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Lat/Long: 56.832430, -04.223266
OS
Grid ref: NN 64362 73404
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Last night was warm and clear and a nice view of the full
Harvest Moon but this morning was cloud and mist. After
breakfast I set off at 06:10am to cross the A9 then through a
collapsing gate to start the climb of Glas Beag. On the lower
slopes I crossed the line of the old Military Road and to my
left could see the remains of the buttress for the bridge that
used to cross the burn. There was no sign of the road on my side
but the route can be seen on the far side. |
Loch Garry. |
Glas Mheall Beag summit. |
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At first the ground was quite wet but higher up improved as the
slope steepened. The steep section didn’t last too long and when
the gradient eased the ground was easy going and also the mist
mostly cleared and I had good views down to Loch Garry though
higher cloud persisted. A nice cairn was on the route then
further on another. The summit I was heading for was still a way
off and visible in the distance. A descent across boggy ground
then I was on the final climb to reach the flat grassy plateau.
Only a small cairn marked the top but a low wall had been
constructed to the north as a windbreak. It was short and low so
can’t have been of much use. I turned round to start my descent
to the south down by Allt Bhathaich. A large extent of very
boggy ground had to be crossed with many dips and hags to
negotiate. |
South view from the summit. |
Spectators. |
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I trudged on steadily till I reached a ridge where the ground
improved considerably and soon picked up a quad bike track along
a line of shooting butts. Below I could see the A9 road crossing
the Pass of Drumochter and it was now very busy. For a while the
route became indistinct but soon became more obvious. Most of
the high cloud had gone and the weather was ideal for walking. |
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My original plan was to climb Meall Breac tomorrow but as it is
on the far side of Glen Garry I decided to descend to the road
and continue on walk no 2 and make the most of the fine weather.
At the busy A9 I had quite a wait for the traffic to clear
before I could get across. On the far side was a contractors
depot with vehicles etc fenced off. |
Footbridge over the River Garry. |
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Unfortunately the fence blocked off the access to the railway
crossing gate. I managed to squeeze round and climb the gates to
cross the railway. Down the grass bank I reached the footbridge
across the River Garry which seemed to have new wooden decking
fitted and freshly painted with creosote preservative. I reached
the estate track and followed it up to the branch to the bothy.
I stopped briefly to eat something then continued up the valley
along the track. Part way up I was passed by a quad bike with
one man on board. We exchanged waves as he passed and i
continued upwards. Before the track summit I’d planned to cut
off to the left to gain the ridge and noticed a quad bike track
heading the way I’d planned to walk. I followed it and found it
very helpful to get me towards the ridge. Near the top the track
vanished and was back to negotiating difficult ground again. I
reached the post and wire fence line and followed it towards the
summit and OS trig post. The summit area was dry and the trig
post was in good condition. I stopped to eat something then
began my descent to the north. There were some interesting rock
outcrops of strange wave shapes on the edge of the ridge. |
Meall Breac Ordnance Survey
Trig Post. |
Geological feature. |
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A steep heather slope took me down to a line of wooden shooting
butts and a faint track along their line. Unfortunately I lost
the faint track as I descended but eventually managed to find it
again shortly before reaching the main stoned track along Glen
Garry. I continued along the track to the Dalnaspidal Estate
buildings and farm. There are 2 routes through the buildings so
I chose the one by the big house as there were several people
about near the farm buildings and estate houses. It warm and
sunny and they were sitting out enjoying the sun. There was an
Athol Estate vehicle outside the house and a lady told me it was
a private road. Further along was another lady and child with
several dogs. She said there was no problem with me walking that
way. I reached the railway, crossed the level crossings then a
short walk back to the car. |
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