Creag Mhor and Beinn Hearsgarnaich (the latter sometimes spelt Shearsgarnaich) are two remote hills in the Forest of Mamlorn, tucked away in the remotest corner of Perthshire. The round of the two hills involved a lot of climbing, and over fifteen miles of walking; and so an early start was required. Leaving Stewart's at 7:15 we drove from Perth, through over Glen Ogle and down to Killin - where we were too early to find a coffee anywhere!
The day before we climbed these hills, the country had been battered by 'Storm Ali', which had caused travel disruption, knocked over countless trees and dumped incredible volumes of rainwater on the land. The river and burns were all high as we drove west, but we weren't quite prepared for the sight of The Falls of Dochart in full spate, as we entered Killin. They were thundering with the most impressive display of white water crashing through the village, under the old stone bridge, and down into Loch Tay.
Our route took us North from the village and then westwards again alongside the other major river which feeds the Tay at Killin - The River Lochay. The Glen Lochay road is unclassified and unsignposted, and we weren't far along it before our hill-day appeared to be postponed. A large tree-trunk, felled by Storm Ali, lay across the road. Thankfully it was rotten enough to be light and between us we were able to roll it to the side, and drive the 10 or so kilometres down this dead-end road, to Kenknock. Older hillwalking books like Irvine Butterfield's suggest that it is possible to drive to Kenknock or even beyond it to Betavaime; but this is no longer possible. A walkers car park (no charge) has been provided, before the road-end, with the request that no parking takes place beyond it.
In steady rain we marched down the road past the farm. My hillwalking books (SMC and McNeish), all suggest that the route along the glen follows the valley floor track. However, a new track has been formed recently as part of the hydro-electricity works which cover these hills, which provides a better route. It runs along the North side of the glen, at about 380m, and is accessed from the old Kenknock to Loch Lyon road, veering left from it by the large hydro-pipeline.
Me, striking an inelegant pose; buffeted by strong winds in Glen Lochay -
Ben Challum in the distance
There are several new deer-fences in these hills, however, the new hydro-track has walkers gates at every point, so there is no problem with access - in fact the estate has provided a map at the car park, showing walkers where the new fences are, and the access points too. Once beyond the last deer fence, above the lonely farm building at Betavaime, we turned sharply into the hill, and began the huge ascent of the Sron nan Eun ridge. Above us, rocky outcrops loomed imperiously above us, while below, the lonely upper reaches of The River Lochay gave a real sense of isolation. The head of the glen is dominated by Ben Challum, which I climbed in 2011, but the view of it from Lochay shows its best side!
The Sron an Eun is hard work; it is steep, pathless and after the heavy rain, rather slippery. The best way up seems to follow the line of gully which cuts through the rocks. A path appears for a while, then fades again, and can't be trusted as a route-guide. The narrowing ridge up onto Creag Mhor was probably the finest part of the walk, but going was difficult here in high, blustery winds. Wind and rain, meant that this was quick (photo-less) stop; although Stewart mentioned that as this was his hundredth Munro, a dram was in order. Toasting his milestone with a rare (and expensive) Tomatin, we got off the summit in search of some respite from the fierce wind.
In between rain-storms, expansive views across Mamlorn opened up.
The descent from Creag Mhor involved heading westwards, then northwards to avoid the steep cliffs which shape the summit cone. A distinctive lochan on the ridge (to Meall Tionail) is the cue to turn eastwards to the pass between this and Beinn Heasgarnaich. Again there is no path, and picking a route between the peat-bogs is the priority here.
The climb towards Beinn Heargarnaich goes up the Sron Taibh, and over the intermediate summit of Stob an Fhir-Bhoga. Not as long or quite as steep as the Sron nan Eaun, it is nevertheless a 500metre slog. A feint path appears after the first hundred metres or so, and is quite a good guide around some of the obstacles on the route. The top of Heasgarnaich is a long, broad ridge with a wide elevated end, where a large cairn marks the summit.
Broad summit, high winds. Stewart on the top of Heasgarnaich.
Picking a way down from here isn't obvious. We wound our way down past a series of lochans NE of the summit, before heading eastwards across the estate road over to the Loch Lyon dam. We met a mall shooting party heading up into the corrie, and the keeper gave us some advice on the best route through the peatbogs, and where to go to avoid the hunting.
Looking back along our route
The later half of the day had cheered up, weather-wise, but the weather had one last surprise for us. As we headed down the old crumbling tarmac of the Lochay-Lyon estate road, the wind picked up, the sky darkened and the rain once more lashed down. Back at the car, we extracted wet feet from wet boots, and drove home - back to Perth for 7. Two hard-won, but memorable Munros.
Back to the car, the Lochay-Lyon estate road
Thanks Stewart, for the photos!
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