Bidean nam Bian, Glen Coe - 2nd May 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Stob Coire nan Lochan - stop kora nan lockyn (peak of the corrie of lochs), Bidean nam Bian - beetyan nam beeoan (peak of the mountains), Stob Coire Sgreamhach - stop kora skree-yach (peak of the fearful corrie)

We had spent the night camped at Drochaid Tolaghan on the western shores of Loch Tulla. Arriving after our post-hike meal at Paddy's in Tyndrum, we had quickly pitched our tent with only headtorch lighting. Midge conditions were good for the time of year, but be warned this area rates as one of the worst for extremely high populations of midges during July and August. I recall last year having to swat the most amount of tent invaders ever while camped at the same location.

Early morning sunshine meant another great day for hitting the mountains was on the cards. We made our way up over Rannoch Moor to Glen Coe. Starting from the main parking area overlooking the Three Sisters, we headed down to the bridge crossing over the River Coe. From here we decided to set a spritely pace up the Coire nan Lochan. A fairly straightforward path zig zags it's way up the gully to the waterfall below the Stob Coire nan Lochan Buttresses.

The Aonach Eagach Ridge from Aonach Dubh.

Clachaig Gully (left) from Aonach Dubh.

Glen Coe Village from Stob Coire nan Lochan ridge.

Once upon the plateau we stopped for a short snacking session. The next part of this route is my favourite. Taking the northern shoulder that runs from Aonach Dubh up the ridge towards the Stob Coire nan Lochan summit, each new view is breathtaking. As you near the summit you begin to veer south and there is some scrambling to be done over large boulders until you reach the top.

Bidean nam Bian peering from behind Stob Coire nan Lochan's north ridge.

Pinnacle Buttress.

Pinnacle Buttress.

From here, the summit of Bidean nam Bian looks invitingly near, but there is still quite some legwork to be done. We followed the path south off Stob Coire nan Lochan down to the ridge at Collie's Pinnacle. Some steep scrambling here is again required to gain the summit of Bidean nam Bian which is a little less spacious than it's neighbouring summit.

360degrees from Stob Coire nan Lochan summit.

Stob Coire Sgreamhach, Bidean nam Bian and Stob Coire nan Lochan from Stob Dubh.

We descended back down to the ridge, it was our plan to take the steep route off the ridge into the lost valley (Coire Gabhail). An earlier plan to take in the summit of Stob Coire Sgreamhach was scrapped as we had noticed that Bracken our new Springer Spaniel was finding the going a bit grazing on her paws.

Path down towards lost valley.

We were soon onto the main path that runs along the lost valley. The valley floor widens out further down to an unusual glacial flood plain. It is said that in the days of the Highland clans, The massacred MacDonald clan once grazed their stolen cattle on this area of ground. At the northern end of the valley the path drops steeply down to Glen Coe. This area is full of cascading waterfalls, plunge pools and mixed woodland.

We made our way across the River Coe once again a little further up it's flow this time, and headed back across the Coe valley to the start/finish point of our walk.

After our walk we were pleased to find our camping spot down in Glen Etive was free and waiting for us. The dogs enjoyed a cooling swim in the river and Shona and I were sound asleep before it was fully dark.

Beinn Ime, Arrochar - 1st May 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Ime - byn eem (butter hill)

This was the first Munro that Alfie my Springer did last year when he was just on the turn of pup to young dog. On that occasion we took the route up between the Cobbler (Ben Arthur) and Beinn Narnain.

This time we tackled it from the western side with Shona bringing Bracken along for her 3rd K9 Munro-bag. Beinn Ime is the tallest peak among the Arrochar Alps, and ascending from the west is a relatively short route. It is however a very steep trek up constant grassy slopes.

Starting from the Butterbridge car park in Glen Kinglas we headed into the glen then veered right onto the hill and steadily upwards towards the Glas Bhealach between Beinn Chorranach and Beinn Ime. Two gullies cut down from the Bhealach and in my opinion it's best to stay on the left of both during the ascent. A pair of hikers ahead of us attempted to go up over to the right of these gullies and seemed to find the terrain much steeper and slower.

A mixture of spongy moss and springy heather in places made this route quite tiresome on the thighs. Such slopes always seem to look far tamer from below, where the eye automatically assumes that the greenery is close cropped. It comes as some relief to make it to the Glas Bhealach. The ground underfoot is much firmer and you now feel like you're progressing towards the summit of Ime. It's now just a case of climbing due south to the summit. There are a few visible tracks that can be taken, but you really can't go wrong as long as you keep the apex of the route as your target.

On this occasion the weather could not have been better and once on the summit, views in all directions were stunning. There is a very elaborate summit cairn on Beinn Ime, almost like a little turret which can be used to shelter from the wind. Today the wind was whipping in from the east, so Shona and I took to the western outside wall of the cairn to grab our lunch. We chatted with the hikers who had been ahead of us on the right side of the gullies on their ascent. I think they had been surprised that we had reached the summit cairn a good 10 minutes before them. Another group arrived on the summit from the southern approach, so we got our packs back on and headed back down to the Glas Bhealach.

We were pondering the possibilities of crossing over to Ben Vane to the east. Instead we decided to drop east into the Gleann Uaine for a pleasant longer walk off the mountain. Heading north we arrived at a controlled mixed forest plantation skirting the top of Glen Kinglas. Ironically the deer fencing set up to prevent red deer from stripping the young trees had in fact trapped a large group of deer inside the plantation.

From here we stepped onto the estate dirt track and followed it leisurely back down to the junction on the A83.

Being a Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday, the Drover's Inn was packed out. No seating available, so we boosted on up to Tyndrum to get to Paddy's Grill before they stopped serving food for the night. Paddy's in Tyndrum is great. Good pub grub with big portions and no fuss. Well behaved dogs are allowed in the bar too, which is a necessity for us.