Over The Hill

As Lawrie and I found out some eight weeks ago when we recce'd this walk there are a number of advantages in starting off from Auchtertyre rather than Kirkton Farm, the first of which is that there is adequate parking down near the river at Auchtertyre, as opposed to being stuck on the A82 layby at Kirkton Farm; the second, is you then have a fine walk on a well defined estate track deep into Gleann a'Chlachain as opposed to a wet and boggy ascent of the hillside above Kirkton Farm; and thirdly, you have the hillside all to yourself, or at least to you and those accompanying you, as everyone else sticks to the standard Kirkton Farm route - what more do you want from a walk?

Well, some good weather and fine views are always a bonus, and we had smatterings of both, at least enough for us to see exactly what the north west ridge of Beinn Challuim has to offer as far as an alternative ascent route, and as a viewpoint. There is plenty to make this an interesting ascent ranging from a rough grassy approach from the river to the lower rocky outcrops, where you can choose from grassy rakes or minor scrambles on rocky slabs to take you onto the next level, which may well be a weaving, indistinct track or just open grassy slopes, and all the while there are fine views beyond the crags which drop steeply from the ridgeline to the Allt Challuim, one of a number of minor rivers which form the source waters of the River Lochay, which in due course flows into Loch Tay, which of course becomes the River Tay, which, of course flows into the North Sea at Dundee; and there you are, standing on the ridge, thinking, that's a rather small river down there!

Around the 850m height, the ridge broadens considerably, leaving the rocky knolls behind and takes on a more rounded form as the summit comes into view, and, the gradient eases slightly in the final stages as you approach the rather large cairn which marks this 1025m summit. A welcome burst of sunshine heralded our arrival at the summit, giving us a pleasant lunch break, but only just, as cloud drifted in, bringing with it a cool breeze just as we were setting off for the southern top,

If you are making the ascent from Kirkton Farm, the various Munro guidebooks warn you to head west rather than directly north from the southern top to cross a cleft in the hillside before rejoining a narrower section of ridge which then leads to the broader summit plateau. This cleft and ridge are easily identified, and much more prominent on leaving the summit and heading south, but nevertheless add a slightly dramatic approach to the southern top as you reach the narrowing section of rocky ridge just before the point where an easy crossing of the cleft is established.

The southern top, at 998m, boasts a fairly substantial cairn, the top itself being a fine viewpoint to the southern hills of Crianlarich and Loch Lomond clearly visible as we made a sweeping descent south and then west, now on the Kirkton Farm ascent path, until we reached a point just east of the minor top at 649m, where we left the Kirkton Farm path and headed west to the 649m top for our descent back to Auchtertyre. A steady descent made over a grassy hillside, undulating a little as we weaved our way generally southwest heading to the underpass on the WHR, our access point into the wooded area and wigwam "settlement" at Auchtertyre.

A fine walk, and excellent company - Thanks everyone.