It was Friday the 17th of May and I had a half day from work so the hills beckoned!! Being new to Argyll I have been working my way through the Cruachan Range and thought I would try something a bit different. I had looked across at the easterly ridge that sweeps up to Beinn a Bhuiridh BaB (encompassing Monadh Driseig MD) and thought I fancy a bit of scenic “air time”.The start point is just off the A85 at Drishaig on the B8077, there is enough space for two cars here so parking is limited. From here I headed NNW on to the knoll to the east of MD, this was quite a punishing start but it certainly got my pistons warmed up and ready for the rest of the journey.
After stopping to admire the views down to Loch Awe I headed west up the ridge to MD there is no track that I could find so it was a simple case of picking a route through the undulating ground. As people will know the ground is particular dry at the moment so my pet-hate the "bog factor" is pretty low at the moment so the going was good all the way up to the summit of Monadh Driseig at 641 meters.
Form this point you have a clear view of Beinn a Bhuiridh which is fairly spectacular with its steep final ascent and rugged rough cliffs on its North Face. In addition you get striking views of Ben Cruachan, and to my surprise the Paps of Jura were visible in the distance.
As I gained height I looked back in the direction I came and the sun managed to light up and show how wild and rugged this ridge is and why it is more than worth a visit.
The summit was very rocky and on reaching it you have to negotiate lots of jaggy boulders to reach the true summit a few hundred meters on.
I personally found the views more spectacular from the eastern side of the summit hence why I took the video footage there, however couldn’t upload it on the site..
I returned the same way I came up stopping of to admire the stunning cliffs on the North Face. From then on it was a pleasant walk back to the car.
All in it’s an interesting route to tackle this Hill and if you like long periods with views from up high it certainly hits the spot.