Pronunciation: Beinn Bhuidhe - Byn Voo-ee (yellow hill).
(Entry by Shona)
Eric decided that Ben Bhuidhe would be the one to climb today and we woke up to beautiful clear skies and sunshine. After parking the car in the carpark, we check the map and head back over the bridge and up the road towards the Fyne Ales Brewery.
The road is tarmac, so we enjoy the walk along it until we are met by a large herd of Highland coos. We put the dogs on the lead as they still have a lot of un-used energy just now and we don’t fancy their chances against a massive cow, we make it through with only a few glances from the beasts. Dogs let loose again, we pass a small group of houses in the valley before heading on towards the power station.
From here, we head north, leaving the tarmac road behind and following a good dirt track north on the opposite side of the river to the power station. A female hiker on her bike passes us. We reach the deer gate and notice a few more bikes locked up on the rail. We are not alone today. The valley starts to narrow a little here and we are getting close to the Cottage where the path up the mountain begins.
It starts to rain as we reach the cottage, so we have a quick change of jackets and put our gaiters on. After the gate, there is the choice of two routes. We head up the gorge along a steep and narrow path which follows the stream upwards. Eventually we see the waterfall and head south of this along a very wet and boggy path. The path heads out onto a beautiful plateau, with the jagged east flank of Ben Bhuidhe splitting the skyline.
The going slows a little here as once again we are skipping through very wet bog. We pick up the path and see the gully that it leads to. This should be fun. I love scrambling and scree, so the wet rocks clatter as I pick my way up the near vertical path. Eric is always leading but I take my time and make sure I look around me to enjoy the views to the east towards Ben Ime, Ben Lomond and Ben Vorlich.
As we reach the ridge, there are 3 other hikers looking slightly puzzled. Eric shows them where we are on the map and then we discuss the mountains we can see. To the west Ben Cruachan (covered by clouds). To the east we can make out Ben More and Stob Binnien, slightly south of these two is Ben Chabhair, Ben Lomond and the Arrochar Alps.
To the south we can see a little bit of Loch Fyne.
From here, we head south west along the ridge and up towards the summit cone. Snow patches are scattered across the west side of the summit, which pleases Alfie no end! He loves frolicking in the snow. A small cairn and broken trig point mark the summit and we spend 10 mins enjoying the clear 360 views.
The sunshine doesn’t last and before we know it, we are being pelted by hailstones. Time to get to lower ground. We follow the ridge back to the top of the gully and head north around the end of the ridge and track our way down the more gentle side of the rocky outcrops.
We have gone super lightweight today with day packs and lighter boots, which means the very wet and hailstone covered ground makes for some interesting slips and slides.
We zig zag our way down the grassy slopes on the opposite side of the gorge that we ascended. The sun comes out for a little while but the ground is still boggy and slippery. I laugh at Eric as he slips but stays upright, however 10 minutes later I slide and land on my backside. Eric and I laugh about how wet my bum now is. My comeuppance for giggling at him sliding.
It’s all part of the fun, after all and I can laugh at myself. We follow the fence line further down and enjoy the late afternoon sun as it lights up the valley in front of us. Eventually we are back at the track next to the cottage, not another soul in sight.
We eat our rolls as we walk back along the track to where the other hikers’ bikes are locked up. Still 4 bikes there, which means we were the first off the mountain. We plod on and soon the rain starts. It’s only a small shower though and we see blue sky ahead.
We soon pass the power station and are back onto the tarmac road. As we walk past the highland cows, we decide the dogs are too tired to cause mischief, so we keep them off the lead.
Bracken looks as though she is contemplating jumping on the back of one of the cows that is lying down in the rain. I think the last thing it would expect is a dog jumping on it, so I call her in and keep her close until we pass them by.
The female hiker passes us by on her bike but there is still no sign of the 3 guys. Who needs bikes when you can enjoy a stroll!
Total distance 13.33 miles
Total time taken 6 hours 33 mins
Height of Ben Bhuidhe 947m above sea level
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