Glen Ogle and Creag MacRànaich

Friday 9th September 2016

Due to another poor weather forecast I decided that my original option for this day, to climb Ben Vorlich repeating a walk that I did in 2007, would have to be abandoned. Not far from Ben Vorlich is a disused railway line through the valley of Glen Ogle that used to be an unusually pretty section of the railway. I spent a lot of time the previous evening studying a map of the area until I realised that it is possible to do a circular route through Glen Ogle and even, if the weather is kind, to bag a Corbett on the way. When I got to the Glen Ogle car park, at Glenoglehead, it was throwing it down with rain and as I set off into Glen Ogle I started to think about alternative plans that would keep me at the bottom of the valley. It wasn’t long, however, before the rain stopped and as the sides of the valley steepened, while the railway hugs tightly to the side of the hill, the weather start to turn out good. I had stunning views down the valley on this dramatic former railway and I was enthralled by the railway architecture, loving every moment, but Glen Ogle is only three miles long and even at a slow stroll I was at the southern end overlooking Loch Earn within an hour and a half.

At this point in the walk the weather was looking very promising and as I passed through a more overgrown section of the disused railway the sun was actually shining so I had no hesitation in reverting to the circular walk that I had planned the evening before. I came off the railway and started to climb into Glen Kendrum, but soon I noticed signs for construction traffic: another hydroelectric scheme was being built in the Highlands. Behind me Ben Vorlich and Stuc a’ Chroin were struggling to shake off the low cloud and made me wonder what might have been. The Munros were looking quite accessible and I almost regretted my decision to abandon my plan to walk up these mountains. The weather the day before had been terrible and I had expected similar conditions for this walk, but after the rain at the start of the day I was enjoying some surprisingly good weather, however I knew that bad weather was forecast for later in the day.

The track up Glen Kendrum has been improved to allow access for the construction vehicles and this made things easier for me as I slowly made my way up the valley. The weather worsened as I climbed and inevitably, before I reached the top of the pass, it had started to rain again. This didn’t put me off trying to bag a Corbett, so just before reaching the top of the pass I came off the path and made my own way up the steep slopes towards Creag MacRànaich. The hillside was very craggy and required that I take a lot of care and thought to get up onto the flatter summit ridge where a faint path appeared that I followed heading north through the clouds, past a cairn, and after a small descent up to another cairn that I believe is the summit of Creag MacRànaich. While sheltering behind a crag near the summit I had occasional views across the moor northwards to Killin where the sun was shining, however, at the top of this Corbett the weather was becoming very rough with strong, cold winds and low clouds that soon forced me to abandon my lunch and immediately head back down onto the track.

This was not an easy descent as there is quite a distance between the summit and the track and in between are some steep crags. When I reached the top of these I had no idea how I was going to get down until after making my way north for a while, through the strong winds, I eventually found a small break in the crags where steep grassy slopes safely led me all the way down to the track where I was very thankful to be and finally finish my lunch. With the Corbett bagged, my last peak in Scotland this year, and the weather worsening, I made my way down the track following the increasingly tumultuous Ardchyle Burn down Gleann Dubh until I reached the point where the track fords across the river. By this point the burn was so full of water I never had any thought of attempting to cross it and elected instead to stay on the right hand bank following a path into a conifer plantation. But my problems continued as it was soon obvious that this wood had recently been felled, which could restrict access. Carefully I made my way through the tangled branches and tree stumps keeping a look out for any active tree-felling.

I couldn’t see any sign of forestry operations so I continued to follow the burn down until I eventually reached the track of the disused railway in Glen Dochart. There were a few abandoned forestry machines beside the railway, but no sign of anyone, so I turned right and headed along the course of the old railway veering right at Killin Junction. Soon after passing the site of the old station I started to be able to hear the unmistakable sounds of tree-felling being carried out further up the line, therefore to avoid the forestry operations I turned around and took the lower path of the old branch line to Killin, however this diversion meant that when I reached the main A85 trunk road I had to turn right and walk beside the road for a couple of miles in pouring rain up to Glenoglehead. The heavy rain that had been promised had now finally arrived and I had to endure it until I finally reached the car park at the top of the pass. This was an astonishing walk with a fabulous start through the spectacular Glen Ogle in surprisingly good weather. Nipping up to the top of the Corbett was very challenging in the worsening weather and I then had to overcome more difficulties to avoid the tree-felling operations. This was not the best walk to finish my holiday in Scotland, but it was typical of the weather that I had enjoyed during the holiday.

The Hidden Valley of Glen Coe

Thursday 8th September 2016

Just as on the previous day I was once again unsure what walk I was going to do on this holiday where I was so often plagued with bad weather, which was now even worse than it had been the day before, and this time it didn't improve with rain falling for most of the day. After spending an hour moping around Fort William, I drove south to Glen Coe stopping off in the National Trust for Scotland visitor centre. I wasn’t impressed with what I saw so I soon left and drove a short distance up the valley to a car park for the National Trust for Scotland property of An Torr Woodland and Signal Rock. The signal rock was the site where, historically, the head of the Glencoe MacDonalds would address his clan, and according to legend was also the place where the signal was given to the Campbells to begin the Glencoe Massacre. While it continued to rain I walked across the River Coe and along a way-marked path through the An Torr woodland eventually reaching a lump of rock that now seems to be nothing special and since it is also now surrounded by trees there are no views.

When I came into Glen Coe I had been hopeful that the weather would lift as it had done the previous days this week, and it had actually looked like the clouds were lifting from the mountains, but as the morning dragged on the rain came and went, and the clouds rose and fell in corresponding fashion. With misty views of the valley I followed a black marked trail through An Torr wood and soon returned back to my car. With no sign of a lifting of the weather I drove further up the valley stopping opposite the Three Sisters, the mighty bastions of Glen Coe that guard the entrance to the hidden valley. Ten years ago I did a walk into the lost valley of Glen Coe going all the way up to the top of Bidean nam Bian, the highest point in the area. This walk had been done in low cloud and it had originally been my intention to repeat that walk now so I could actually see the hidden valley.

Despite the rain, I decided it would still be worth trying to walk up to Coire Gabhail and see if I could get a view this time. Therefore I donned all my waterproofs and headed down to the river crossing the rushing waters of the narrow gorge and up a very steep and rocky path. I had walked through the Nevis gorge the day before on a path that some have described as the best in the country, but I think this one should also have a valid claim to that honour. I loved walking up path that is rougher and therefore more fun for me, especially in the wet conditions which made things more challenging. The highlight of the path is the scenery in the closed-in valley that is really lush and filled with moisture-loving vegetation. The stream is also spectacular with many small waterfalls and cascades that were a delight for me to look at while slowly walking up the steep valley. The bad weather was doing nothing to spoil my enjoyment of this walk, but I would love to be there in good weather.

At a boulder I turned right and scrambled above it on a path that was becoming more challenging and eventually came to the foot of a scree slope. Part way up the slope I thought that something wasn’t right so I got out my map and discovered that I should have crossed the river at the boulder. The path that I was on must lead to the 692 metre top at the end of Geàrr Aonach, the middle ridge of the Three Sisters. Hastily I made my way back down the scree and scrambled down to the foot of the boulder where I saw some people trepidatiously attempting to cross the swollen stream. I had no hesitation in immediately crossing the stream in my waterproof footwear and on the other side I found a well-made path that continues to climb up the valley until I suddenly came onto a rocky ledge that overlooks the awesome sight of the Lost Valley of Glen Coe, Coire Gabhail, where the MacDonalds of Glen Coe used to hide their cattle, and the cattle of others.

Ten years ago I hadn’t seen this sight as the clouds had been too low, but despite the rain I now had a clear view across the level plain with the towering crags that soar above the valley floor. This was an amazing sight even in such bad weather and despite getting wet at this point with the weather throwing everything at me, I was enthralled by all that I was seeing. I wandered into the centre of the hidden valley, gazing around in awe at the misty crags towering above me until eventually I turned around and headed back down the path. The weather still showed no sign of improvement, but it had been great fun walking up and down that fabulous path. I had done very little walking in the morning while hoping for the weather to improve, but once I had finally decided to go for a walk I went to an awesome location on a truly great path. I must come back to Glen Coe and do the whole walk that I’d originally intended for this day, but in good weather.