KYQ4: An Caisteal and Beinn a' Chroin

Sunday, 18 April 2021

An Caisteal and Beinn a' Chroin

An Caisteal from Twistin' Hill

Beinn a' Chroin from An Caisteal

Friday, 16 April 2021

Ascent: 1184 metres

Distance: 14 kilometres

Time: 4 hours 58 minutes

An Caisteal 995m 2hrs 1min

Beinn a' Chroin 942m 2hrs 56mins

Beinn a' Chroin, east top 940m 3hrs 19mins

Another fine day and the first day that we are allowed to travel outwith our Council boundaries as Covid lockdown is eased. I didn't take advantage but travelled to Crianlarich to climb An Caisteal and Beinn a' Chroin. Others had had the same idea and the large lay-by on the A82, two miles south of Crianlarich was almost full by 8:30am, a sign of what is to come as people catch up on all the lost time on the hills. The path drops under the railway line and then a track follows the river Falloch in a southeasterly direction.

After a mile along the track there is a gate and immediately afterwards a narrow path strikes up the slopes towards Sron Gharbh. It is a fairly stiff climb and in the still air it was too hot for a jacket. Despite the dry conditions over the past week, there were still boggy sections that sucked in the shoes as the path searched for the most nimble way to reach Sron Gharbh at the northern end of the fine ridge leading to An Casteal.

I had made reasonable time and closing in on the two walkers ahead of me. The ridge walk from Sron Garbh up Twistin Hill to the summit of An Caisteal is delightful with twists and turns, and a couple of easy scrambles before landing on the surprisingly flat summit. I had caught the walker ahead, a young police officer, and we walked together for the rest of the day. It was his day off between a change of shifts and he had seized the chance to escape from his largely urban Council area and get back to the hills. Like so many, he had lost fitness during the lockdown with no team sports, gym closed and unable to enjoy his hobbies of mountain biking and hill walking.

We discussed the possibility of popping over to Beinn Chabhair but the prospect of 700 metres of descent and re-ascent was not appealing so we ventured on to Beinn a' Chroin. The steep scramble to reach its flattish summit was enjoyable in conditions that were perfect for walking. We passed the summit and went to the eastern top where we met a couple of other walkers and engaged in more banter. I had decided to descend via the ridge to the north. I had once climbed the 4 munros on the river Falloch skyline on a Friday afternoon after school with my 10 year old son and his friend. We had taken this route down and camped at the bealach below Stob Glas Bheag on a glorious summer evening. The next morning we had climbed Beinn Tulaichean and Cruach Ardrain and had finished the walk by lunchtime.

The descent was at a good pace and discussion flowed as we related our experiences of lockdown and ambitions for the months ahead as we could return to the hills. I was pleasantly surprised that I could keep pace with thirty, forty and fifty year olds and still talk at the same time but it was downhill. I felt slightly envious of them as they had yet to sample the delights of Knoydart, Fisherfield and Glen Affric. It was almost 2pm by the time we reached the road. I had now managed three days on local munros in the past couple of weeks, the daily walks up local hills had given me a modicum of fitness that should help as I begin to tackle the remaining Corbetts.

On the return home I had expected the traffic to be heavier as people headed north for the weekend but it was comparatively quiet before the "wagons roll" as Ward Bond used to holler in Wagon Train.