Beinn Mhanach

Beinn Mhanach at the head of the Allt Kinglas

Friday 5 August 2011, 
1160 metres of ascent, 20 kilometres, 5 hrs 55 mins

t    Beinn a' Chuirn           923m     2hrs 26mins
m  Beinn Mhanach           953m     2hrs 58mins
c   Beinn nam Fuaran       806m     4hrs 41mins

Beinn Mhanach is one of those isolated hills which is a long way from the roads but sits at the focus of 10 munros all within 10km of its summit.  I have usually climbed it along with the Beinn Dorain four munros, which makes for quite a long day, but I gave Beinn Mhanach a miss when I did these four hills last September.  I also had a nearby Corbett, Beinn nam Fuaran, to climb and felt that combining the two would be a good walk in itself. I started at 10 am, parking on the A82, walking down the road to Auch, crossing the West Highland Way that was busy with a dozen or so walkers and then underneath the massive viaduct over the Allt Kinglas.  

There was a major piece of engineering taking place, constructing a new hydroelectric plant. Walking along the long track in I was overtaken by a hunting party in a Four Wheel Drive. They were very friendly but explained they were going to find a stag, and if I heard rifle fire in the near future, it was merely target practice.  About  5 minutes later, a loud explosion was followed by the zipping sound of a high-velocity bullet; I upped my pace in case I was the target.  Towards the end of the track, there is an old shieling and some sheep pens and beyond the steep wall of Beinn a' Chuirn, a top linked to Beinn Mhanach.

Cloud spills over from Beinn Achaladair

I decided to continue on the track as far as I could and reached 600 metres before it meandered off towards Beinn Achaladair. It was time to assault the steep grassy slopes and climb south-westwards towards Beinn a' Chuirn.  The cloud was pouring into the Glen, and I pushed on, trying to reach the summit before all visibility was removed. A large brown fox appeared suddenly, and less expected than in a children's reading book, and contoured above me in a dashing trot.  My iPod was playing and I was amused to listen to Sheryl Crow singing 'If it makes you Happy, then why the hell are you so sad'. I had listened to it on another hill walk in 2005 and connected the lyrics with the fact that she was a partner to Lance Armstrong at the time he was winning the Tour de France for the seventh time. We know now that cheating does make you sad. And then the clouds engulfed us, and I followed the slope to the small summit cairn, which I embellished in my usual way.

Summit of Benn Mhanach

It was time to don my waterproofs; the wind and drizzle were taking the edge off what had been a pleasant day.  The descent to the col between the top and the summit had been a source of amusement when I first did these hills.  There were two gate posts and a five-barred gate at the low point; the adjacent fences had all collapsed,  illustrating the territorial nature of upland hill farming in the past.  The gate was lying on the ground and when I tried to lift it back for a photo shot, it collapsed from rot. By the time I reached Beinn Mhanach, the cloud had moved on, and it was a bright early afternoon. I sat and enjoyed the views in all directions before heading south towards the nearest Corbett, Beinn nam Fuaran.  

Beinn nam Fuaran from Beinn Mhanach

Although the descent was steep, it was easy going over the grass and lichens.  I reached the col at the top of a track and crossed to the other side through some boggy ground. I had identified a route up Beinn nam Fuaran during the descent; I always enjoy the freedom of approaching a hill which has no path or way to the summit. It was via a sharp ridge to the left, which was adjacent to a ravine. I then emerged on a higher ridge that took me to the gentler convex summit the Corbett.  It was an airy summit with excellent views down Loch Lyon and over to Creag Mhor as well as Beinn an Dothaidh and Beinn Mhanach.  

Beinn an Dothaidh from Beinn nam Fuaran

Loch Lyon

Beinn a' Chuirn and Beinn Mhanach - Beinn a' Chreachan visible through the cleavage

There was a steep descent back to the track along the Allt Kinglas. I made good time, having set myself a target of doing it within 5 iPod tracks, but I narrowly failed. My estimate for the walk was 6 hours, so I was charging along when the hunter's 4x4 pulled up beside me.  They had not managed to find or shoot a stag, but they had watched my exploits all day through their binoculars, which was slightly scary, but they were slightly in awe of the ground I had covered.  They offered me a lift for the last 2 kilometres and I accepted mainly to find out more about them. I discovered that they were from a renewable energy consortia and were responsible for the hydro scheme as well as various wind farms in Scotland, Wales and England.  We had a good discussion in the vehicle about renewables. I was deeply involved in discussions about the Viking wind turbine scheme in Shetland at the time. My natural hostility to 4x4s in the hills was dampened by their enthusiasm for renewable energy and an invitation to park on their premises during any further visits.