Beinn Dubhchraig

Park in the car park at Dalrigh about halfway along the A82 between Crianlarich and Tyndrum and head left over the River Cononish bridge, the main path continues to the left but take the footpath leading right and over the railway bridge and on for another 1km up the track keeping your eyes peeled on the right for the footbridge over the Allt Cleann Auchreoch. On this mild October day, the water wasn’t especially high and looked as though it could be crossed in various places but by crossing the footbridge you are basically being pointed in the right direction. The next part of the walk becomes very boggy and would no doubt be much worse in wet conditions, gaitors are recommended. This section could be cut out by bypassing the footbridge and continuing up the track, be prepared to add 4 or 5 km onto your journey if you do this.

Once over the footbridge, follow the muddy trail for about 1km. I was lucky that I was able to follow the trail with no real difficulties, but this may prove tougher in wet conditions. If you loose your way, head for the wire fence just below the tree line and follow it along until you come to a broken section (hopefully this wont get fixed) and then up a steep hill and back onto the track from before. Follow the track to the right and then along the muddy track up the east bank of the Allt Coire Duhbchraig, find a convenient place to cross and continue up the track (this part was also quite wet) for another 2km onto the plateau on the ridge near the summit of Ben Duhbchraig. Here, you will catch the first view of Ben Oss and the mighty Ben Lui looming large in the background. Follow the track upwards in a south-east direction for another 500m to the summit of Ben Duhbchraig. The views here are spectacular with the Crianlarich hills dominating the skyline.


Ben Oss & Ben Lui


Crianlarich Hills from the summit of Ben Duhbchraig

From the summit of Ben Duhbchraig, the path down to the bealach between the two hills is easy to follow. When you get to the lowest point the easiest ascent is up and over the little hump that sits below the main bulk of Ben Oss. Another more distinguishable path leads off to the left, this is the one I followed, I can only assume that this path leads around Ben Oss to the bealach that joins it to Ben Lui. After following this path for a few hundred yards and with no sign of the path going anywhere near the summit, I decided to turn right and head directly for the top. This involved a fair bit of scrambling with a few traverses over large areas of loose rocks, very enjoyable, but probably not the smartest thing to do so far away from help and with apparently no one else on the hill with me.


Loch Oss from bealach


Ben Oss summit cairn


Ben Lui from Ben Oss

The top of Ben Oss is large plateau marked by a cairn and the views here of Ben Lui would be stunning on a clear day but I didn’t stay long enough to really take them in as it had got a lot darker by now and behind Ben Lui clouds were gathering. From here the route back is basically retracing your steps to the plateau near the top of Ben Duhbchraig and then back down along side the Allt Coire Duhbchraig, through the forest and along the track to the car park, easier said than done.


Ben Duhbchraig Plateau


Allt Coire Duhbchraig


Caledonian Forest

I really enjoyed the walk and would recommend it, especially as it’s easily accessible from the central belt. As with most midweek walks, I went by myself and to my surprise, didn’t pass anyone all day long. I've climbed a few hills before and passed only a handful of people, but this was the first time I have never passed a single soul. When I reached the summit of Ben Duhbchraig and realized that fact, I had a strange feeling that I've never really had on the hills before. Maybe it was the fact that Dalrigh seemed so far away or the rain clouds gathering in the distance but it was a slightly uncomfortable feeling of solitude which seemed to grow the further on I went. I would be interested to hear other walker’s views on this, especially those who go on their own.