Beinn Dorain & Beinn an Dothaidh

Howard had to leave Tulloch early to go back down south but Alasdair and I had decided to tackle the two hills above Bridge of Orchy, Beinn Dorain and Beinn an Dothaidh, on our way homewards. We were all up by 7 o'clock and Howard was off by 7.30. Alasdair and I set off from Tulloch about 9 o'clock and drove down to Bridge of Orchy, passing through some rain, with cloud on most of the hills. We were walking by 11, starting up the boggy path towards the col between the two hills with the tops in cloud and a light rain falling most of the way up.

A refuelling stop - the view west towards the Glen Etive Hills

By the time we reached the col however, the rain had dried up and the cloud had started to clear. We had lunch at the col in the hope that it would clear further, which was rewarded.

As we continued the ascent of Beinn Dorain we met lots of people coming down who had seen nothing from the top - we were hopeful that we had timed things better! Around this point Alasdair found a compass lying on the ground looking like it hadn't been there long. He picked it up in the hope that we might find it's owner later on. Despite our optimism, the top of Beinn Dorain remained in mist, and when we reached the large cairn on the false summit we were dependent on the SMC guidebook to tell us that the real summit was further on. Having reached it we didn't wait around in the mist but quickly headed back down to the col.

As we came down out of the mist we found that all of Beinn an Dothaidh was now clear of cloud, so we lost no time in starting the ascent. It was at this point that we met the owner of the compass who was just coming down from Beinn an Dothaidh. The funny thing was that he first denied it was his, then checked and realized that in fact it was - and then, in response to our joking, tried desperately to convince us that this wasn't just a ruse to get a free compass!

Beinn Dorain from Beinn an Dothaidh

We rested for a bit on each of the three tops of Beinn an Dothaidh, getting great views all around. By this time the cloud had cleared from Beinn Dorain as well. We could also see Beinn Achaladair and the rest of the hills to the north, and could look over Loch Tulla to the Black Mount.

Alasdair on Beinn an Dothaidh, Beinn Achaladair behind

Then we headed back down, still in the dry. For me this was of course the rather sad moment when I knew I wouldn't be up another Munro for about a year. It started spitting rain occasionally during our descent from the col, but it remained basically dry until we reached the car, giving overall a great day.

Having got our boots off and everything packed into the car we set off into almost immediate rain - beautiful timing or what? It was a nice drive down, with a stop at the Real Food Café in Tyndrum again for "refuelling". The drive down by Loch Lomond was sunny and very nice. We were heading for East Kilbride where Alasdair and I had the kind offer of a bed for the night with friends. It was really only half of the night though, since I was catching the early morning flight from Prestwick to Marseille and Alasdair heroically got up at 4.15 to drive me there - thank you Alasdair!