The Mike Walker Blog - Climbing the Munros by Motorhome

The Crianlarich Munros - Part 1

Day 3: Beinn Chabhair

After breakfast I drove out to Balquhidder & then north through Lochearnhead & towards Crianlarich. I pulled off the road just before reaching Crianlarich itself onto the access road to Auchessan Farm where there is room to park a couple of cars. About 10am I headed north past the buildings to follow Allt Riobain through Eilean Garbh - waymarked by the occasional white roundel with a couple of black footprints nailed to fence posts. It was a bright, blue sky day and this is a beautiful walk beside the lively burn tumbling over rocks into pools.

Allt Riobain Dam on the way to Sgiath Chuil

Above the dam, Allt Riobain was too wide and fast flowing to cross safely, but just below the dam it is much narrower and easy to step over. After a brief break and a penguin (the biscuit, not the Antarctic bird) I headed northeast up the grass making a bee-line for the craggy outcrop of Sgiath Chuil. I had read reports that the ground here is wet and boggy but I found it no more so than anywhere else in the Scottish Highlands and I thought it was a pretty straight forward climb. Approaching the summit I veered north up to the summit, with its small cairn perched on a rocky outcrop. It was 11.57am. Sgiath Chuil is 921m (3023ft) high and comprises a ridge with three distinct tops along it. The name Sgiath Chuil means 'Back Wing' or 'Sheltering Place' in Gaelic

Someone had told me recently about the light lunch range from John West and today I thought I'd give one a whirl as a change from my usual peanut butter butties. Low in sugar and fat and less than 250 calories these meals come in a sealed foil container complete with a little fork. On Sgiath Chuil I tried the French Style Tuna Salad and have to say it was very nice. And made a pleasant change.

I headed north along the undulating ridge to Meal a' Churain and had originally planned to head down the north west ridge until the 650m contour before heading southwest into Lairig a' Churain. However, the weather was so good and the the grass was firm and close cropped so I went due west down the steep slopes. Apart from a craggy section about half-way down that was easily avoided it was all pretty drama free. But it is a long way down - the top of Sgiath Chuil is 921m (3023ft) and the highest point of Lairig a' Churain clocks in at just 609m (1998ft). It is also very boggy.

Once across Lairig a' Churain - the hardest part of the walk - I continued west climbing steeply again up to the trig point on Beinn Cheathaich a Murdo (or Munro Top) which tops out at 937m and stands guard at the eastern end of the Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) ridge. I am pretty fit and I thought it was a straightforward climb (though near the top there is a particularly steep section) but I could fully understand why some folk choose to bag these two Munros (Sgiath Chuil and Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) ) as two separate walks.

Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) summit cairn

Once on the ridge, the stroll to Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) (which means 'Greenish-grey Hill' in Gaelic) is a delight with huge views of Ben More (The Crianlarich Hills) to the left and Beinn Sheasgarnaich to the right. The summit of Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) at 959m (3075ft) is marked by yet another dramatic cairn on a rocky outcrop. It was 2.36pm

After a brief stop I head south east to the smaller Meall Glas (Glen Lochay) Beag & then down a steep grassy section before the long trudge across featureless moorland to reach a large drystone sheep fold north of Auchessan. From here a track made the going much easier back to the access road and my transport and accommodation. It was 4.20pm

I hadn't the sniff of a phone signal all day (and I had already discovered that Crianlarich is a phone signal black spot for my network on a winter trip up Ben More (The Crianlarich Hills) in February) I headed for Lochearnhead where I pulled into the car park behind the village hall. The phone signal was good here, and it was nice and quiet, and I was tired, and hungry, and in need of a shower. So after eating, washing and calling home to stop the Mountain Rescue being alerted, I just might have nodded off and stayed the night. Who knows.