Beinn Dearg, Glen Lyon walk

[U059361]

This walk starts very easily up forest roads till it passes out of the woods onto the open hill. It then becomes a fainter quadbike track up past the end of the trees and heading back along the top of the forest. Persevere as eventually a track branches off to the left up the slope. This bit is wet and boggy. No problem for a quadbike obviously but the worst parts can be avoided. I was wearing summer boots and managed to keep my feet dry. At the top the bealach is dry with little vegetation, so easy walking.
Cairn at bealach between Beinn Dearg and Creag Ard by Joe Kincaid, on Flickr
I saw this cairn and walked over to it. I plotted my route over to the fence line that I could see going all the way to the top. Some peat hags to be navigated before reaching the hill and then I gradually walked over to the fence. I couldn't see any path over so I cut a corner. There is a path beside the fence all the way to the end of the fence. The top cairn is visible a bit further over.
Beinn Dearg top, with Carn Gorm by Joe Kincaid, on Flickr
I walked over to the southern edge for a better view but the Lawers range was in cloud then back to the fence line.
View over Loch Rannoch from top of Beinn Dearg by Joe Kincaid, on Flickr
It was a quick walk back to the bealach and I kept below the cairn going over to Creag Ard. No path here either. I walked right over to the far point of the Creag where there is a little cairn. This gives the best views.
Creag Ard view to Lawers range by Joe Kincaid, on Flickr
By now the weather had brightened up and Lawers and Tarmachan were clear of cloud.
Upper Glen Lyon by Joe Kincaid, on Flickr
I walked back to the other top but stayed underneath it heading towards the track going to Cam Chreag. This is the best direction to head to the gate on the fence line which is out of sight till well down the hill. Be aware that once the fence is reached there is a lot of bracken to walk through to get back to the road. Had I known this I might have been tempted to cross the fence and go directly down the slope, avoiding most of it. I did spend a lot of time trying to miss as much of it as I could but still waded through lots of it. I was relieved to get through the final gate and back onto the road. I don't like bracken as I've picked up ticks elsewhere while walking in the stuff. None this time but you can never tell.
It is a good car park too with plenty of space.