The Crianlarich Hills

Three days after my trip north to do the Fannaichs I was off again, but this time nearer home. I had planned a day trip to Crianlarich and back by train to climb three Munros in that area. The Glorious Twelfth did not have a very promising weather forecast - yes, sunny and dry in the morning but cloud moving in from the west in the afternoon. In fact it was more 'glorious' than expected. I almost didn't go, but the forecast was so bad from then till at least the following Monday and I guessed that perhaps there wouldn't be another chance that summer, so I got ready the night before and was up at 5.30 in the morning, despite a late night - Stephen had come and stayed till nearly 12. There was beautiful sunshine as I travelled by train from Edinburgh to Crianlarich - "How long can it last?" I thought. Even for one hour of walking in the sun it's worth it, I told myself.

I reached Crianlarich just after 10 and had about a 2˝km walk back up the road to the track by the River Falloch. I followed the route up by Twistin Hill to the summit of An Caisteal which I got to by 20 past 12.

Beinn Chabhair from Sron Gharbh

Beinn a

Beinn a

I then pressed on, still in sunshine, to Beinn a' Chroin and along its long summit ridge, having lunch near the top. By this time the sun was still almost shining but the weather was clouding over. I decided to continue on over to take in Beinn Chabhair as well, although it was quite a steep and pathless drop to the col followed by an equally steep and pathless 300m climb to the summit on the other side. There I met a man from Kilmacolm, an ex-Chemistry lecturer, now a banker. We walked down together past Lochan Beinn Chabhair and down by the Ben Glas Burn to Inverarnan, getting there as the rain began in earnest. He gave me a lift to Ardlui where I had a 2˝ hour wait for the train. This was not much fun in the rain, of course, the waiting room at Ardlui Station offering rather limited entertainment. Nevertheless it had been a great day with three more Munros climbed so that I was now just one short of my first fifty!