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Doing this from memory as it was nearly a month ago....
We picked a gorgeous day to get out on the mountains, clear blue skies with hardly a dot of cloud to be seen anywhere. None of us had climbed these 2 peaks before so that was the challenge. Drove via Stirling to pick up friends then on to Bridge of Orchy via a pitstop at the Green Welly store. Very busy given the weather, we expected the hills to be pretty busy.
Parked up at the station about 10 am, ignoring the sign that we weren't allowed to..... reckon they might get 1 or 2 trains a day stopping at Orchy, if any at all.
Met an old bloke just after we started that we'd met previously doing some of the Lawers range, he's 80 next year. Full credit to him he was still going at a fair pace...
![old man.jpg]()
- 79 and still going strong...
Asccending up to the point where the route splits was a bit tricky with the scrambling over the loose rock, a few slips here and there but no damage done apart from Kev losing his cheapo £3 shades...
Quick pitstop here to have a bite to eat and drink and chat to some of the other climbers. Discussed whether to do the boggy climb first or second but it doesn't really matter as we were definitely doing both anyways. So it was Beinn Dorain first as it looked more straightforward.
Seem to have a lack of any pics between our first stop and the summit cairn, but here's Ben Nevis just in the distance.
![nevis.jpg]()
- Ben Nevis
And the buzzards that Kev thought were giant crows. Sure he was teasing.... wasn't he ?
![buzzards.jpg]()
- Buzzards... or giant crows ?
![backdown.jpg]()
- Heading back down to the split with Loch Tulla
to the left and Nevis in the background.
Back down the path to the split point and the climb through the bog to Beinn an Dothaidh. I found it a bit tough at first, quite steep even before you get to the boggy area, but generally I'm the tail that wags the dog when we go out seeing as I've only been doing munro's for a year and a half compared to the others who have done 10 yrs +.
There's no real way to avoid the bogs, just need to slog through them as best you can.
Just kept my head down and eventually caught up with the others at the summit of Beinn an Dothaidh.... Didn't feel cold at all at the top, there was a breeze but nothing like I've experienced on other peaks.
Bee told this next pic is Loch Rannoch but I'm not so sure. Always thought it was much bigger. Feel free to correct me.
![rannoch.jpg]()
- Loch Rannoch ?
All in we took about 6 hrs which is good going for me, maybe the only mistake on my part was wearing the thermal long johns, despite there being several patches of frost and ice-covered rocks it was very warm and a gorgeous say to be out in the mountains.
