Hill Walk

I'm all behind 'like the coo's tail' as my Mum used to say, so just catching up properly here.
Those ultras are a different thing entirely aren't they @Scroggin . I used to run a little but nothing on those levels. I was lucky enough to be on the Easains the day Jasmin Paris was doing her Ramsay Round - that's a serious undertaking.
Slightly less demanding have been my 2 recent outings - one on Sunday to another favourite hill -Stuchd an Lochain, and yesterday to Ben Venue, which I hadn't been on for about 15 or 16 years.

A high start for S.an Lochain, so it's a good short walk. Steep start up from the dam, so you quickly start to get views


Plant life is looking good at this time of year



The view across to the Black Mount hills between Bridge of Orchy and Glencoe


One of my favourite views - and ideal for a spot of lunch. Lochan nan Cat, with the summit cone up ahead


Ten minutes, and a couple of hundred feet, to the summit [but no ring ousels to see this time!]


and the slightly murky views across to the Tyndrum hills

A round trip of around four hours, and always pleasant.

 

Lovely to see your Scottish views again @fairygirl.

 

Lovely walk @fairygirl , stunning views.

 

Enjoying your pics Fairygirl while we're holidaying in Norfolk . So so different, flat , green fields but no hills to be seen .

 

Thanks folks - much appreciated.
I couldn't live somewhere flat @Valleysgirl !
Got out again on Wednesday [31st July] just to make the most of the weather before it breaks.
Ben Venue - a hill I did about 15 or 16 years ago, but that was in late winter/early spring. Things have changed a bit since then. Like it's near neighbour Ben A'an, there's now a constructed path almost the whole way to the base of the summit cone. A lot of the walk before that is forest, but a huge area has now been cleared, and some mixed plantation in sections nearer the hill have been put in place. The open boggy stretch now has path too. That was a skating rink when I was there last time!
It's all very straightforward, and not a difficult walk, but there are great views across the various lochs, especially Loch Katrine, to the many hills beyond.
Early on, you cross Achray Water via a footbridge, and get a lovely view of the waterfalls below. The photo doesn't do it justice


An hour and a half later, you get a nice view back down the path


A bit of rough, scrambly incline, and another hour or so, and the lower summit is just ahead. Many people assume this is the true summit, but it's a couple of metres lower, and the true summit is ten/fifteen mins away to the north west.


The views are still good across to Loch Katrine, and to the Arrochar hills beyond


but the views from the higher, true summit are even better


The view east, from the lower summit, across to the other two nearby lochs - Achray and Venachar


The harebells are looking even better than they were on Sunday, at S. an Lochain



I got a pic of the waterfall that's on the approach to the col, on the way back, but it was a bit far away unfortunately


A long walk in, and about 9 miles in total, so around 5 hours, but a nice breeze stopped the sun being too hot. A good hill for a frosty autumn day, or a snowy winter one though, so I may go back and do it from the other side, at Loch Ard, to the south.

 

Lovely pictures @fairygirl , I'm not sure I could live anywhere else without the views of the Pyrenees.

 

I did one of my favourite walks today with my brother on part of the Sandstone Trail in Cheshire, about a 45 minute drive away. No steep climbs but quite a few ups and downs with some scenic views of Cheshire. It was a 5.5 mile walk over 2.5 hours, followed by a three course pub lunch!

Some views from Bulkeley Hill.





View across a farm on the way to Raw Head, the highest point on the Sandstone Trail at 227m.



Distant Cheshire.



Sandstone cliffs below Raw Head.



View of Bickerton Hill from Raw Head.



Another farm view.