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After a very hot day on Ben More I awarded myself a day off and went to Calgary, a superb beach though a bit crowded.
- Calgary
I had a lovely swim, visited Calgary Art in Nature Gallery and café and then went to Tobermory for an ice cream. Very relaxing.
- Tobermory
But you can only just do so much lazing around so on my last day I decided to go up Dun da Ghaoithe. Parking in Craignure I followed the route outlined in Nick Williams little book The Islands. All went well initially as I walked back towards Tobermory along the road for a short distance and entered Scallastle Forest. I followed a broad forest track for about 1.5k (lots of foxgloves) and then crossed the Allt an Dubh-choire on a wooden bridge. Here the problems started. The route directions say to leave the gravel track and turn right along a faint path to reach a gate. The path dives off into thick gorse and bracken (no fun in shorts I can tell you!
) and reaches an insurmountable fence with no gate. So there was nothing for it but to go back to the main track through the gorse again and regain the main track.
After a little while following the track up the burn I spotted a gate up on the right which appeared to offer access to the hills.
The going was rather rough and the path seemed to owe more to deer or sheep than it did to humans. But I could see a way of getting up on to the ridge so I persevered, attacked by clegs every inch of the way.
- The target
I passed several very nice skinny-dipping pools but it never seems quite right to have a dip on the way up a hill, rather like having a curry during daylight hours, it’s all wrong!
- Going up beside the burn
Eventually I gained the shoulder of Beinn Chreagach and had a little rest (and extracted a tick) whilst being whistled at by two golden plovers.
- Looking across the corrie to the summit
- Looking across to the mainland
Then on up a steep slope to the main ridge.
- Up this steep bit to the ridge
Here things improved somewhat and the views were excellent with Ben More in the distance
- Ben More
and the mainland across the Sound of Mull.
- Along the ridge
Again I rather regretted the shorts as there was a very chilly breeze on the ridge. At the summit the views were great and I spent a while trying to pick out hills on the mainland.
- Hooray!!!
The descent was a tad tedious, down the access road to the communications masts and on down to the main road. I thought this tree was rather magnificent.
- Nice tree
Turning right on the main road you soon come to the driveway of Torosay Castle and then it is about 2k through the woods back to Craignure. I sat outside the Craignure Inn with a pint of orange and lemonade
before getting the ferry back to Oban.