Arrochar Alps

Beinn Ime from Ben Vane

Summit of Ben Vane

Beinn Narnain from Beinn Ime

Loch Long and the Clyde from Beinn Narnain

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Ascent:         1855 metres 

Distance:      19 kilometres, 

Time:            7 hours 7 minutes

Ben Vane            916m.    1hr 56mins

Beinn Ime          1011m.   3hrs 34mins

Beinn Narnain    926m.     4hrs 49mins

The bluest skies in Britain were in the west of Scotland today and the mountain weather information service (mwis) had called it right. Loch Lomond was glistening in the sun but the choppy waters were indicative of high winds and cold weather reaching down from the north. I collected Mark from Callander and we got the best of a bright day on the Arrochar Alps; starting at Inveruglas on Loch Lomond we made a round of Ben Vane, Beinn Ime and Beinn Narnain. The stiff cold northerly wind was all that stopped this being a perfect day on these rugged mountains. We were walking by 9:00am from the Inveruglas car park and then up the track towards Loch Sloy which is littered with the paraphernalia associated with hydroelectric generation.

Ben Vane stood proud against the blue skies with scudding white clouds keeping well clear of the summits. We hacked up the boggy path which leads northwards from the track and meandered through the large crags. It was steady progress and in exposed locations, we were blasted by the wind and, unusually for August, it was hats on and wishing we had gloves, but the views were opening up and it felt a good day to be out on the hills. The final couple of hundred metres of ascent have a couple of false summits but when we reached the flat summit with its tiny lochan we were regaled with fine vistas to the west and north as well as across to Ben Lomond. Arran and Jura were visible but a little hazy. We hunkered down below the summit and had some food and drink and were joined by a lone walker who worked in Finland for Nokia. He was inspired by the Scottish Highland scenery after the flat monotonous forest landscapes in Finland.

We headed off to the west to Lag Uaine and a long drop to the bealach which was at 490 metres before setting about the steep slopes up to Glas bealach beneath Beinn Ime. The final 250 metres of ascent was another very steep incline with grass and exposed bedrock but we had the wind at our backs. We arrived at the summit which was surprisingly absent of other walkers and had some lunch whilst admiring the skyline to the north and west. As we left a party of twenty or so walkers arrived and proceeded to name all the surrounding peaks, most incorrectly. We let it be.

And then the long descent through wet boggy slopes to Bealach a' Mhaim before another steep climb up Beinn Narnain. I had not been up here on a clear day since 1989 when I did it on my way to work very early one morning. The views are spectacular down Loch Long to the Clyde in the south and eastwards across to Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine but the hills of the north rejoiced. 

It was a chance to sit and enjoy, the wind was still strong but the day had warmed in the sun and on the descent through the forest and back to Inveruglas, it was T-shirt time again. We caught up with an older walker making a round of Beinn Narnain from Arrochar and dropping down to Inveruglas and he extolled the virtues of the One Scotland Access card which gave him the freedom to roam through free bus travel.  I didn't tell him that I had one or that for 4 years or that I had chaired one of the groups that introduced it but it was satisfying to hear that all those meetings had been worthwhile. We were back at the car by 4pm and home not long after 5pm despite the long queues along the side of Loch Lomond approaching Balloch. It had been a good day with lots of ascent but conducted at a pace which did not tax the body unduly.