gone up the Monadhliaths.

Thanks again for sharing your photos! I especially liked the ones of Ben Lawers (I was there in October ).