down by the Allt Mheuran
Posted: Tue May 14, 2019 10:25 pm
I've wondered about Ben Starav ever since viewing it from Ben Cruachan in 1988 so long overdue a visit, particularly with the bulldozers due. Tried to make an early start from home to avoid the warmer part of the day and I arrived at Glen Etive in reasonable time; so set off at 7.30am after fifteen minutes getting ready / midge dodging.
A lot of bluebells in the woodland beside the river and some beautiful little waterfalls and rock pools on that first stretch of the Allt Mheuran. Can't believe any of what's there is going to be sacrificed for a bit of extra electricity generation.
It took me four hours to ascend, albeit I did spend a fair amount of time taking photos. Anyway, never got too uncomfortable on the way up and a breeze set in for the last few hundred feet so the timing on the way up had sort of worked in terms of heat avoidance.
There was a short section of boulders near the top that were a bit unstable but I was probably just unlucky with the way I went as everything was fine on the way down. However, descending that steeper part aggravated my hernia so I had to go slow to avoid over-straining but that did the trick. Still, good to know what the limitations are and on the plus side my back didn't give me any problems on the way up the steeper bouldery parts.
Diverted slightly at the bottom of the hill for a better look at the Allt Mheuran gorge. A truly beautiful place. Such a shame it's going to be altered. Let's hope they don't make too much of a mess.
Why is there a waterfall here when there could be a perfectly good hydro scheme?
