Twilight Torlum trip

[superstar_tradesman]

Late November, and another late afternoon hill with the boys squeezed in before it got dark! Torlum is another of those hills I’ve seen plenty of times, and even thrashed about in its western thickly-forested slopes during various orienteering races starting at Auchingarrich. But it had never really been in my sights till I realised it was a Sub—turns out it’s a lovely wee walk.

This wasn’t the most well-prepared of walks, as I’d forgotten to pack my map, and had to stop in Crieff to read GraemeD’s walk report on my phone before heading into the boonies and what I thought would be no data connection. But we did have a head torch, and plenty of chocolate biscuits, hats and gloves to share around, so figured we’d be okay for a short walk. (As it turned out, Torlum is a 4G hill, so we had no problems keeping up wth Scotland giving Australia a pasting at Murrayfield )

Probably not unsurprisingly, there were no other cars parked at the wide track end at Balloch Cottage, so parking was easy! The first part of the walk was a steady plod up forest roads, occasionally with a light dusting of snow, passing through a couple of gates through deer fences, then bearing N along a snowier track through some scattered trees and out onto the open hill. The final ascent to the top was very pleasant, up a narrow path clearly defined in the snow.

Looking back to lower Strathearn from a snowy ascent route

Setting sun behind the trees

Torlum is one of those hills almost literally on the edge of the Highlands, which meant that the summit view was pretty varied, even in the limited daylight. To the N, Ben Chonzie shivered in the snow, the lights of Crieff twinkled below us to the E, and the desolate moor to the SW had a pink halo from the dying sunlight.

Crieff from the summit

Ben Chonzie from the summit

A quick stop for pictures, and we turned round and retraced our steps back to the car, avoiding the patches of ice we’d noticed on the way up. The headtorch was definitely helpful for the last km or so back down the track, as the taller trees lower down made it almost completely dark. But overall, it was a great way to stretch a short early winter day.

[grumpy old bagger]

Nice report!
I like walking at dusk, love the quality of light at that time of day. It makes even the most ordinary places look magical.
I'm also enjoying discovering hills I've never even heard of - it's usually the big mountains that get all the glory, so it's nice to read about shorter walks. Especially for someone like me, who isn't into big hills in full winter conditions, so always on the lookout for a short low level walk to do in winter

[superstar_tradesman]

Nice report!
I like walking at dusk, love the quality of light at that time of day. It makes even the most ordinary places look magical.
I'm also enjoying discovering hills I've never even heard of - it's usually the big mountains that get all the glory, so it's nice to read about shorter walks. Especially for someone like me, who isn't into big hills in full winter conditions, so always on the lookout for a short low level walk to do in winter

Agreed—and the slight thrill of being out on the hill when you know it'll be near enough dark before getting back to the car just adds to the experience

[Gordie12]

If you follow any more Graeme D routes keep that head torch handy - you never know where he will lead you

Good wee hill this one, ages since I've climbed it but it was a regular when I was a local.

Agree with your thoughts on walking at dusk/dark. I've been out a couple of times over the last couple of weeks and planned for 6pm finishes. On a star lit night and a bit of snow on the ground it makes for great walking.

[grumpy old bagger]

It's like a secret society: folk who like stumbling around in the dark

I was up Ben Lawers the other week with a friend - first time I've walked with him - and it was getting right murky on the way back to the carpark. He kept thinking about his headtorch, while I'm saying 'ach, it's nowhere near dark enough for that yet!'. He looked a bit askance (or would have done if I could see him properly) when I told him these were the light conditions I usually found myself trying to find my van in

[Graeme D]

There's a lot to be said for stumbling about in the dark on the hills. Very therapeutic!