Ben Vrackie

Ben Vrackie - from Loch a Choire

The popular tourist-town of Pitlochry, stands beneath its own mountain - Ben Vrackie, a superb Corbett, with a good path, steep ascent and fabulous views. On Saturday afternoon, with the forecast looking good we went North to see if we could all climb it. There was no doubt that 'Boris' could climb it, its well within his abilities and he's been up it before. 'Norris' too is more than able to do this hill, having managed Schiehallion a fortnight ago. The question mark really hung over little 'Doris' who having just turned five was going to be pushed to manage a walk of this length or steepness.

The walk begins at a little car-park, just past the Moulin Inn and brewery which is signposted from the High Street in Pitlochry. From there a path goes steeply through woodland for a mile or so, before breaking out into open country. This long, constant ascent caused the most grumbling of the day, as in quite intense heat we climbed from the woods to the top of the pass between Creag Bhreac and Meall Na h-Aiodainn Moire. From here, two things come into sudden view, the height of Ben Brackie itself - which looks very impressive from here, and the Loch a Choire - the lochan which nestles at the foot of the mountain, behind an earthen dam. We stopped by the loch for a rest - here the boys went bouldering, and then we played about with the self-timer on the camera - resting it on a rock to capture a 'family-in-the-hills' moment. We also had a really big drink, litre after litre of liquid being taken from the rucksack and disappearing down parched throats. I was very happy to encourage this process, as hauling the massive amounts of water for five of us on a blazing hot afternoon was my task, and shifting as much of the weight off my shoulders and sharing it out into everyone's bodies, was especially welcome as we began the steep section.

The one little spell of drizzle we got was on the upper section of the climb. It didn't look as if it would last, and so we persisted. Given the strength of the sun and the severity of the climb - a little cool rain was actually quite welcome. What was even better was that as we rounded the final corner of the steep zig-zagged path, the sun-reappeared, the hills lit-up, the views opened up on all sides, and we sat to enjoy the achievement. Little 'Doris' did spectacularly well too! Although she had required a bit of a 'piggy-back' on the lower section - she marched resolutely for most of it, including the final 350m pull to the summit.

When she was very small, we all went hill-walking together; she was carried in a 'Mac-Pac', on my back. We did a number of great walks like that - including a Munro. Eventually though she got too heavy for me to carry doing any serious walks, but couldn't yet manage a good-length walk herself - so family walks were not possible for some time. In fact - family walks still happened, but weren't anything like adventurous enough to impress the boys. Perhaps this summer will be a turning point, and once again we will be able to take to the mountains together! We certainly hope so, and not just so that we can indulge our love of the outdoors, but pass it off as 'family-time', but also because the kids are at their best on such occasions. Whereas stuck inside on rainy days they can get a bit fractious with each other, with space, energy consuming activity and a definite objective in mind - they are great company. The question now is, where to head on the next sunny Saturday!

Trig Point - Summit of Ben Vrackie