Over The Hill

An interesting day to say the least! We were un-ceremoniously turfed of our first hill, and so ended up doing a completely different hill than planned. The original plan was to climb Beinn Bhuidhe from Glen Shira, but rather than walk the 10km along the estate track before even starting the climb, we had driven along the estate track as far as the Brannie Burn to start the walk at the base of the south west ridge of Beinn Bhuidhe.

We had just started to climb out of the forest via one of the fire-breaks when we were hailed from afar by one of the estate managers who very politely told us to get back in our car and return it to the parking area at the start of the estate track as unauthorized vehicles were not allowed to use the estate track. So we, just as politely, walked back to the car and then drove 10km back down the track out of the estate. During the journey back we decided to abandon Beinn Bhuidhe until another day, and opted for Ben Donich instead as we could access this quite easily from the Rest and Be Thankful.

We parked in the forestry car park just off the B828 and set off heading south along the forest track before turning onto a lesser track signposted Ben Donich which climbed steeply uphill through a replanted forest area, eventually leaving the plantation behind via a style at the forest boundary. The path, now a narrow, rocky and sometimes boggy one, continues to zigzag up the grass hillside of the north ridge towards the minor summit of Coire Culach.

As we climbed we had fleeting glimpses of the rocky crags ahead as they appeared as grey shadowy figures through the low cloud and mist, we could only imagine how they would look in clearer visibility. Beyond Coire Culach the path twists and turn as you contour and ascend a series of knolls and dips before you reach an area of rock outcrops and a awkward scramble down and over an area of huge rocks and boulders, some of which have huge fissures with what seemed to be a bottomless hole into which you would not want to tread. Transiting this area could be very dangerous in winter with snow covering the ground. We, however, had reasonable enough visibility to ensure that we made our way safely around the danger.

Once over this awkward section, the path continues as before, ascending over the grassy hillside until it finally leads you to the old and eroded Trig Point marking the summit, which for us, was bathed in mist with little to see other than the Trig Point itself. We found ourselves a sheltered spot in which to have a break, before we set off, reversing our route to return to the car park and the start of our walk.

Although not our planned hill for today, Ben Donich was a delightful walk which I would very much like to do with better weather as I get the impression that the crags and views would be well worth seeing on a good, clear day.

Great walk - thanks Lawrie.