Late last year, being in Argyll for a couple of days, I fancied having a crack at Cnoc Reamhar. I didn't fancy the route mentioned in Malky_c's post, though, what with negotiating barbed wire and fighting through forestry (not that I didn't admire his spontaneity!) and I didn't have time for the other alternative I'd read about - a long walk in from Crinan.

Attempting to tap local knowledge, I asked a couple out tending their garden if they knew of an easier route up... and drew blank looks. They'd never heard of Cnoc Reamhar, even though we could see tiny slivers of it through the trees above our heads! Maybe I should have asked about Gallachoille Hill...

They pointed me in the direction of the nearby car park and the footpath that winds through woodland to Arichonan clearance village, guessing I might be able to get up the hill from there.

Maybe you can... but having followed the forestry paths for what seemed like an age my GPS told a sad tale. Okay, I was halfway up the hill but I wasn't much closer to the summit than when I was struggling into my waterproofs in the car park! With dark clouds rolling in and the already short day looking as if it was coming to an early end, I decided to give up my attempt on the summit and settle for the woodland walk down to Arichonan. I was glad I did - it was incredibly atmospheric in the drizzly gloom; definitely worth a diversion if you are historically inclined. Then it was back to the car and the long drive home, determined to try again soon...

...and so, having had a long squint at GoogleEarth, I returned last week for another try. Turns out the clue is in the alternative name!

Parking up near Gallachoille, I took the wooded path that leads up from the house's driveway, through a gateway and then skirts a field giving views back down over the B8025. After a couple of hundred yards (ignoring a left-hand track to another house), the path turns back on itself and ends at a couple of metal gateways. Wading through the mud took me into a field and the view for which I'd been keeping my fingers crossed: a steep short climb up over folds of rock and greenery.... and with no forestry barring the way!

From just beyond the gates, there is open farmland sloping down to a barbed wire fence topping a drystone wall (on the way back, I found that if I'd stuck to the left instead of heading right, I would have come to a gateway onto the hill). I crossed this next to a stand of forestry and then started up the folds of rock that make up this ridge, which looks like some dinosaur's dorsal fin rising up out of the accursed conifers.

There were plenty of outcrops to meander around but the way to the top is a simple, enjoyable climb and although the summit ridge looks like it may have some surprises, it is a very easy climb onto the ridge and from there, with a steep drop-off to your left, it's a grassy stroll north-west to the trig.

I'm not going to compete with malky-c excellent photos - they tell the story better than I could. It was a mucky old day for me and although it was an inspiring view down Knapdale and out towards Scarba, the poor visibility pretty much swallowed up Islay, Jura and most of the rest of the Kintyre peninsula.

This is a great little hike that gives spectacular scenery for relatively little effort - definitely one I'll be doing again if we ever get a clear day...