Hills & Mountains
The Perthshire Hills
*I am in the process of redesigning this section to include notes and many more high-res shots*
Glen Lyon, Glen Lochay and Rannoch
Intro - Includes Glen Lyon, Rannoch etc **
Glen Lyon
The lonely west end of Loch Lyon seen from Beinn Odhar above Tyndrum.
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The picturesque village of Fortingall with its thatched cottages, lies at the east end of the glen and was a religious centre from the 6th-century. The village church contains a bell used by St. Adamnan, the biographer of St. Columba and a 7th-century font. Nearby are the remains of a Roman camp which gave rise to the theory that Pontius Pilate was born here, the result of a relationship between his father, who was a Roman emissary stationed at the camp, and a local lass.
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Below: This memorial to Major General David Stewart, C.B. (1768 - 1829) of Drumachary and Garth, stands beside the roadside at Keltneyburn, a small settlement close to Fortingall. Stewart served with the 42nd and 78th Highlanders in Egypt and the West Indies, however, he is best remembered for his studies of Highland social history and documenting the history of the Highland Regiments. His first book, `Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland` was published in 1822 to great acclaim. Stewart died in St Lucia whilst serving there as Governor. The statue, sculpted from Creetown granite, was the work of Edinburgh based Henry Snell Gamley (1865 - 1928) who was born in Perthshire.
The Carn Mairg Group
CREAG MHOR (981m)
CARN MAIRG (1041m)
Meall Liath
Meall a` Bharr
MEALL GARBH (963m)
Meall Luaidhe
An Sgor
CARN GORM (1028m)
Tuesday 20 June 1989
Fairly cloudy to start with but it cleared slowly to become a reasonably fine summer`s day, albeit a bit hazy. I covered the group in an anti-clockwise direction from Invervar in Glen Lyon, starting with Creag Mhor and continued over the remaining Munros and their subsidiary tops. The hills are all wide and grassy lumps with very little exposure. A line of rusted fence posts shows the route for much of the way and I didn`t see many subjects for my camera, ending up with just a couple of record shots. An 11 mile trip with 4,550 ft of ascent and four Munros `bagged`.
CARN MAIRG (1041m)
Meall Liath
Meall a` Bharr
MEALL GARBH (963m)
Meall Luaidhe
An Sgor
CARN GORM (1028m)
Tuesday 20 June 1989
Fairly cloudy to start with but it cleared slowly to become a reasonably fine summer`s day, albeit a bit hazy. I covered the group in an anti-clockwise direction from Invervar in Glen Lyon, starting with Creag Mhor and continued over the remaining Munros and their subsidiary tops. The hills are all wide and grassy lumps with very little exposure. A line of rusted fence posts shows the route for much of the way and I didn`t see many subjects for my camera, ending up with just a couple of record shots. An 11 mile trip with 4,550 ft of ascent and four Munros `bagged`.
Meall Ghaordie
MEALL GHAORDIE (1039m)
17 November 1987
Meall Ghaordie, sits between Glen Lochay and Glen Lyon and many consider it to be one of the duller Munros. I climbed it for the one and only time on Tuesday 17 November 1987 with a pal from work, opting for a southerly approach, an easy-angled plod from Tullich Farm in Glen Lochay. Rain and low cloud stayed with us on the way up but on settling down for a cup of tea at the summit the clouds parted briefly to give us a view northwards into Glen Lyon.
17 November 1987
Meall Ghaordie, sits between Glen Lochay and Glen Lyon and many consider it to be one of the duller Munros. I climbed it for the one and only time on Tuesday 17 November 1987 with a pal from work, opting for a southerly approach, an easy-angled plod from Tullich Farm in Glen Lochay. Rain and low cloud stayed with us on the way up but on settling down for a cup of tea at the summit the clouds parted briefly to give us a view northwards into Glen Lyon.
Beinn Heasgarnich
BEINN HEASGARNICH (1078m)
Date??
Date??
Meall nan Subh
MEALL NAN SUBH (806m)
Date not recorded
My wife and I camped overnight here many years ago to try out our new North Face Westwind 4-season mountain tent. Although this hill reaches an altitude of over 800 metres, it can be climbed in around an hour from the high-point in the road that runs northwards from Glen Lochay to the Loch Lyon dam. The north end of Meall nan Subh, the `Rounded Hill of the Raspberry`, is ideally situated for a view along the length of Glen Lyon but unfortunately it was very hazy during our stay and the few grey prints taken weren`t worth keeping.
Date not recorded
My wife and I camped overnight here many years ago to try out our new North Face Westwind 4-season mountain tent. Although this hill reaches an altitude of over 800 metres, it can be climbed in around an hour from the high-point in the road that runs northwards from Glen Lochay to the Loch Lyon dam. The north end of Meall nan Subh, the `Rounded Hill of the Raspberry`, is ideally situated for a view along the length of Glen Lyon but unfortunately it was very hazy during our stay and the few grey prints taken weren`t worth keeping.
Loch an Daimh
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The single-track Loch an Daimh road, branches off the north side of the main route through the glen and, even if you`re not set on climbing the two neighbouring Munros, it`s worth making the short detour to the Giorra dam road end. Apart from the tremendous scenery, Red Deer can often be studied at close quarters here. Several stags, including this one, were licking boulders for minerals and salts on my last visit.
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Stuchd an Lochain
STUCHD AN LOCHAIN
Sron Chona Choirein
24 July 1987
A Mid-afternoon start from Loch an Daimh with the clouds well above the tops. I passed a family of tourists kitted out for an Arctic expedition. The mother was trying to generate a bit of enthusiasm and in effort to encourage her young son and daughter shouted "If we`re lucky we might see some Dotterels!" You could just see the kids thinking "Big Wow!" They looked bored out their box !
Sron Chona Choirein
24 July 1987
A Mid-afternoon start from Loch an Daimh with the clouds well above the tops. I passed a family of tourists kitted out for an Arctic expedition. The mother was trying to generate a bit of enthusiasm and in effort to encourage her young son and daughter shouted "If we`re lucky we might see some Dotterels!" You could just see the kids thinking "Big Wow!" They looked bored out their box !
Meall Bhuide
MEALL BUIDHE
21 July 1989
Another easy one! A workmate and I had actually driven to the starting point in winter a couple of years previously with the intention of doing this hill but the wild conditions changed our minds. We just ate our `pieces` in the car, about turned and drove home ! Next time, despite it being mid-summer, we were enshrouded in cloud from the start although it did clear after we`d reached the southernmost top, Meall a` Phuill and stayed that way until we reached the main summit.
21 July 1989
Another easy one! A workmate and I had actually driven to the starting point in winter a couple of years previously with the intention of doing this hill but the wild conditions changed our minds. We just ate our `pieces` in the car, about turned and drove home ! Next time, despite it being mid-summer, we were enshrouded in cloud from the start although it did clear after we`d reached the southernmost top, Meall a` Phuill and stayed that way until we reached the main summit.
Beinn Dearg
BEINN DEARG (830m)
Tuesday 21 October 2003
Another one of Scotland`s many `Red Hills`. Today saw the first of the winter`s snow dusting the tops but fortunately the temperature didn`t drop as much as expected and the high road from Loch Tay to Glen Lyon was free of ice. The views in the glen were impressive with the trees in their striking autumn hues and I passed a couple at the roadside with tri-pod mounted cameras recording the scene.
From the parking area at Innerwick the route initially follows the right-of-way between Glen Lyon and Rannoch. After a mile or so another track zig-zags uphill through the forestry plantation and leads onto the open hillside. The angle is fairly easy and I reached the top of Beinn Dearg in ninety minutes.
Cloud obscured the view only occasionally and a couple of rainbows put in an appearance but the scene from the top of Beinn Dearg was disappointing as the gradual angle of the slopes prevent a decent look into the glen directly below. This is not a major problem, however, if you return via Creag Ard, the hill`s western shoulder, which not only completes the circuit but finishes right beside the parking area. There is also an excellent view of Meggernie Castle.
Tuesday 21 October 2003
Another one of Scotland`s many `Red Hills`. Today saw the first of the winter`s snow dusting the tops but fortunately the temperature didn`t drop as much as expected and the high road from Loch Tay to Glen Lyon was free of ice. The views in the glen were impressive with the trees in their striking autumn hues and I passed a couple at the roadside with tri-pod mounted cameras recording the scene.
From the parking area at Innerwick the route initially follows the right-of-way between Glen Lyon and Rannoch. After a mile or so another track zig-zags uphill through the forestry plantation and leads onto the open hillside. The angle is fairly easy and I reached the top of Beinn Dearg in ninety minutes.
Cloud obscured the view only occasionally and a couple of rainbows put in an appearance but the scene from the top of Beinn Dearg was disappointing as the gradual angle of the slopes prevent a decent look into the glen directly below. This is not a major problem, however, if you return via Creag Ard, the hill`s western shoulder, which not only completes the circuit but finishes right beside the parking area. There is also an excellent view of Meggernie Castle.
Dating from the 16th-century, Meggernie Castle was built by Mad Colin Campbell of Glenlyon. The castle has changed hands several times over the years and has an interesting history with connections to the Jacobite Rebellions of 1715 and 1745. The castle`s fine setting can be appreciated in the photo below which was taken from Creag Ard.*
Meggernie is reputedly haunted by both halves of a woman who had been murdered then sawed in half! The woman was the wife of the lord occupying the castle and he killed her in a jealous rage then cut her body in two, intending to dispose of the remains. The story is that he stashed the upper half of her body upstairs in the castle and buried her lower half in the family plot within the castle grounds, pretending that his wife had drowned on holiday to allay suspicion. The top half of the woman haunts the castle`s upper floors while her lower half sticks to the ground floor and burial ground. There have supposedly been numerous sightings over the years but there are no reports that she`s taken up hillwalking! (only her bottom half, obviously!)
Name?
NAME
23 July 2009
23 July 2009
Sron a` Choire Chnapanich
SRON A` CHOIRE CHNAPANICH (837m)
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Stuchd an Lochain from the upper reaches of Sron a` Choire Chnapanich.
Gaelic hill names often have strange translations and Sron a` Choire Chnapanich is one of them - in English it means `Nose of the Lumpy Corrie`! It lies in a remote situation at the west end of Glen Lyon and is overlooked by the majority of hillwalkers who are more likely to be intent on climbing one of the glen`s Munros. So, unless you tackle Sron a` Choire Chnapanich on a weekend, there`s a good chance, you`ll have it to yourself, especially outwith the summer holiday season.
The Sron` sits to the north of the Loch Lyon dam at the remote western terminus of the long road through the glen and the ascent is usually made from here where there is plenty of space to park. The above view looks west from beside the top of the dam towards the distant Bridge of Orchy hills. Beinn Mhanach is the prominent peak. A path running along the north side of the loch is followed for a kilometre or so, then the best bet is to head straight up the grassy hillside. Meall Buidhe, slightly higher but still just below Munro height at 907m, lies to the north-west and can be included but I decided to leave it for another day.
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Left: This is a higher view of Loch Lyon, still looking west, as the clouds blow in.
An outlying bump has to be traversed before the top of Sron a` Choire Chnapanich is reached. Sheer slopes sweep down to the shores of Loch an Daimh, in complete contrast to the more rounded terrain encountered during the ascent from the south. I had great views of the loch`s two Munros - Stuchd an Lochain and on the opposite, north side, Meall Buidhe. The vast expanse of Rannoch Moor was revealed as the clouds scudded past with Ben Nevis and the Glen Coe peaks easily identifiable on the skyline. |
An ascent of Stuchd an Lochain makes a great day out in favourable conditions, and in my opinion is a far more scenic and interesting walk than a traverse of the Munro-rich Carn Mairg Group further east,
The descent is best made via the wide SSE ridge which connects with a track that zigzags up from Pubil Farm and meets the road just east of the starting point. Meall Buidhe is pictured below left with the Loch Lyon Dam photographed from the track above Pubil on the right.
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Schiehallion
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Tuesday 29 April 1986
Schiehallion is an isolated mountain and easily recognisable at a distance, especially from the west from where it appears as a striking, conical, alpine-style peak. Covered in snow, against a clear blue sky, it looks superb, however, this western aspect is deceptive as the mountain is actually a long-whale backed ridge and its gradual ascent from the east, the most popular approach, can often seem never-ending due the badly eroded nature of the ground and a succession of false tops. In 1999, Schiehallion was bought by the John Muir Trust and soon after the conservation group constructed a new path which reportedly makes an ascent far less taxing and helps to protect the fragile flora. |
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The usual starting point is the Braes of Foss car park, where there are now public toilets. A memorial commemorates Schiehallion's part in a famous experiment which took place in the late 1700s when Astronomer Royal Maskelyne became the first person to measure the mass of the earth, which he did by observing the deflection of a pendulum by the mass of the mountain. As part of the experiment the volume of Schiehallion had to be calculated, for which purpose contour lines were invented by Charles Hutton.
On fine days the views from the summit are wide ranging but the most dramatic peaks are in the distance with the Glencoe mountains across the vast expanse of Rannoch Moor looking especially fine. The return the start is best made by retracing the route of ascent. The weather was a bit cloudy to start when I made my one and only ascent of this hill with a friend over 30 years ago, but the sun broke through, leaving plenty of blue sky. These two telephoto shots of Schiehallion above the mist were taken from the east end of Glen Coe, the one above in June and the one below on a superb January morning.
