Only three intrepid walkers turned up at the car park at the appointed hour.  The weather had been watched with much apprehension during the drive from Ayrshire, however Ben Lomond summit became visible out of the low cloud and our expectations grew higher.

Craig and I met Gavin at the car park south of Crianlarich and set off in high spirits. The walk to the foot of the hill was pleasant along a good track. We were not sure where we should take to the hill but eventually made our way in pretty decent weather to the ridge just beyond Sron Gharbh. When we arrived on the ridge the weather became less pleasant with low cloud, rain and a decent breeze. Gavin later described this as ‘soft’.

The walk along Twistin’ Hill would be a very pleasant affair if one could see anything and not be blown away. We passed by the castle, which could only vaguely be seen in the mist; Craig didn’t enjoy the exposure very much as so little could be seen below our feet.

We arrived at a cairn, which we thought was the summit, as we couldn’t see much around us. Eventually the weather cleared enough to establish that the real summit was a few yards further on. After taking a few photos we left for Beinn a’ Chroin. I don’t think I’ve spent less time on any summit.

While descending to the Bealach the weather became much wetter! Best described by Gavin as ‘dreich’. Craig then produced a wonderful bright yellow Wendy house and a very cosy lunch break was taken.

After lunch we decided to abandon the attempt on Bein a’ Chroin due to the very poor weather and descend from the bealach down to the valley. This turned out to be a fairly strenuous walk as the ground was very muddy and boggy. The walk along the valley seemed to last a very long time before the track was eventually reached and easy walking took us back to the car park. This easy walking was not without incident as Craig managed to fall into a bog about 20 yards from the car park.

This would be a very good walk if the weather were decent, however a good day was had by all.

Robin Menzies