Over The Hill

Somehow or other this relatively local hill had managed to escape my attention over the years and so I felt it was high time I put things right. It's a fairly big walk and with me becoming more and more of a fair weather walker it was now just a question of waiting for the right day. "How about next Wednesday?" suggested Ian "Weather looks pretty good"

Dry, gentle breezes, good visibility and temperature in the high teens - couldn't be better so the date was set and six of us mustered bright and early at an unusually midge free Victoria Bridge car park. Of our group of six, Lesley, Trish , Ian and Idris had this hill already ticked off and so with 'newbies 'William and myself happy to follow their lead, the route was selected and off we went.

Leaving the car park, we headed off north and just after crossing Victoria Bridge turned west at Forest Lodge to enjoy a pleasant 2km riverside walk alongside the Abhainn Shira to the Clashgour Hut. (An intriguing little hut this - originally built around 1900 and used as a four pupil primary school up until around 1936. Now leased by the Glasgow University Mountaineering Club as a walkers bothy and available for booking) Reassuringly, the river level was quite low - boding well for the upcoming crossing of the Allt Toaig which can be quite problematic after a bit of rain.

Turning north just after the hut we were now off the well-made estate track and onto a somewhat rougher but very distinct path following the Allt Toaig upstream. Our hill now lay dead ahead and with the sun glinting off the clear top spirits were high. After about 1.5km the path branched left down to a group of trees alongside the river where we would find our crossing point. As expected, the water level was low and with no more than a hop, step and jump we were all safely across.

Leaving the river behind us, the path took us NW towards Creag an Steallaire where it climbed steeply up the right hand side of the waterfall which was showing hardly more than a trickle today - testament to the mostly dry weather we've been enjoying for the last few weeks.

Above the waterfall the ground levelled out - although not for long as ahead of us now lay the rockier slopes leading up to the ridge of the Aonach Eagach. We picked out an ascent route and after a fairly strenuous climb of 200m or so we were on the ridge. Time now for a well earned break and to take in the majestic views across Coire Toaig to Stob a Choire Odhair and Beinn Toaig.

Refreshed, we set off west along the rocky ridge towards the small cairn on the Couloir Buttress where we gathered ourselves for the slightly scrambly section ahead. Up and over we went, passing a window in the crags giving a wonderfully framed view of the Corein Lochain nestling 1000ft below us. Reaching another small cairn we spent a few moments hill spotting before the final, short ascent to the summit where William and I gained another tick in the book. Time for lunch.

The weather had been kind to us all day - no rain and a gentle breeze to both keep us comfortable and keep the midges at bay - it was hard to leave the comfort of our lunch spot but with 10k still ahead of us, move we must.

We had decided earlier that we would follow the descent route described by John in his walk report from August 2017 - west off the summit to the 990m top of Sron a'Ghearrain and then south down the west flank of Creag Bhulgach to pick up the stalkers path at the bealach between Sron a'Ghearrin and Meall an Araich.

We set off westward from the summit and having first to cross a small boulder field we were soon on the gently descending, grassy ridge heading for the 990m top of Sron a' Ghearrin. Here we turned south and set off down the rock strewn grassy slope hoping to hit the head of the stalkers path some 300m below us.

More by luck than good judgement, we hit exactly on the head of the path - hardly discernible at first but becoming clearer with every step we took. After 3 km, stopping occasionally to watch the antics of a herd of deer high up on the slopes of Stob Maol, we arrived at the entrance to a short forestry section which led us to the wooden bridge over the Allt Ghabhar. Passing through Clashgour farm and now on a very good estate track we entered another, longer section of forest which returned us to the junction at Clashgour Hut.

Retracing our steps along the Abhainn Shira we happened upon a couple of stags just a few metres off the track - one settled on its haunches contentedly chewing the cud while the other munching away on the lush grass. We crept around so as not to startle them but we needn't have bothered - they weren't in the slightest bit fazed by our presence - in fact, I'm sure they positively enjoyed posing for the paparazzi gathered around them.

It was a good day for flora and fauna spotting and our team naturalist, Idris, was lucky to get away without a serious case of writer's cramp - his notebook and pen almost constantly on the go. One of his finds was an example of 'Shaggy Hawkweed' - a very rare plant in our hills and not previously recorded on Stob Ghabhar - well done Idris.

A short while later we were back at the car park and then to round off a fantastic day in the hills - what could be better than refreshments in the Bridge of Orchy Hotel.

Thanks everyone - great company for a fantastic day in the hills. Thanks also for your photo contributions to this report. Mike

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