Over The Hill

Meall na Fearna has been on our "to do" list for quite some time; however, we have never gotten around to making the effort, probably because it has a reputation for being a bit of a non-event. A dreary trudge up a heather clad glen, across some awful peat hags, touch the top and back the same way, at least that is if you believe the reports on some sites, and some guide books. Having now completed this Corbett, I thinks it is a great little mountain, well worth the visit, although maybe you want to pick your day, in poor visibility the route we took could be quite a challenging navigational exercise, especially through the peat hags.

Leaving Ardvorlich we followed the standard starting track for Ben Vorlich before cutting down and crossing the Ardvorlich Burn by a substantial bridge and following its east bank through open woodlands on a good track, only marred by the task of climbing over a couple of very high steel gates, until we re-crossed the burn to return to the track on the west side of the burn. (On our return, to the lower glen we stayed on the west back, thereby avoiding the steel gates, this being the more direct route, although the options are there - see route map,)

We crossed a concrete based ford and about five hundred metres further along the track, just before a large wooden bridge crosses a tributary burn, (and where the recommended route continues deep into Glen Vorlich) we descended once more to the banks of the Ardvorlich Burn, and this time crossed it by means of some large boulders to gain the grass and heather clad western slopes of Creagah an Lochain.

As we climbed steadily up this hillside, the cool breeze brought with it a few snow flurries, with at times some very large flakes of snow, the promised clear bright day was rapidly deteriorating, as a grey mist descended around us, and by the time we were among the rocky knolls that mark the summit of Creagah an Lochain, it was time to don some additional layers, the temperature plummeting in the snow flurries.

We made an interesting descent from Creagah an Lochain, descending east towards the lochan down a grassy rake, the direct route south being barred by a sheer rock crag, before weaving our way around the peat hags and knolls until we made our ascent of the grassy hump that is Beinn Domhnuill, at 739m, a fine spot for a short break, the weather having improved somewhat, with the mist lifting above the nearby tops, but remaining stubbornly stuck over Ben Vorlich, just across the glen.

Leaving Beinn Domhnuill we descended to cross the peat hags that litter the bealach between Domhnuill and Meall na Fearna, visual navigation being a great help in picking the best route, not a place to be in poor visibility, with our final approach to the summit of Meall na Fearna being up the steep, but firmer north ridge. Interesting to note that this summit sits a little south of Ben Vorlich, thereby a greater distance from Ardvorlich, and consequently taking us longer that it would to have climbed Ben Vorlich, proving once again that these Corbetts demand just as much respect as their larger neighbours, the Munros.

We departed Meall na Fearna generally northwest to cross the summit of the un-named 717m top and made an easy descent into the upper reaches of Glen Vorlich for a steady tramp through the heather until picking up the faint track which gradually materialised into a full blown vehicle track at the bridge near our original crossing point onto the slopes of Creagah an Lochain, and onwards back to Ardvorlich.

A fine day, and a great little mountain - Thanks All