Friday 12 May
By less than half way through this morning's hills, I'd decided to ditch this summit from the day's plans. That all changed when, after spending some time considering options for tomorrow, I looked at the weather forecast and found that extensive low cloud is on the cards. By 4pm today there were patches of blue above and suddenly this hill was back on the agenda.
I know, from past experience, that the A85 is an unpleasant road to walk, with more than its fair share of speeding motorists, a few with no care for the safety of pedestrians. However, having left Bertie in a car park lying to the SSE of the summit, and not fancying the steepness of the direct ascent, it was along that nasty road that I went, albeit taking the slower option of walking the verge rather than the tarmac.
I'd heard tell of a faint path heading up the hill about a kilometre further up the road and so there was. It went conveniently in my direction for quite a while too, before I either lost it or it petered out. There I opted not for the line I had plotted on my map, but for a direct approach. Steep, but easy.
Ben Lui behind the trig point
From the top my intentions to retrace my steps weren't quite forgotten, but I thought I'd just go and take a quick look at how bad it would be to descend straight down the SSE side. A bit of an achy-kneed descent, was the answer, but it didn't feel as bad as it looked. The worst bit was the last 100 yards or so before the road, where (after a day of generally easy terrain) I hit monster tussocks harbouring random holes. On the plus side, however, I came out right opposite the car park, thus avoiding the unpleasant road walk.
This one had been a modest 2.6 miles with 450m ascent.
By less than half way through this morning's hills, I'd decided to ditch this summit from the day's plans. That all changed when, after spending some time considering options for tomorrow, I looked at the weather forecast and found that extensive low cloud is on the cards. By 4pm today there were patches of blue above and suddenly this hill was back on the agenda.
I know, from past experience, that the A85 is an unpleasant road to walk, with more than its fair share of speeding motorists, a few with no care for the safety of pedestrians. However, having left Bertie in a car park lying to the SSE of the summit, and not fancying the steepness of the direct ascent, it was along that nasty road that I went, albeit taking the slower option of walking the verge rather than the tarmac.
I'd heard tell of a faint path heading up the hill about a kilometre further up the road and so there was. It went conveniently in my direction for quite a while too, before I either lost it or it petered out. There I opted not for the line I had plotted on my map, but for a direct approach. Steep, but easy.
Ben Lui behind the trig point
From the top my intentions to retrace my steps weren't quite forgotten, but I thought I'd just go and take a quick look at how bad it would be to descend straight down the SSE side. A bit of an achy-kneed descent, was the answer, but it didn't feel as bad as it looked. The worst bit was the last 100 yards or so before the road, where (after a day of generally easy terrain) I hit monster tussocks harbouring random holes. On the plus side, however, I came out right opposite the car park, thus avoiding the unpleasant road walk.
This one had been a modest 2.6 miles with 450m ascent.
a bit of nostalgia for me (and you I reckon) with mention of, and photo of Ben Lui.
ReplyDeleteKeep them coming.