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With some holidays to use up and Donny visiting from London we planned a day out doing the Pirnmill Hills traverse to take in Beinn Bharrain/Mullach Buidhe and Beinn Bhreac. I thought the hill looked like good fun after my
recent outing bagging all four Corbetts during a long day of epic ridge walking at the end of July and having seen some cracking photo's from some of the other walk reports (thanks
Driftwood,
bobble_hat_kenny &
nxmjm) we set off for "the rock" on Wednesday evening and would head off at 8:30am the next morning.
We secured a lift to Pirnmill and return "taxi" back from Thunderguy where we planned to finish. You may as well take advantage of the locals while you are there, especially if they are family members!
Unfortunately an early phonecall indicated that Donny had forgotten his walking troosers so we'd have to wait for Arran Active to open at 9:30am so he could buy a new pair before we set off, leaving me cursing that I didn't get another half hour in bed.
After securing new breeks we drove round the north end which was nice as we got to pass the Goat Fell ridge that stretches from Brodick to Sannox and the views up Glen Sannox in particular are stunning, make sure you play the 9 hole golf course there if you get the chance, arguably better views than Brodick's Goatfell backdrop, with Cioch na h-Oighe, Cir Mhor, Ceum na Caillich and Suidhe Fhearghais towering above.
North Glen Sannox and the imposing Caisteal Abhail then dominate the view looking back as you drive over the Boguillie into Lochranza and then once heading south again you reach Catacol with the impressive Meall Nan Damh towering overhead. In no time at all we passed Thunderguy where we would finish reached Pirnmill, said cheers to Hugh for the local Catacol lad stories (there were plenty more on the way back too!
) and popped into the local shop next to the Lighthouse Restaurant for a couple of extra bananas that we didn't need!
Looking up the Allt Gobhlach burn which we would be following up to the Barren Hill:
We went behind the shop and followed the track round and past a few fields with a view of the first two ridges of Beinn Bharrain/Mullach Buidhe visible to the right:
Before long we reach a stile and hop over to follow a path through the woods...
...which turns left as a steep gorge appears with a nice waterfall below, this shot is looking down!
We reach the fence and follow it and over the large stile so we can continue up the left side of the Allt Gobhlach:
A choice of two ridges to go up, left or right, and with Donny not having much hill time residing down south we have already decided to go the easier route right and climb up to the Casteal na h-lolaire Graham top summit first:
Looking back down the faint path and valley towards the Kilbrannan Sound and Mull of Kintyre. The colours of the heather and bracken were amazing:
The gorge of the Gobhlach gets a bit steeper now as another waterfall appears and we continue up the sometimes visibile path on the left, with some sheep running away from us in what would be a recurring theme for the rest of the walk:
Luckily I was carefully watching where I was going as I noticed this wee fellow below me and quickly snapped a photo, at which point the camera shy frog hopped off towards the burn, stopped at the edge, turned to look at me and leaped off into the water like Arnie at the end of Predator, brilliant!
After crossing higher up one of the Allt Gobhlach tributaries we climbed up onto some rough, boggy heather and made our way across to Beinn Bharrain which was almost unobstructed ahead of us:
Looking back down to where we crossed (see map):
Meall Donn and Beinn Bhreac up to the left of our route and where we will be heading along later in the day:
Donny soon discovered that he REALLY didn't like boggy ground!!
And although the boggy ground will get worse once we cross the track on the right, the view of the Beinn Bharrain (with summits obscured), Beinn Bhreac, Meall Donn and Meall Biorach open up to reveal a great looking hill and nice easy ridge for us to follow for the afternoon. I can't wait to see the view of the Goatfell range once we get up there:
We follow the next tributary to the hydro works:
Looking at this view... in hindsight we should have either a) gone up the fun looking "mini A'Chir ridge" as so nicely put by bobble_hat_kenny
or b) gone straight ahead but to the right to go up the steeper, rocky side of the Casteal na h-lolaire ridge but oh no, we went for the lower part of the ridge to the left of centre and soon found it very boggy as we kept thinking a path was appearing only to find it was another stream! Donny was not pleased but my stories of how much other walkers on WH dislike bogs cheered him up and kept him going.
Crossing the burn, no Gav style falling incidents for us!
Trudging through the bog:
Not a happy chappy but he certainly looks the part with his rugged beard!!
Still boggy until we got further up!
We suddenly got the feeling we were being watched...
The other, fun ridge that I wasn't allowed to go on, boo! A small speck in the sky is one of two Ravens that were flying about and announcing our arrival:
Still boggy!
The rest of the sheep, the second lot to run away from us or the first lot we encountered who ran ahead of us? We're not sure...
Apparently sheep mark dry land as at last we climb out of the boggy hillside to the rocky part and stop to take some pics:
Easy going now:
Looking back down to the west and Pirnmill. If you follow the woods up the valley that's the route we have followed:
And this is the route ahead with the path still not showing:
Suddenly I spotted a huge and familiar shape above me and luckily had the camera out so I managed to
film and snap a few half decent photo's of a Golden Eagle!
He quickly flew off up the hill though but what a sight, it's wingspan was huge soaring above us.
Now that we were higher up the ridge opposite was looking good:
I'll be back for you the next time i'm up here!
The going is grassy with the granite slabs and boulders getting bigger as the path now becomes visible as we move on up after the wildlife excitement!
Kilbrannan Sound, Mull of Kintyre and beyond is Jura with low clouds sitting just above the Paps:
The view straight ahead, one last steep section before the cairn of the old summit awaits:
Beinn Bhreac, mini A'Chir and the summit of Mullach Buidhe is now visible at the top right, blending in with the grass of the ridge:
A stunning view to the west again and Donny, despite doing a 10k run a few weeks ago, is quickly learning about "hill fit"!
At last the view reveals Cir Mhor, North Goatfell, A'Chir, Goatfell and Beinn Tarsuinn as seen from the west, wow!
Well worth a zoom in!
Our route ahead from right to left and the hard work is done, now we just have an enjoyable day ahead wandering along with spectacular views all around...
Like Muriel Gray would say, it's good to have a man with a beard with you on the hills, something about it feels natural lol!
Peaks, ridges, angles and lots of granite!
Behind us to the west I spot the small loch at Ceann Reamhar in the woods below which looks lovely but from a bog-free distance!
I move along slightly to get Caisteal Abhail in the picture:
Zoomed in to the summit of Mullach Buidhe with trig point and cairn. A dark cloud looms overhead...
At the rocky outcrop we've been heading up the hill towards, Donny stops to put on his jacket, a prophetic move:
Caisteal Abhail summit zoomed in. I still rate the summit area and view from the top as my favourite on the island:
In a case of classic timing, with the old summit cairn of Casteal na h-lolaire in sight, a large cloud covers the hill and obstructs the view, typical!
Hahaha windswept and now in a hurry to cover up!
Chop chop...
Holy Isle and summit Mullach Mor visible to the south east:
The small ex-summit cairn of Casteal na h-lolaire at last (this hill was re-surveyed in 2016 and the summit moved to the rocky tor the path crosses over en route to Mullach Buidhe):
...where the view is... doh!
Ach well, no point in hanging around with no view so we press on to the small 'castle' ahead (now the true summit of Caisteal na h-lolaire) to make our way up to the parent summit of Beinn Bharrain - Mullach Buidhe:
Looking down on Coire Roinn:
Up and over the summit:
A panoramic shot looking south and it is beginning to clear up already:
Result! Clear views ahead and off we go!
The cloud moves over towards the Corbetts and down to the left is Loch Tanna, the biggest on Arran, with the smaller Dubh Loch sitting above and feeding into Loch Tanna:
Looking south east (l to r) towards Beinn Nuis, Holy Isle and Sail Chalmadale in the foreground:
The view east with Glen Iorsa (air-sa), the largest Glen on the island, cutting across the entire photo between Loch Tanna, Caisteal Abhail and Beinn Tarsuinn:
Finally the clouds clear and we get to appreciate the Corbett show in full effect! Poor Beinn Bharrain doesn't get to join the fun to the east but at least you get a front row seat, the next best thing to being on the other side of Glen Iorsa!
Enough photo's! We move on and up towards Mullach Buidhe, an easy jaunt up a path:
Donny looking back to the south and the Shiskine Valley:
Geez these Londoners are slow...:
Granite on a hill imitating the hills of granite beyond with Holy Isle rock on the right! Another WH member posted a similar pic of some small rocks that looked like Caisteal Abhail summit in miniature so this is a nod to you!
The view south west towards Sanda and the end of the Mull of Kintyre with Machrie and Blackwaterfoot in the Shiskine valley to the left and Casteal na h-lolaire on the right:
I stop at a rocky outcrop to look down the fun ridge which looks a bit trickier from this side!
Time to catch up...
Beinn Bhreac ahead, our next destination after this summit, and maybe some lunch...
No hurry with views like this...
Success! We've climbed Arran's only Graham:
The view of our route up looking back:
Another windswept bad hair trig point pic for me but who cares, what a backdrop!
"Mini A'Chir"...
Time for Donny to pose:
The view north, more on that later...
To the far south Ailsa Craig sits looking scenic as always:
Cir Mhor summit with path snaking up showing the route I took a few months back:
What a cracking wee Corbett, one of the favourites in the WH community and rightly so!
Some more summit-zoom photos, A'Chir looking menacing as always with Stacach ridge between North Goatfell and Goatfell behind it:
Goatfell summit and as always, if you look closely to the left of the summit you can make out a tiny person. There is always someone up Goatfell!
The fairly flat and featureless summit of Beinn Tarsuinn, one of Arran's best hills but let down by a boring top with no decent cairn or trig point, although this is easily made up for by everything else up there including its Corbett top and two Graham tops:
Beinn Nuis summit, another one well worth visiting and what the parent peak Tarsuinn wishes he had!
Mullach Mor of Holy Isle with the Ayrshire coast behind it:
As stunning as this view is and just like I knew would happen, I begin to wish I was at the Corbett party, the Graham one next door is a little boring by comparison, no offence Beinn Bharrain!
The Corbett Party, Loch Tanna and our way down from the summit of Mullach Buidhe and we decide to stop here for lunch and a view that would take some beating for any lunch break!
I love taking time out to just observe the hills like this and watch as the shadows and light play games and illuminate different peaks at different times, pure "mountain porn"!
Almost the entire island is in this shot, i'm sure Donny will remember and miss this lunch break when he's back in the big smoke!
I'm good at eating and taking photos ok...
Just as we're finishing i spot another mini rock feature that reminds me of the
huge granite slabs coming off of Beinn Tarsuinn, more mini-mountain-simulacrum!
Before we head down from the tallest hill in the west I zoom in to the north and it's now clear enough to make out Ben Lui, Beinn an Lochain, Ben Donich and Ben Ime in Arrochar Alps. I tried to id these using google earth which was good fun:
Ben Lomond too:
One of my favourite pics from the day:
There is no path down to Bealach an Fharaidh but the going is still easy:
Watch a video of the view on FlickrMore sheep running away from us! Still not sure if this is the same ones from earlier...
Ailsa Craig can still be seen to the far south with Sail Chalmadale, one of Arran's sub-2000 hills, just behind the sheep:
The way ahead with Beinn Bhreac stretching out in the distance:
Glas Choirein:
Past the bealach we go and up the next hill:
The view south with the Sail Chalmadale and Shiskine beyond:
And looking back to the right is the ridge of Mullach Buidhe looking great from this side!
Our journey up is again a straightforward affair with a path coming and going:
We're now right above Loch Tanna, stretching out below us:
Donny the mountain man!
Beinn Bhreac summit awaits:
Glen Catacol (in shadow) comes into view to the north as we continue round the hill:
Panoramic shot looking south:
We're getting there but I can tell that someone is flagging slightly...
Almost there...
Easily my pic of the day, four Corbetts and a Graham with numerous tops and sub-2000 hills!
Beinn Bhreac cairn:
The speckled mountain, speckled with rocks at the top:
It may just be a top but the view from Beinn Bhreac is one of the best you can get as you get to appreciate the cracking Mullach Buidhe and Casteal na h-lolaire summits and ridges of Beinn Bharrain, not to mention everything else all around you:
Success! Summit posing time...
I can't resist another zoom shot of Cir Mhor with the summit and Rosa Pinnacle looking grand from the west!
So we head down after being slightly wind-blasted at the top and it's a quick trip down and up slightly to Meall Donn:
Looking back at the ridges from earlier:
Meall Donn summit:
Donny on Meall Donn!
Another one of my pics of the day, the view from Meall Donn is also another belter!
As we continue north and down the north east ridge of Meall Donn and Corein Lochain, Coire-Fhionn Lochan comes into view along with our exit path down to Thunderguy, also known as Thundergay on some maps but nobody I know calls it that unless in jest:
At this point we contemplated going up Meall nan Damh but with Donny already moaning about his sore feet we decide the extra couple of hours to get up and down won't be attempted today and i'll again have something to go back for when i'm next walking in the area. Lodan Ruadh is the small lochan at the base of the hill:
With a couple of stony beaches on either end i'm already thinking a beach break at the closest side to us will be the perfect ending to a lovely walk...
A panoramic shot showing Meall Biorach, Coirein Lochain, Coire-Fhionn Lochan, Meall Bhig and Meall Nan Damh:
Our beach destination:
The views over to Jura and Kintyre are great and as we're about to head back doon the hill I soak them in a little longer...
Meall nan Damh and the view north towards the Alps!
On he way down to the lochan we chase away more sheep, either the same ones from the start of the walk who have now also completed the walk but ahead of us, or, lots of groups of sheep at various points of the hill. We're still not 100% sure but I like to think that the sheep also enjoy a hill traverse like this...
Down we go...
Where we reach a great wee vantage point on the east side of Coire-Fhionn Lochan:
The lochan is a similar shape to Arran!
A work friend of mine said that this was one of her favourite places in the world (!) but I can see why...
I'll be back for you Meall nan Damh...
Glen Catacol and Glen Diomhan with Caisteal Abhail at the back right:
On the way down we can see the path on the right but somehow miss it and end up just heading to the beach by a more direct route down the side of the hill:
Looking back at the route down off Meall Donn:
Meall Donn, Coirein Lochain, Meall Biorach and Coire-Fhionn Lochan in full with the added bonus of some boggy ground on the way to the beach, just to annoy Donny...
Crystal clear water greets us and we stop for a snack and a well earned rest. If only every hill walk could end this way...
"No you can't have my food!"
Note the small beach at the other side, i'll zoom in on it shortly:
Panoramic time:
Ah this is the life...
Meanwhile on the other beach, a couple of walkers play with their dog who looks to be having a great time!
Refreshed after our break and the beautiful surroundings it's time to head off to meet our lift:
What a place though, no wonder Mum went on about it for years, can't believe it took me this long to visit Coire-Fhionn Lochan!
The path down is a good one and follows the Uisge Soluis Mhoir burn back down to the sea:
Continue down and through the bracken:
Hop over the deer fence:
We're now on the home stretch with the houses of Thunderguy now visible:
We spot a Peregrine Falcon hunting for lunch and I manage to get a quick photo but again the birds of prey just aren't for hanging around and having their picture taken today...
Almost there...
Success! We reach Hugh and the car and he's only been waiting a few minutes, perfect timing! Looking back at the exit path, or the path up if you go the opposite way round or just want to visit Corein Lochain:
So that was that, the Pirnmill Hills traverse has been completed and we've bagged a Graham and two Graham tops to boot. I found it a fairly easy walk with no major difficulties and although the bog at the start was right pain you could easily avoid it by taking the track up and going a more direct route onto Beinn Bharrain.
The view from each summit seemed to improve on the way round and Meall Donn, although a minor hill by comparison, probably had the best view since you get to take in not only the Goatfell range but also all of Beinn Bharrain and it looks great from the north.
As for the finish, well... it doesn't get much nicer than Corein Lochain and Coire-Fhionn Lochan!
I'd recommend this walk to anyone but if you are looking for a bit more excitement then head to the east and join the Corbett party. Don't overlook Beinn Bharrain though is it probably has my second favourite views on the island after the Caisteal Abhail summit.
Next up for me and my next journey back home will either be some sub-2000's or the Graham top ridge walk from Suidhe Fhearghas to Beinna'Chliabhain, taking in Ceum na Caillich (the Witches Step) and A'Chir.... before then i'll be doing some "mainland" walking though but I already can't wait to be back on those Goatfell range ridges again....
