Archives for Scottish
Carn an Tuirc [Munro #11]
Alexander and I went up Càrn an Tuirc on Wednesday. It was his first Munro since he started university, so we only did half the (optimistic) route. Lots of this was because it was very boggy on the bottom end of the route, and we had quite a lot of stops to work out the steps to avoid sinking into the peat bog. Route for Carn an Tuirc and Cairn of Claise I very optimistically planned a route that could cover both Càrn an Tuirc and Cairn of Claise should we arrive early and find the going good. The route started in a layby on the A93 about a kilometre past the Glenshee Ski Centre. From the map there's a path to the top of Càrn an Tuirc, there's also a path linking the two Munros. It's an out and…
Càrn Liath [Munro #10]
I went up Càrn Liath, my tenth Munro and the first one I've done on my own. As walks go it was a fairly short and straightforward one. Càrn Liath Route Càrn Liath from the start of the route (photo: James Kemp) I parked in the Beinn a' Ghlo car park just off the A9 near Blair Atholl. It had a wee bit of phone signal and the car parking machine took card payments. It was £3 for a motorbike, £5 for a car and £8 for a van or camper. The car park was mostly empty, there were three or four camper vans and one other car. I didn't see anyone until I came back to the car. The route was all on paths, and with excellent visibility I could see the way up Càrn Liath from the car…
Ben Vorlich (Loch Earn) [Munro #9]
I went up Ben Vorlich, on the south bank of Loch Earn with the Dundee Mountain Club (DMC) and a few others yesterday. There are two Ben Vorlichs, the other one is further west. Planning Ben Vorlich This is the first one that I didn't plan personally. Instead I joined in a club walk. That said I did look at the map, confirmed the start point and plotted the route on OS Maps so that I knew where we were going and roughly how long it would take. The route is pretty straightforward, there's a series of laybys on the road on the South of Loch Earn next to a stone bridge. From there is a path heading North that goes all the way to the top of Ben Vorlich. There are no side paths or junctions. On the top…
Glas Maol [Munro #8]
The large layby on the A93 just south of Glen Shee ski resort (Photo: James Kemp) Glas Maol sits close to several other Munros in the southern part of the Cairngorms National Park. Alexander and I parked in the layby just south of the Glen Shee ski resort and walked over Meall Odhar to the summit of Glas Maol and then down the back to the associated Munro top of Little Glas Maol. Including stops for lunch and to chat to a couple of students about what we could see from the top of Little Glas Maol (the North Sea amongst other things) it took us just over five hours from setting off to being back at the car. Planning for Glas Maol Planning on this one was straightforward, I'd been looking at all the Munros, tops, Corbetts and Grahams…
Tarmachan Ridge from the North [Munro #7 & two tops]
We got another day out on the hills to walk the Tarmachan Ridge from the North, taking in Beinn nan Eachan, Meall Garbh and Meall nan Tarmachan. Meall nan Tarmachan looking East from the Western part of the horseshoe shaped ridge (Photo: James Kemp) Planning Tarmachan Ridge Route onto the Tarmachan Ridge We approached Meall Garbh from the west along a fairly narrow path with a drop on either side. (Photo: James Kemp) The walk was in 100 Best Walks in Scotland, and instead of starting in the Ben Lawers car park it started on an unnamed patch of tarmac due North of the horseshoe shaped ridge. The route was to walk up the North-western end of the horseshoe, and along the ridge, taking in Beinn nan Eachan (Horses Mountain), Meall Garbh (Rough hill) and then Meall nan Tarmachan (Ptarmigan…