The Cruachan Horseshoe

[jdmoore]

I had wanted to bag Ben Cruachan for a while after recommendations from several friends. I'm really glad I saved it for a day with near perfect walking weather - it was sunny with only a few clouds and the air was clear and crisp with good visibility.

My wife and I set off early and arrived at the Falls of Cruachan train station at about 8am. We were the second car to park in the little layby off the main road and were pleased to get a space so easily. The plan was to climb Ben Cruachan then decide at the summit whether to do the full horseshoe (in truth I was eager to do it all having seen the forecast for the day!).

The path on the first section of the walk was quite overgrown but straightforward to follow. We stopped on several occasions to take photos of beautiful Loch Awe behind us.

Loch Awe

We eventually reached the dam and climbed up the step ladder to the top. The views of the reservoir and Coire Cruachan were great from here.

Dam wall

Reservoir and Coire Cruachan

On top of the dam

The walk on the track around the west side of the reservoir was very pleasant indeed, but we eventually reached the end and started to head up towards Coire Dearg. The path was boggy at first but soon improved as we entered the bowl of the coirre.

Our target 'Bealach an Lochain' was soon reached rewarding us with views over towards the sea. The climb up to the summit of Ben Cruachan from there was quite steep with some lose rock at the start, then a bolder field to negotiate. However, we eventually reached the summit where we got superb views, particularly in the direction of Glen Etive. We stayed on the summit for quite some time enjoying the cold but sunny weather.

Bolder field of Ben Cruachan

Reservoir

Loch Etive, Ben Starav and beyond

The view of the ridge from the top was very fine so we both agreed to carry on. The decent off Ben Cruachan involved more boulders then a series of rock slabs. We found the slabs to be quite straightforward but I believe they can be a bit intimidating for some if they are wet.

Cruachan Horseshoe 1

Cruachan Horseshoe 2

After continuing along the ridge we reached what we considered the toughest part of the walk - the decent off Drochaid Ghlas. The coire of this top though is very impressive.

Northen coire of Drochaid Ghlas

Not long after Drochaid Ghlas we reached the second munro on the ridge (Stob Diamh) which involved a straightforward accent. From here we were rewarded with a nice view of the Dalmally horseshoe and beyond to the Ben Lui group. We continued along the ridge to the final top Stob Garbh before descending down grassy slopes back to the dam.

Summit of Stob Diamh

Reservoir and Ben Cruachan

[jdmoore]

Here is a short photo/video montage of the day (complete with some simple music I composed!). jd

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnLNtqsbtmo[/youtube]

[Alan S]

Good report there with some cracking pics
For some strange reason i really like the 4th pic on the dam wall even tho its mainly concrete in it,maybe i stayed in cumbernauld for too many years
Thanks for the report on one of my favourite walks

[jdmoore]

Good report there with some cracking pics
For some strange reason i really like the 4th pic on the dam wall even tho its mainly concrete in it,maybe i stayed in cumbernauld for too many years
Thanks for the report on one of my favourite walks

Thanks Alan. This has been my favourite walk so far and I'd like to return again one day to try an anti-clockwise route (perhaps with the Corbett included). Climbing up the dam ladder then emerging on top with full views of the reservoir and skyline was great!

[kinley]

Cheers.

Asking myself why I've only done this once now.

Love the view of Loch Etive and Starav

Cracker!

[csjoiner]

loved the film well done

[rockhopper]

Great report and photos

As echoed above, need to go back some time as I couldn't see a thing the day I was up and your photos show how much I missed