This Beinn Dearg is a rounded Corbett on the north side of Glen Lyon - a heathery hill with a fair amount of peat bog, though together with its neighbour Creag Ard it looks fine from Camusvrachan. This ascent from Innerwick can be combined with Cam Chreag to make a full day.
Track, then pathless moorland with some areas of peat bog.
None to start.
Innerwick, Glen Lyon.
Park at the Meggernie Estate car park (toilets) at Innerwick in Glen Lyon. Begin the walk by returning to the main road and turning left (east) to cross the bridge over the burn. The monument on the left is the war memorial for Glen Lyon. Pass this and then turn left up a track, signed as a footpath to Loch Rannoch (the Lairig Ghallabhaich). Follow the main track - soon passing through a gate - ignoring any minor tracks branching off.
An NN582483 a track joins in from the left (this is used on the link from Cam Chreag as mentioned in the description of that route). Keep right, continuing to climb with a fence on your left and forestry on the right. The track zig-zags briefly right then left, ignore a forestry track to the right, before continuing to climb, eventually reaching a fork. Turn right here, leaving the Lairig Ghallabhaich route and climbing more steeply into the trees. The track soon swings back left and finally reaches the edge of the forest at a gate.
Turn right here and climb alongside the fence on an ATV track to the top corner of the plantations; the track then swings to the right along the top of the plantation. Leave it and head up the pathless heather moorland aiming east uphill, keeping well south of Meall Glas.
After a peaty bealach a line of fence posts can be followed towards Beinn Dearg, and the ground eventually becomes drier and gives easier going. At the summit plateau, a cairn on the line of the fenceposts gives grand views out over Loch Rannoch towards Ben Alder and its neighbours.
The true summit, however, is a short distance southeast across the flat plateau, and from here it is the Ben Lawers range that steals the view, looking very fine across Glen Lyon.
The quickest return is to retrace your steps. However it is worth visiting the southern outlier - Creag Ard - for its views along Glen Lyon, even if it means a rougher descent. Head west back towards the bealach and then curve round, past a prominent old cairn, crossing some peat hags to reach point 741m. Continue from here to the small cairn atop Creag Ard.
There are great views both up and down Glen Lyon. From here the ground falls away very steeply towards the glen, so begin the descent by heading slightly south of west. Lower down a fence runs across the hillside, and there is a prominent cairn and a fence.
Follow the fence to the right. The going becomes increasingly rough; the fence is low and there is no barbed wire, so step over it at a convenient point to head steeply down to the nearest corner of the forestry plantations. From you can continue more easily down to the floor of the glen. A gate gives access to the Lairig Ghallabhaich track; turn left along this to reach the road and return to the start.
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