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Ben Donich (847m)

Monday 3rd August 2020

8kms

4hrs

Ben Donich has a lot going for it as a "go to mountain"; it's local, quite a short duration walk and spectacular views, given the weather. And, unfortunately, that last element, the weather, let us down today. The forecast was looking to be fine, with good visibility, and so it was quite a surprise to find that as I drove through Arrochar, it was raining heavily, and the hills were shrouded in dark grey clouds. And so it was a wet start as we departed the forest car park and headed up the path leading to the north ridge route.

It wasn't long before Donich began to play it's magic despite the weather, as the low, drifting clouds brought us every changing views over Loch Restil and the surrounding hillsides as we gained height up the steep, and quite eroded track. We made steady progress and were soon taking the few, short steps required to scramble down the "bad step" before making the final, less strenuous climb towards the 847m summit, with it's newly painted Trig Point a stark white against the darker skyline. (I wonder just who carried a pot of paint and brush up there to apply a fresh coating to the stonework!).

The summit photos opposite do not quite reflect the conditions, it was really very wet, quite a strong wind, and certainly very cool considering this is August; and so, it was simply a matter of taking those few photos and sharply returning back downhill to try to find some shelter for a break. We did detour slightly towards the small lochans that sits just below the summit, but it was still exposed here, and so we descended back down to the base of the "bad step" before finding a sheltered spot to stop for a well earned break.

Ben Donich is a popular walk, and it was surprising to find we were the only cars in the car park as we left, and we had this lovely mountains all to ourselves right until we stopped for our break, and that was when the first of a small number of late starters began to drift by us on their way to the wet and misty summit; I think I detected a slight note of smugness in our biddings of "Good day" as they passed by! We completed our descent in slightly better weather than our ascent, but we still had a few showers and breezy moments before finally arriving back at the car park.

Thanks everyone for your company on another interesting day on a great "wee" mountain.

Ben Donich - Photo Gallery

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