Tap O'Noth, Rhynie.

Tap O'Noth

Tap O’Noth, Rhynie. Section 21A.
Height – 563 metres. Map – OS Landranger 37.

Climbed - 14 July 2011. Time taken – 1.5 hours.

Distance – 5 kilometres. Ascent – 300 metres.

Trip Report Details:

Earlier in the day I was in Duftown climbing The Convals with a plan to return via Rynie to add the Sub 2000 Marilyn, Tap O’Noth, to my day’s tally.

As I approached Rhynie, on the A941 Dufftown Road, an obvious sign indicated the route to the car park, which was up a narrow road. On leaving my vehicle I continued along this track which soon came to an end just beyond a stile. A short section of grassy path, which was a bit overgrown, was followed before I reached a new deer fence with appropriate gates. Beyond, the hillside was a bit of a mess as the gorse had been cut down but I later realised the reason for this was that tree planting was in progress and this accounted for the new fencing and gates.

I walked along the hard packed muddy vehicle track, which ran alongside this new fence, until I came to a second set of gates where I changed direction and followed another vehicle track uphill, still within the confines of the fenced off area. This led to a further set of gates and beyond the open hillside.

The ground steepened but a vehicle track, which had been improved in sections, led up the hillside then round the south side of the hill, just below the summit. From here I could see Rhynie and across the Aberdeenshire farmland to Bennachie. As the track swung round to the east side of Tap O’Noth I had views of the Hill of Noth and the town of Huntly. It was at this point that I entered the summit area, an old fort. I followed a path to the trig point and onto the actual summit, located beside a concrete plinth.

I returned to the trig point to eat my lunch. While seated there, looking out over the surrounding countryside, I was contemplating what an ideal location it was for a fort with its extensive views in all directions.

After my contemplations and lunch I returned to my car by the ascent route.

Photos taken on walk.

Little and Meikle Conval, Dufftown.

Meikle Conval

Little Conval and Meikle Conval, Dufftown. Section 21A.

Height – 552 and 571 metres. Map – OS Landranger 28.

Climbed - 14 July 2011. Time taken – 2.75 hours.

Distance – 9.5 kilometres. Ascent – 515 metres.

Trip Report Details:

The plan had been to go out at the weekend, but with a forecast of wind and rain, this was abandoned for better midweek conditions. It was a sunny morning when I set off for Dufftown and on arrival parked in their Golf Club car park on the B9009 Tomintoul road. Parking here may not always be possible, especially in the evenings and at weekends, but on my arrival the car park was almost empty.

I walked south along the B9009 for around 300 metres before following a vehicle track up the side of the forest and a field, passing a game bird enclosure. The track improved when it joined the one coming in from Home Farm, that section of track not showing on my map. Work had obviously been carried out in the area with new fencing, gates and an upgrading of the track which left a bit of a scar but once the vegetation grows some of the disturbance should be concealed.

The improvement in the track came to a halt at the bealach beside Glach-en-ronack, where I had intended climbing Little Conval from. A path led up the south side of this hill on a direct route crossing a vehicle track several times as it took on an easier gradient. The path skirted the summit so I climbed to the top, marked by a few stones. Thereafter I returned to the path and followed it to the trig point on the north side of the hill where I sat in the sun taking in the views towards Rothes, Ben Aigan and below me to the village of Dufftown.

After my break I returned to the bealach and commenced the ascent of Meikle Conval. The path, and in places vehicle track, were a bit wet and churned up compared to the dry conditions on its little brother. However the ascent was similar with a slightly steeper section before the gradient eased. The summit area was reached and it was a pleasant stroll to the cairn, located at its south end. Ben Rinnes was now very close being just across Glack Harnes, with its fellow Corbett, Corryhabbie Hill, on the opposite side of Glen Rinnes. In the distance the Cairngorms were visible.

Once again I returned to Glach-en-ronack before following the vehicle track back to the main road.
Photos taken on walk.

Beinn Uamha, Trossachs.

Beinn Uamha

Beinn Uamha, Trossachs. Section 1C.
Height – 598 metres. Map – OS Landranger 56.
Climbed - 3 July 2011. Time taken – 4.75 hours.
Distance – 12 kilometres. Ascent – 610 metres.
Trip Report Details:

Beinn Uamha is located to the west of Loch Ard Forest in the Trossachs and Loch Lomond National Park with the only road access being through the village of Aberfoyle. On studying the map I thought the best route would be from the north end of Loch Chon as there was a track and a path that would afford me access through part of the forest.

I managed to park on the verge opposite the milepost just north of the forest track and walked the few metres back to the start of this hike. A new path was being constructed here heading north and set back from the public road. The forest track descended to near the farm at Frenich and to the path up the side of a stream.

The path was overgrown with a ditch to cross so I decided to walk further south along the forest track to ascertain if there was a better route through the forest to the foot of Beinn Uamha. The only evidence of any paths were those leading to some old aqueducts so after around a kilometre I gave up and returned to the path beside the stream. This added around forty minutes to my walk, which is included in the above time.

On returning to the stream I crossed the ditch and followed an old vehicle track up the north side of the burn. Initially this was along the edge of a deer fence but it soon came to an end. Further on there was evidence that water had been extracted from the burn although it appeared to me that this practice had ceased. Beyond the water extraction equipment there was little evidence of any path. The conditions underfoot were pretty awful with tussocky ground, bracken, bog and fallen timber to contend with. I did cross the stream a couple of times looking for a better route but here new tress had been planted and lots of old timber lay around, some hidden by the vegetation.

At grid reference NN402064 I reached another vehicle track but it was of no benefit as it headed in the wrong direction. I therefore continued up the side of the stream where several mature trees blocked my way. This meant wandering into the forest as I worked my way round them. I then came to an area where the trees had been forested so there was lots of old cut timber and branches to contend with.

I was pleased to see and reach the fence at the top end of the forest as once across it I was onto the open hillside, with Beinn Uamha ahead of me. The underfoot conditions were slightly improved as there was no cut or fallen timber to contend with but the ground was tussoky with some long heather. Pylons supporting electric cable crossed the hillside and I passed below them before reaching the foot of the hill.

The hillside was quite steep with several crags but they were easily avoided as I climbed through bracken and heather. As height was gained the walking became easier although the flies were a nuisance. I eventually reached the summit cairn with some good views including Ben Lomond and Loch Katrine. I was in the need of rest and some food so sat at the cairn eating my lunch and contemplating the return route which I wasn’t looking forward to.

There was another Sub 2000 Marilyn to the south-east but I had had enough of the underfoot conditions so I returned by the ascent route, missing out the extra section along the forest track.

Photos taken on walk.

Beinn a'Chaoinich, Glenelg.

Beinn a'Chaoinich

Beinn a’Chaoinich, Glenelg. Section 10A.
Height – 410 metres. Map – OS Landranger 33.
Date - 12 June 2011. Time taken – 3.25 hours.
Distance – 6 kilometres. Ascent 405 metres.
Trip Report Details:

The previous day I was on Beinn Sgritheall and thereafter the Kintail Lodge Hotel celebrating a couple’s final Munro. Prior to heading home I decided to climb this Sub 2000 Marilyn, which meant re-crossing the Bealach Ratagan, not a hardship as I enjoy the drive and the views of the Five Sisters and Loch Duich.

On the descent towards Glenelg I took the road signposted Moyle, and drove into Glen More where I parked on the grass verge just west of the bridge leading to Braeside Farm. Once geared up I crossed this bridge and followed the south bank of the Glenmore River upstream. The path shown on the map was initially indistinct but soon became obvious as it was wet and muddy with cattle use.

The state of the path caused me to abandon my plan to climb Beinn a’Chaoinich via Sron Mhor. Opposite the camp site at Cnoc Fhionn, I crossed the fence and commenced the ascent of the north face of Beinn a’Chaoinich. This was through long wet grassy vegetation which seemed to cover most of the hillside. On the plus side I had improving views towards The Saddle.

The east ridge was reached and I now looked across to the previous day’s Munro. A few animal trails were followed and this led to a dip in the ridge, which was wet and boggy. A fence came in from the south and headed west across the summit area. On arriving in this area I was pleased that the weather was fine with high broken cloud as it was going to be difficult to work out the highest point in an area of bog and knolls.

At the first cairned knoll I stopped for a coffee break, to allow me to study the map and switch on my GPS to check heights. The midges were out, my first encounter with them this year. I figured that I was on the 410 knoll shown on my map but other knolls appeared higher and there were three different areas shown with a 400 metre contour line.

I did a circuit of the summit area, crossing and re-crossing the fence and wandering round the bog taking in the knolls. As well as ensuring I had been at the highest point I had better views of Beinn Sgritheall, Skye and the distant Island of Rum. The GPS showed a few knolls at 410 metres and one knoll to the north at 413 metres. I know this isn’t reliable but I thought the northerly knolls were higher. I later checked another map which showed two 410 knolls on the south side of the summit area. Well at least I satisfied myself that I had been at the highest point. On my wanderings I came across a red deer fawn lying in a dip but by the time I got my camera out it had taken fright and ran off.

The descent was in a north-easterly direction, steep in places and through bracken where I disturbed a couple of red deer hinds. Some rocky outcrops had to be avoided as I headed for Braeside Farm, which was just a few farm buildings with no house. Lower down the ground was wet and boggy and a couple of electric fences had to be crossed. Once beyond the farm it was a short walk back to my car.

Photos taken on walk.

Triuirebheinn and Beinn Ruigh Choinnich, South Uist.

Beinn Ruigh Choinnich

Triuirebheinn and Beinn Ruigh Choinnich, South Uist. Section 24C.
Height 357 metres/276 metres. Map – OS Landranger 31.
Climbed - 9 June 2011. Time taken – 4 hours.
Distance – 9 kilometres. Ascent – 570 metres.
Trip Report Deatails:

It was my final day on South Uist and I had to decide which of the five remaining Marilyns to climb. I settled for Triuirebheinn and Beinn Ruigh Choinnich, as the starting point, Lochboisdale, was only a few miles east of Dalabrog, where I was staying. On studying the map the main obstacle appeared to be the crossing of the outflow of Loch a’Bharp, but the map showed three different crossing points, if they still existed.

At Lasgair, part of the village of Lochboisdale, I looked for the access road to the bridge at Oratobht. However it appeared a house had been built there so rather than wander through a garden I opted to check out the route further north. It led passed a couple of houses to a fishing hut on the south side of the river. A concrete foot causeway gave access to the opposite bank where I followed a muddy track downstream to Oratobht where I found the bridge there still in position.

I continued along the riverside, following some animal tracks, until I reached the outflow from Loch nan Smalag. I walked up the side of this outflow but it was hard going through some deep heather. Some ponies were feeding nearby. An old water treatment works was reached and thereafter the underfoot conditions improved slightly as I headed to and along the north side of Loch nan Smalag.

Beyond the loch the ground steepened as I worked my way uphill through grass and heather, avoiding several rocky outcrops. There was a strong cold north-westerly wind blowing so I opted to stay on the south and east sides of Triuirebheinn before climbing to the summit cairn. It was surprisingly cold and windy there so after taking a few photographs I found some shelter for a coffee break and put on my down gilet.

The descent of the south face of Triuirebheinn to the Bealach an Easain was also quite rocky with heather and bracken to contend with. There was similar terrain and vegetation on the ascent of Beinn Ruigh Choinnich. The summit of this Marilyn had several cairns so I visited the higher ones. There were excellent views out over Loch Boisdale to the Sea of the Hebrides and to the ferry port of Lochboisdale and the many lochs and lochans stretching as far as the west coast of South Uist.

I descended the west ridge of Beinn Ruigh Choinnich, which was initially a bit rocky. Lower down the terrain was rather awkward to cross so progress was slow but I now had close up views of Lochboisdale, just across its loch. Eventually I reached the outflow from Loch nan Smalag and returned to the start by the outward route.

Photos taken on walk.

Beinn Mhor, Ben Corodale and Hecla, South Uist.

Hecla and Ben Corodale

Beinn Mhor, Ben Corodale and Hecla, South Uist. Section 24C.

Height 620metres, 527 metres and 606 metres.
Map – OS Landranger 22.
Climbed - 8 June 2011. Time taken – 8.75 hours.
Distance – 21 kilometres. Ascent – 1210 metres.
Trip Report Details:

I climbed the Graham, Beinn Mhor a few years ago on a day trip from Harris but due to ferry timings it wasn’t possible to include the Sub 2000 Marilyns, Ben Corodale and Hecla, one of Ralph Storer’s 100 Best Routes on Scottish Mountains. On this second visit I was hoping to rectify the matter.

The proposed starting point was just north of Loch Dobhrain on the A865, the road through the Uists and Benbecula. It was single track at this point making parking difficult so we left the car on the access road to Tobha Beag, after consulting the owner of the house opposite. We walked back along the main road and up the vehicle track which by-passed a croft where large polytunnels had been constructed.

Initially good progress was made but it was short lived. When we reached the end of the track the route became a faint, wet and boggy path and was no longer heading in the correct direction. We left it and made our way across more wet and boggy ground, and around some small lochans, searching for the driest areas to place our boots. A couple of Golden Plovers were perturbed by our presence. Once we gained a bit of height, the ground steepened and the underfoot conditions improved. Occasionally we would follow some paths until they were lost in the vegetation.

On reaching the Bealach Carra Dhomhnuill Ghuirm we took a break with views to the west coast of South Uist and north towards Benbecula. Five guys who had been following us passed nearby. After our break we continued the ascent of Beinn Mhor as the cloud lowered and engulfed the ridge, which was rather disappointing. Steady progress was made and we reached the North Top where the ridge narrowed considerably. However there was no problem as paths ran along the top of the ridge or on either side.

The cloud began to break up and we could now see the five guys on the summit. We stopped and spoke to them as they returned along the north ridge. The path passed below the west face of the top before swinging round to the summit trig point, which was surrounded by boulders, and where we had broken views of Loch Aineort.

We took a stroll out to the cairn on Beinn Mhor’s south-east ridge, which appeared higher although the map showed it at least ten metres lower. From the cairn we had more views of Loch Aineort and the hills to the south. We returned to the north ridge where we met an older couple who weren’t sure of their location or if they were on the right hill.

At a suitable point on the north ridge we commenced the rather steep and initially grassy descent towards the Bealach Sheiliosdail. Lower down minor diversions were made to avoid rocky drops. Once at the bealach we had a late lunch and studied the next section of the route to Ben Corodale.

The direct route was rather steep and rocky so we headed right and made a not too difficult ascent by zig zagging our way through the rocks and onto the grassy slopes of the south-east ridge of Ben Corodale where we disturbed more Golden Plovers. It was then an easy ascent to the summit cairn where we had views of the east coast of South Uist and out to the Sea of the Hebrides.

The north face of Ben Corodale was a rock face so we opted to return south for a hundred metres or so until we located a suitable route round its west face before making an easy descent to the bealach with Hecla where the ground was rougher with several dips. Next was the ascent of Hecla. It was a steady climb with lots of exposed rock to walk round to gain the west ridge where the walking was easier. The ridge did narrow and the final section was rocky but again there were no problems except the low cloud which obstructed our view. While at the summit cairn the cloud broke briefly and we saw out towards the Sea of the Hebrides.

It was now time to return to the car. Initially this was back along the west ridge until it started to change direction. We continued west, left the ridge, and descended across a mixture of vegetation with the intention of keeping to the south of Loch Airigh Amhlaidh and the Abhainn Rog. Some red deer were spotted here. The gradient eased and the walking became awkward as we crossed rough ground with a mixture of wet and boggy vegetation. This entailed a few diversions and stream crossings but we made progress, albeit slow, until near the croft we passed earlier in the morning. It became almost impossible, due to the long vegetation and areas of water, to continue so we cut across to the croft and returned to the car by the track used earlier that day. We reached the car just as the rain started and set in for the evening.

Photos taken on walk.

Easaval, South Uist.

Easaval

Easaval, South Uist. Section 24C.
Height – 243 metres. Map – OS Landranger 31.
Climbed - 7 June 2011. Time taken – 2.25 hours.
Distance – 6 kilometres. Ascent – 260 metres.
Trip Report Details:

After climbing Ben Scrien, on the Island of Eriskay, we drove across the causeway and into South Uist before heading for the hamlet of Cille Bhrighde where we had planned to commence the ascent of Easaval.

East of Cille Bhrighde, at NF758141, we parked on the grass, west of the historical walled kitchen garden, An Garradh Mor and walked up the tarred road which later became a grassy track and led to a gate in the fence. Beyond this gate we followed animal tracks east through a mixture of bracken, rocks and heather. There were also some old metal fence posts but we soon left this route and commenced the ascent of Easaval.

The brief drier spell of weather had changed to some light showers as we made our way onto Coire Bheinn and the south west ridge of Easaval. There were lots of areas of rock, some we used to our advantage and others we avoided. The rain became heavier and we were engulfed in low cloud but fortunately both were short lived and the cloud lifted above our hill.

The summit area was a mass of peat hags and some rocks so we did some meandering to reach the summit cairn which the map showed was to the north. We had views of Lochboisdale and the masses of inland and sea lochs that are part of South Uist. The summit area had numerous cairns so to satisfy myself that I had been at the top we took in the higher ones. The southerly cairn gave views of the Islands of Eriskay and Barra where we had travelled from earlier that day.

Once we had completed a circuit of the cairns we returned by the ascent route.

The Gaelic name for this hill and what is shown on the map is Easabhal.

Photos taken on walk.