Banner photo: Creag Mhor and Ben Armine from the south-east, probably Strath Skinsdale.
Ben Armine and Creag Mhor
MunrosNone
Distance/AscentLeg 1: 18km 179m
Leg 2: 7km 355m Leg 3: 13km 584m Leg 4: 7km 105m Leg 5: 5km 57m Leg 6: 18km 135m totals: 68km 1415m |
CorbettsNone
Estimated Time1h 10mins
1h 45mins 3h 15mins 1h 20mins 1h 00mins 1h 00mins Total: 9h 20mins |
GrahamsBen Armine
Creag Mhor NotesUseful links:
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BothiesBen Armine Stables NC665246
Loch Choire Bothy NC619270 Parking
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The plan
The plan is to set off during a period of settled fine weather in summer when the days are long.
Starting late afternoon/early evening, complete legs 1 and 2. Stay at Ben Armine Stables.
Day 2: climb Ben Armine and Creag Mhor following the route clockwise, i.e. Ben Armine first, before returning to the stables for lunch. In the afternoon, take the easy walk dropping down to Loch Choire bothy for the night.
Day 3: walk back to the bike and cycle back out to the car, hopefully arriving home for lunch.
Starting late afternoon/early evening, complete legs 1 and 2. Stay at Ben Armine Stables.
Day 2: climb Ben Armine and Creag Mhor following the route clockwise, i.e. Ben Armine first, before returning to the stables for lunch. In the afternoon, take the easy walk dropping down to Loch Choire bothy for the night.
Day 3: walk back to the bike and cycle back out to the car, hopefully arriving home for lunch.
27-29 June 2023
My original plan had been to head south to Loch Earn and Meall na Fearna but the forecast was for bands of rain to hit the southwest Highlands and it seemed to me that north and east would just receive the tail ends of the rain. I set off from home after lunch, arriving at Badanloch mid afternoon. It was raining fairly heavy and as I was in no hurry, I had a bit of a sleep. When I woke up it seemed to be clearing, though there were many showers to follow.
I took my bike out of the back of the car and assembled it. Then headed off down the track. I stopped at Gearnsary to check it out. The building is structurally sound with a cobbled floor. The are some pallets that could be used to make a sleeping platform. The fireplace is closed off. The ground outside would be very good for camping if you just want to use the building for cooking. I was very pleased to see that a nesting box had been installed for barn owls.
I took my bike out of the back of the car and assembled it. Then headed off down the track. I stopped at Gearnsary to check it out. The building is structurally sound with a cobbled floor. The are some pallets that could be used to make a sleeping platform. The fireplace is closed off. The ground outside would be very good for camping if you just want to use the building for cooking. I was very pleased to see that a nesting box had been installed for barn owls.
I left my camera in my pack and these two photographs of Gearnsary were taken on my phone.
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I passed a man who was loading an Argocat or similar onto a trailer. I asked him about Ben Armine stables and he clearly did not know anything about the place. I caught up with him later at Loch Choire Lodge. He was talking to another man - maybe the head stalker. He certainly was far more knowledgeable about the area. He told me that using both of the bothies was fine. He even apologised for the state of the bridges and told me that he had not had time to repair them and that there was a bit of a drop of some of them. What he did not warn me about was the challenge of actually joining the stalker's paths. The first gate I climbed over [no stile and it was locked] was not the right route but I could see a clear track over to the right so I retraced my steps and try to gain access further down the loch. There was a mother gate but dense turns and trees growing the other side so I returned to the previous gate and then crossed rough ground to join up with the correct track. I say track; I don't think anything had actually driven along it in a long time. Some of the bridges did look dangerous as they looked like they might collapse and I did not take the risk of walking across tilted wet planks. Really, they were there for motorised vehicles [or maybe carts?] and crossing the burns was never a problem.
After a while, I realised that I had not removed the plastic protectors from the ends of my walking poles. After stabbing my poles into the grounder the previous half hour, they were very tight and I could not remove them. Am I the only person to have done this?
I really should have put on my waterproofs but the rain started light and gradually increased, such that I reached a point where putting on an outer rain shell seemed pointless. I did almost dry out between the showers, until the next one came along. I was fairly wet when I finally reached the stables.
I had some ideas what to expect, but with the weather being so dreich, it seems very homely inside and I quickly got a bit of a fire going and made my self comfortable. When unpacking, I realised that I had not packed a sleeping mat. I have a Therm-A-Rest mat and Therm-A-Rest pillow. I had packed the pillow, thinking it was the mattress! They are different but I had not used either for a while. With being so damp and no mattress, I did wake up feeling cold during the night. It was not the cushioning I missed but the insulation.
After a while, I realised that I had not removed the plastic protectors from the ends of my walking poles. After stabbing my poles into the grounder the previous half hour, they were very tight and I could not remove them. Am I the only person to have done this?
I really should have put on my waterproofs but the rain started light and gradually increased, such that I reached a point where putting on an outer rain shell seemed pointless. I did almost dry out between the showers, until the next one came along. I was fairly wet when I finally reached the stables.
I had some ideas what to expect, but with the weather being so dreich, it seems very homely inside and I quickly got a bit of a fire going and made my self comfortable. When unpacking, I realised that I had not packed a sleeping mat. I have a Therm-A-Rest mat and Therm-A-Rest pillow. I had packed the pillow, thinking it was the mattress! They are different but I had not used either for a while. With being so damp and no mattress, I did wake up feeling cold during the night. It was not the cushioning I missed but the insulation.
I was up early, maybe 4 a.m. and while I took my time and had coffee and porridge, it was still early when I set off [with the plastic covers removed from my poles - I had taken all my strength to remove them]. It seemed to me that the general weather pattern was for bright and dry mornings with rain later in the day so the plan was for an early start and returning to the stable for lunch.
There was some peat hag but the ascent to Ben Armine was not too hard going. It is nice to arrive at a sizeable cairn or trig point but there is a very modest pile of rocks and I did not bother with a summit selfie until reaching the second summit of Creag Mhór. There, I set up my tripod and a 12 second delay on my camera which just gave me enough time to get into position.
There was some peat hag but the ascent to Ben Armine was not too hard going. It is nice to arrive at a sizeable cairn or trig point but there is a very modest pile of rocks and I did not bother with a summit selfie until reaching the second summit of Creag Mhór. There, I set up my tripod and a 12 second delay on my camera which just gave me enough time to get into position.
The descent deviated from the original plan but was fairly easy all the way back to the stables. The light was a bit better for a photograph of the bothy.
Time for ginger tea, savoury rice with tuna before packing my pack for the walk to the next bothy.
Time for ginger tea, savoury rice with tuna before packing my pack for the walk to the next bothy.
Looking back towards Ben Armine stables. As can be seen, the stalker's path is very vegetated and I had the impression that new feet pass this way.
After maybe a kilometre, there was a wooden post that looked like it may have formed part of a bridge; one of those bridges consisting of two cables. However, today there is no other option than fording the river to join the path on the other side. For the most part, the path was fine. That is until descending towards the bothy and arriving at tall bracken, gorse and trees, This section was not fun AT ALL! Not only was it prickly but I was very aware of the risk of picking up tick, which needless to say, I did.
The very last section was somewhat better and I arrived at around 4:30.
On entering the bothy, I was struck - perhaps a little horrified by the number of droppings, the bulk of which were on one of the sleeping platforms. As I sat and sorted out my gear, I heard last clicks from above and concluded that they were bat droppings. I have nothing against mice until they gnaw through my rucksack pockets or enter my home - OK, I have a lot against mice! Bats are far more preferable. I cleaned up the droppings but slept on the other platform as I did not want bats crapping in my face during the night.
The stove looked like it had seen better days. At first it leaked smoke and I was a little concerned but as it warmed up, it worked surprisingly well. There was plenty of dry wood and I just used a small part of it just to warm up the place a bit before wriggling into my sleeping bag at around 8 p.m.
The stove looked like it had seen better days. At first it leaked smoke and I was a little concerned but as it warmed up, it worked surprisingly well. There was plenty of dry wood and I just used a small part of it just to warm up the place a bit before wriggling into my sleeping bag at around 8 p.m.
When I woke up and had made coffee and Quaker's chocolate porridge, I switched the lenses on my camera from my 20-40mm to my 100mm Macro for spotted orchids and anything else that seemed worth photographing.
I wish that I could have thanked Albert Grant personally, but I hope that I at least left the place cleaner than I had found it.
I wish that I could have thanked Albert Grant personally, but I hope that I at least left the place cleaner than I had found it.
My favourite wild flower - Dactylorhiza maculata or moorland spotted orchid.
Switching to a telephoto lens was not just about macro photography but it gives very different landscape shots. Obviously, it lacks the flexibility of a zoom, but leads to photos that I probably would not have otherwise taken.
Photographs without any sky do not show the profiles of the hills but I like styles photos that do not include any sky.
This tree seems to be reaching out across the loch.
I am so glad that I switched lenses as further along the road, I came across this fella. He seemed too old and slow to run away. I know how he feels! Though I was carrying a tripod, I placed the camera down on the ground for the best angle to capture the movement of its throat. There is also movement further back along its body that seems like a beating heart, but I think is more to do with breathing.
Is this really an old toad or do all toads look old? In literature, the characters that are toads, like Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows are always older characters, but there must be young toads?
Is this really an old toad or do all toads look old? In literature, the characters that are toads, like Mr. Toad in The Wind in the Willows are always older characters, but there must be young toads?
I did not walk along looking at he ground looking for biological subjects all of the time. I still took in the views and was treated to this rainbow across the slopes of ben Klibreck.
I particularly enjoyed the walk along Loch Choire. It was the best part of the entire walk and I say that as someone who like to get up high and am not such a fan of low level walking. Every step was a pleasure with the singing of small birds that I could not identify from a distance. It would be a great bike and hike just to the bothy and back, especially with a decent pair of binoculars. However, all good things come to an end and I reached my bike.
I have no idea why somebody thought it was a good idea to put this sign here, but I had 10km to go. I was a little tired and would not have fancied that on foot but no problem on a bike!
By reaching this point I had switched back to the 20-40mm lens. Looking towards Ben Griam Mor.
I put my camera away in my backpack while cycling, but as a keen photographer, I am always framing things in my mind's eye. As I was approaching my car, with a stone wall on my left I came a cross a very impressive looking stag. It moved towards me following the wall and when at its closest point stoped and stared at me. Had my camera been out with the 100mm lens, by my estimations, the deer would have filled the frame and the stone wall behind it would have added to the composition. Just to add the final touch, an oystercatcher arrived and landed on the wall directly behind the stag. I did not even try to retrieve my camera, knowing that is was just a fleeting moment and both would move on. Had I been an enthusiastic and gifted artist, I could have painted the scene from the image in my head, but with a camera, if I miss the moment, there is no record of what I saw. You will just need to use your imagination!