Ben Lui, Ben Oss and Beinn Dubhchraig - August 3rd 2011

Pronunciation/Translation: Beinn Laoigh aka Ben Lui - byn loo-ee (hill of the calf), Ben Oss - byn oss (loch outlet hill), Beinn Dubhchraig - byn doo-craig (black rock hill)

I hadn't been on a walk with the GWHC (Glasgow walking and hillwalking club) since around this time last year when we did Buachaille Etive Beag. Shona and I had in fact climbed Ben Lui and Beinn a' Chleibh in the Autumn of 2010. On that occasion visibility had been very poor on the summits, so I was hoping that this trip to Tyndrum would provide some better weather conditions.

As usual when meeting up with the GWHC midweek, I prefer to head up and camp near the start location the night before. Alfie and I made our way to Tyndrum and found the By The Way campsite packed full, so decided to try the more expensive Pine Trees Campsite. I was told at the reception they too were full, but that they could squeeze me in if it was only for one night. I had stayed at this site last spring when walking the West Highland Way and had found the amenities to be excellent. This year dogs were to be kept on a leash at all times, which had I known before parting with my cash may have seen me looking to wild camp instead.

This is happening more frequently across Scottish campsites. There may have been some sort of increase in irresponsible owners taking aggressive dogs on camping trips, although I think more likely it is site operators fearing the wrath of an increasingy blame cultured society.

We spent most of the evening at the relaxed and friendly Paddy's Grill where Alfie was treated better than most of the human customers. We stayed there for a few pints before taking the short walk back to the Pine Trees site.
It was a rough night in the tent, being woken everytime a fellow camper crunched along the chipped path to the toilet block. I got up early and packed everything away with Alfie waiting patiently in the car.

Parked up at the Green Welly Stop, we met the group who were joining us on the walk. Once everyone was kitted up and ready, we made off towards the lower Tyndrum rail station and the start of the trek. There is a railway crossing here which needs due care and attention, because yes, trains do use this line frequently.

Alfie helps Mark finish his sandwich.

The first part of the walk in is along a wide forestry commission road which takes us down to meet the River Cononish. From here the track runs alongside the river and up towards Cononish Farm. With Ben Lui now in full view, the track continues southwest and ends at the Alt an Rund. Once across the river a much narrower single track path appears and takes you steadily up into the Coire Gaothach.

striding into the Coire Gaothach

Central gully and Carn Mhuirich, Ben Lui.

From the corrie there are several route options to take you up to the summit of Ben Lui, 1130m. The one we were taking was to move from the southern side of the corrie across it's back wall and then ascend northwesterly onto the ridge linking Stob Garbh to the summit. It was steep ground to get to the ridge, but well worth it for the views we were rewarded with.

ridge from Stob Garbh.

Ross and I on the summit of Ben Lui.

Ben Oss from Ben Lui.

Cononish Farm from Ben Lui.

We stopped for a bite to eat on the summit before moving south for the descent towards the boggy bealach between Lui and Ben Oss. Beinn a' Chleibh was not on the day's agenda, which I'd have found dissapointing had I not climbed it last autumn. The first step onto the Creag Dhub a' Bhealaich is fairly easy going before it flattens out onto boggy ground again. The second step up onto the summit approach of Ben Oss is far more challenging. It is a constant steep ascent over grass and boulders, with a bit of scrambling in places. Therefore another rest on the summit of Ben Oss, 1029m was very welcome when it came.

Ben Lui from Ben Oss.

Beinn Dubhchraig from Ben Oss.

The group were soon off and moving once again, this time we descended north from the summit and then moved northeast onto the northern shoulder of Ben Oss at 941m. Some downwards scrambling took us to the Bealach Buidhe, here most of the group decided they had had enough for the day and were going to attempt a descent into Coire Buidhe. 4 of us however were determined to bag Beinn Dubhchraig, the last munro on the route.

Loch Oss.

We started up the steep pull towards the flat west shoulder at 875m. We were halfway to the shoulder when shouts alerted us that the rest of the group had reconsidered and were now tackling this munro also. Turns out this was through necessity and not choice as there had been no safe route off the bealach over the crags into Coire Buidhe. With only around a 100m of ascent remaining and the fact that we'd be coming back down to the flat area on our descent, we ditched our rucksacks and hiked spritely to the last summit of the day, 978m.

Views south to Loch Lomond from Beinn Dubhchraig.

Alfie after a quick swim in a lochan.

Last summit of the day, Beinn Dubhchraig.

A few quick snaps were taken and we were hurrying back down to the packs and their tired guardians who had opted out of the final climb. From the shoulder we followed the high ground north as it seperated Coire Dubhchraig from the River Cononish. It was here that some of the backmarkers lost sight of the main group and decided to drop into the corrie to walk out. This would have been fine if they were headed for Dalrigh, but the rest of us were planning to rejoin the forestry commission track we had used on the walk in to the north of the Creag Bhocan.

We waited for 15mins, before spreading out a search party for the splinter group, they were located safe and well, if a little oblivious to their alternative route's destination. We all re-grouped and negotiated a safe passage down from the Creag Bhocan and over to the River Cononish. We had to choose the easiest place to cross using the boulders and stepping stones that were scattered across the flow of water. Let's just say that not everyone got home safe and dry, I'm happy to say that I was in the majority who kept dry and managed to stay upright on the slippery boulders.

From the river it was just a case of joining the farm track and then walking back out along the forestry commission road to the railway crossing once again. After a quick freshen up and change of footwear at the Green Welly Stop, we all met up to enjoy some post-hike refreshments in Paddy's Grill. Everyone seemed to have had a cracking day in the hills and enjoyed some brilliant weather conditions for a change this year.