Meall na Leitreach

Ready, Steady, Go

Drumochter Pass with A9

Looking South to  Schiehallion and the Glen Lyon munros

Monday 2 May 2011
Distance:     6km
Ascent:        425metres
Time:           1hr  56mins
c    Meall na Leitreach      775m     

Mundane hills sometimes make the best of all outings.  I was travelling north to Inverness in the late afternoon against the flow of the bank holiday traffic returning from a long weekend of perfect weather in the north.  I had studiously avoided the A9 and travelled on the scenic route via Killin, Kinloch Rannoch and as I joined the A9 at Trinafour I remembered that there was a Corbett at the start of the Drumochter pass.  I parked and thought it would be worth spending a couple of hours on a perfect evening ticking off Meall na Leitreach which is a modestly understated hill.  I was mistaken, it was quite spectacular and the walk and views lifted the spirits.

I crossed the main railway line as three intrepid cyclists came from the opposite direction, they had spent 6 days travelling across Scotland from Mull and were ecstatic about their trip.  The farmstead buildings had been recently restored and must be about the highest habitations in the UK at almost 400 metres.  I followed the river and came to an area of intricate drainage works with small dams and levees and a bridge to the foot of Meall na Leitreach.  I found a track that was well used by quad bikes and ascended the snout of the hill.  There were sheep and rabbits and a plentiful number of grouse in the heather.  Eventually the track curved round and I hit the summit ridge and found a small cairn which gave way to a dip and then a steeper clamber to the summit. 

The views to the south embraced Schiehallion and the Glen Lyon hills.  The distant familiar outlines in the west were Glencoe and the Mamores, and to the north west the Ben Alder range. To the north were the plateaus of the Drumochter hills bisected by the A9 which hummed with traffic.  A mountain hare appeared and stayed long enough for me to capture it on camera before it zoomed off into the heather clad slopes below.  There was a fresh gentle breeze and I galloped down through the heather disturbing more grouse and hares.  I discovered a new wooden bridge to get back and beyond another set of farmsteads were undergoing what looked like an expensive refurbishment which included a splendid granite block wall.  This may be one of the most remote settlements but it had an attraction that I could never have imagined.  I arrived back at the car with a sense of privilege at exploring this unvisited oasis of tranquility and all within a couple of hours.